Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-02-20

profits gained through larger buyers to
the poor little things who had only a
penny to spend"
"I'm afraid l should,' confessed she,
with smile, (mother has the brightest
smile ever saw, and the small, white:
even teeth it displays are all her own. J
How would millinery do?"
"That requires some knowledge of
the business, and necessitates strange
women about u.s." said l. "The only
thing that can think Of as at all suit
able is a fancy store, with a great variety
of small goods ThntI am sure we could
manage, and make enough to support
us comfortably all our lives long for,
Of course, I shall never marry, being SO
plain and sensible, as grandfather used
to say, and we will never, never be part
ed ;" and 1 kissed her, and she kissed
me in return, with tender look in her
gray eyes (mother has the softest and
tenderest gray eyes IN the world J and
the very. next day we set about looking
for the store, and in less than week
had found it: nice new little place in
thriving village few miles away from
grandfather's-I mean Cousin Eta s.
cottage, just completed the very morn
ing the agent sent us to look at it. The
street on which it stood was the main
one of the village, and before the door
grew splendid old hickory-tree, which
made it less sad to part with our oak,
and directly opposite was large, com
fortable-looking house, sitting well back
from the road, with half an acre of gar
den about it.
Well, that small store did look pretty
when mother (mother has exquisite
taste, and knows just what colors so
nicely together, and how to arrange
things in symm etrical shapes and fOrms)
and I put the finishing touches to the
contents of the good-sized window, and
stepped out on the sidewalk to observe
the general effect.
1t was a lovely, sunshiny SUNNI Ell
morning, and feeling singularly hope
ful and cheerful after observing the gen
eral effect, seated myself in the sit
ting-room at the back of the store and
waited for my first customer.
Mother went into the tiny kitchen
and began making cherry tarts (mother
is an excellent hand at pastry for din
nerve had an enormous cherry-tree
in the garden-and had just called to
me to come and see how splendid the
cherries were, when the store bell rang
loudly, and some one came in and shut
the door with a bang.
Invent out as quickly as could, and
there stood a rather stout middle-aged
gentleman, very red in the face, and
evidently in very bad temper.
"Look at that. ma Fam. look at that, u
said he, as 1 came forward, holding out
his hand. and directing my attention to
the buttonless wristband Of his shirt
sleeve. "No buttons, and I buy but
tons by the gross, and, by heavens,
there's never one in the house. You
keep buttons?'
"Yes, Sir"
"Tll take one-and you look as
though you would sew it on for me-"
"With pleasure" said /, going for a
needle and thread, with smile, for it
struck me as being somewhat odd that
my first customer should want one shirt
button, and almost demand my services
as a seamstress, and it was with the
greatest difficulty / resumed and kept a
demure countenance while sewing it on.
"Um p said the gentleman, half
aloud, as fastened the thread: "nice.
though not at all handsome, and would
wear we'll, | should Think
l looked up and saw his eyes fixed
upon crimson and green rose-and-bud
tidy Zone of mothers prettiest patterns,
and thought that if it didn't suit MIN,
he must be hard to suit in the way of
tides.
After the gentleman had said Good
day, ma am" to mother, who came into
the store looking as sweet as rose (by-
the-bye, he was a jolly-looking, blue
eyed, rather handsome man when he
ceased frowning), and "Thank you,
miss" to me, and gone away, we had
dozen or more callers, among them two
dear little girls, to whom motherhood
bless her gave the two biggest cherry
tarts; and altogether our first day Of
was a profitable one, al
though [ had refused to take any thing
for the very first sale had ever made !:
no, it couldn't have been sale either.
but it was the beginning of my busin ess
life, anyhow.
. We soon discovered that the Jolly
faced gentleman was the owner of the
comfortable-looking house across the
way, Mr.. Multahney by name Though
that blessed mother Of mine always
called him MIR. Mullagatawny, after a
fashion she had Of mixing up names in
her mind, as, for instance. calling the
baker, Mr.. Black, Mr.. White" and
our old lawyer, whom we had known
for twenty years, Mr.. France" instead
of Mr. Paris, and ewidower with six
children, the oldest only nine years old.
His wife had died nearly two years
before we came to the village. and the
household since that time had been in
the charge of an Old nurse, who, though
she loved the children as dearly as she
had loved their mother, was totally in
to manage SO large an es-
Enlistment.
"But you see: ma'am," said Mr.. Null
tahney, one afternoon, to my mother
(she was sitting under the big cherry
tree, to which he had found his way in