The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-02-10
MISS LAIGHT'S NEIGHB0R.
ny FRANK LEE BENEDICT. /,

Py FRANK LEE BENEDICT. /,
Miss Laight sat In her easy chair, beneath
the shelter Of the broad yeratdah, and Belinda
sat on the window sill. Both were silent, and
absorbed by their separate meditations. Miss
Laight may have been thinking of her taxes
or her quarterly mornings, or indulging In
some retrospective vision Of her lost youth,
which, far past as 1t was. had left a faded tint
of It's roses In her cheeks, and an eager. SUR
plised look In her spft brown eyes, as If she
still found great deal In life to astonish her.
AS for Belinta, 1t would be useless to pHz-
zle over her reflections. They may have been
Miss Laight, fortunately for her peace Of
mind. knew nothing Belinda having lately
discovered a secret mode OF egress and
ingress- thanks to repairs that were being
been occupied with philosophical theories In
regard TO the doctrine OF metempeychosis;
but whatever her fancies were, she looked
inscr,table as the sphynx ).
with. occasional sungleams breaking through.
the dreamy haze. Miss Laight reused herself
from her reyerie, with that little sigh you shall
50 often notice elderly people. give, when bteak-
ing Of some train IF thought and glanced to-
with one Of supefhuman intelligence, and be-
gan slowly washing her wliskers.
Now. do you mean visitors, OF do you mean
RAIN questioned Miss Laght, puzzled.
aMew!" said Belinda, as solemn and as
vague as ever the Delphic oracle could have
been.
s'You mean one or the other, that am sure
Of" pursued Mise Laight. land | think it's
visitors
She probably Inclined toward the interpre-
tation most In unison with her Wishes as no
doubt was the habit Of the lnatiirers, who
went TO Delphi for information fiji regard to
the. future. Belinda regarded her In silence
Gill ri, hnt tx1 ft
W'hichever you mean, YOU are certain to
be right said Mrs, Laight perhaps hoping
to flatter the prophecies into more under
standable utteranee, but Belinda shook her
should say the art was apparent to her. and
far too feeble to delude her as Ii might have
done,an ordinary mind.
',Humph!'' said Miss Laight.
New r said Melinda.
The rambling picturesque old house stood
a reasonable distance back from the highway.
with q green lawn sloping down to the road,
shaded hy 1wide-spreadin,g ssycamoles, and
domain always standing wide, open, as was
the custom everywhere Iii that neighbe,-
hood homs.of order, and all the other pro-
piieties; IN which a stray cow or pig would
have. caused as much surprise and greater
wrath than the appearance OF a tneligasaurus
or any other pfeposteiutis anteliuyian beast
with many legs and more stonachs.
Miss Laight looked again at her oracle, and
repeated. "hutnphl' and the oracle looked at
her fixedly and repeated ''new" evidently
filled with plying scorn for her dullness of
comprehension.
The pair never had quarreled; but, as both
were females, IT is impossible to say how the
dialogue might have ended had not ipterr,,p-
tion occurred. The quiet was broken by a
bang and a rumble, lnterspersed with dole
full cfeakihgs, like those Of a creature in pain
and round the curve Of the road appeared a
yellow monster, which floundeled In at the
nd yyn fhs ,siosra IN,
ward the house, to the great deifilnent OF the
neatly-lolled gravel-a spectacle which would
wiring the heart of old Jacob, the gardener,
when he returned, as he soon would, from his
afternoon outing
III 1t Isn't the omnibus from the station 7"
exclaimed Miss Laight, rising hastily, "And
as !iye, there's Rothsay, waving her hand
out q !, the window, and her trnnk on the top
Belinda replied to the exultant exclamation
by prolonged MAUI which meanto "of
course as plainly as human words could
have expressed the phrase Miss Laight hur-
leaped down from the window-sill and follow
ed her, not to be outdone in polite eagerness
to welcome the guest.
The conductor opened the door. and out of
the vehicle stepped young lady. as lovely as
only an American girl can be- and rushed into
Miss Laight's arms.
Il am 80 glad to see you T. she cried. "And
YOU did not get my telegram p
sOf course not, else. | should have gone to
meet YOU replied The old maid, kissing her
fondly, and gazing at her with adnifing eyes.
I've had no telegram"
Belinda said YOU Were coming p cried
Miss Laight, too glad to see her niece to have
time for anger, over the telegraph peoples
negligence, ''She did, indeed OILY a little
while ago, she began washing her whiskers
| knew 1t meant a visitor! But bless me, my
dear, VIII n:would have thought of you? WHY
didn't dream Of your leaving Newport Tor
the next fortnight
ut came over neal in FASH said Ma,lge.
II got so tired of the whole thing | told
grandmamma | should gro mad. and took
the steamer, to New York. reached there this
morning telegraphed to you, caught the train.
and here | am, and oh, 50 glad to be herei
How well you look. and Belinda is handsomer
than ever"
Miss Laght and Ma,ige Rothsav were
second cousins, on the side Of Madges mother.
though, the difference In age had given Madge
the habit OF styling the spnster by the title
of aunt. Old Mrs. Rothsay, Madges grand
mother. as worldly an ancient female as
this or any other century ever produced
held placid. romantic Miss IIaight in ex-
ceeding contempt. though always wonderfully
polite when they met because the spinster
was rich. Mrs. Rothsav had oceans Of money.
N N auge was an heiress in her own right, and
.he grandmother. on the principle that people
TO whom much is given ought to have great
deal more. was as eager that Madge should Sc
cure her cousin fortune as if the girl had not a
penny. Except for this consideration which
you will understand. without my telling YOU.
had no effect upon Madgez-it is probable that
but, as it was, Madge had never failed to pay
at least q yearly visit to Miss Laight since
childhood.
BY the time the relatives had exhausted
their expressions of pleasure over this meet
ing. and Miss Laight remembered that she
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