The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-08-09
THAT LITTLE PLACE OF BROWNS.

De
The place was mine, and we lived as
costly there, my wife and little daughter
and I, as birds in nest, until the
Blacks, some old friends of ours from
the city, came to live in our neighbor-
hood.
We were at supper one night when
my wife told me.
"They're going to take the French
rooted house around the corner" said
Sally, with the big extension and the
conservatory, and as l happened to be
walking out just as the trucks came
down couldn't help seeing that the par
Tor furniture is of crimson satin damask
and ebony-I think it's ebony, but I
wont be sure, continued my wife, "but
at any rate it's inlaid."
"Well, that's a comfort, anyway"
said l. If your positive it's inlaid,
Sally, you can perhaps go on with your
supper.
eyes" she said, so preoccupied with
her theme that she hadn't eaten a NOR
sci, "and there's the handsomest bed
room set for Jane that most ever laid
my eyes on; it's one of these dressing
bureaus, Joe, with magnificent plate
glass that reaches down to the floor"
"That's good" said I. "You can run
around there when you have your next
gown fitted, and see the hang of it."
GO don't expect to run around there, I"
said Sally, cranipg her neck up stifly,
turning up the end of her nose, and
drawing her lips down.
"Why, what's the matter ?' said I.
Wasn't Jane friendly? I've done
many good turn for Black in my day,
and hope they're not going to turn the
cold shoulder now
''Oh, she was frienly enough" said
Sally, but we can't expect, Joe, that
people living in that kind of style can
be on terms of intimacy with people that
live as we do. There are certain restric-
tions in society"
Restrictions be hanged |" said I.
I'm as good man as Black any day in
the week."
"You're as good as the President, for
that matter" said Sally; "but it's all
like pair of scales, Joe; when one
goes up another goes down, and, from
the way things look, it'll take pretty
heavy weight on the Black side to bring
buSul uOWH 10 our DOSlL1OQ.
must own this kind of logic vexed
me a little. knew pretty well how
Black stood commercially, and / told
Sally there wasn't feathers weight on
his side, so far as the favors of fortune
were concerned. eff he has mind to
live above his MEANS" said /, she can
do it and take the consequences"
" He has as good a right to live above
his MEANS" said Sally, Gas you have to
live beneath yours"
This was her Parthian arrow as / went
out of the door, and ranked little all
the way down in the train, the more
sharply that 1 found Black the center of
an admiring bevy at the depot. He had
quite an imposing makeup and glib
tongue, which he used in inveighing
against our system of paving. He COM
planned of the condition of a good many
things in our young township, and
seemed to gain popularity with every
fault that he found. At last he spied
me, and was exceedingly loud and effu-
sive in his salutation
Halo, Brown T. he said, shaking my
hand again and again, and declaring to
the people about him that 1 was an old
friend whom he was glad to unearth.
eve run you down, you sly fox. That
very snug little place around the cor
ner, very snug, indeed"
/ wouldn't have believed it possible
could nave been such an ass as to feel
Aattered by this familiarity of Blocks,
but found myself Sinking and nod
ding with great complacency. Here
were at least half dozen of the gentry
about me who lived in big houses in my
neighborhood, that 1 had been going up
and down to the city with for years, yet
scarcely knew them well enough for an
exchange of civilities, and here was
Black already hand and glove with the
finest of them. It makes me sick now
when / remember that turned my back
on poor old White, and went toadying
on with this aristocracy. White lived
in even smaller house than mine, and
had hard enough work to pay for that.
He had failed in business some years be-
fore, and / don't know what they would
have done without their boy Bob. He
was with me in the city, and / knew
that goodly portion OF the lads earn
mgs were given over TO the support OF
the house. 1t was rather hard for Bob,
but he bore his lot with great resigna-
ton. He came over pretty often TO have
a game of cribbage and talk over busi-
ness matters with me, and / found HIM
sharp enough at both. Then he had o