The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-08-03

Dor In ltS CneeTleSS precincts Inc sunny III
ranged furniture, which seems to say don't
move me for the world, is not conducive to an
easy, home-lke feeling, and we feel like avoid
| ing its icy GOODNESS and leaving it for such pur
poses as preaching, funerals and like extraor
binary occasions But the devotion to ones
comforts gets the better of the situation, and
you stretch yourself out on the old hair sofa
stare gloomily at the oidiashioncd carpet and
pity the lonely china vase which, ~ mourning
for its departed mate on one end Of ibe mantle
piece
The pile of books which you brought with
you to read lies undisturbed on the table or
are strewn carelessly around the floor. Books,
games or anything else seems not to afford the
wished for pleasure, and you seem perfectly
reckless in everything but sleep
You have grown so tired of thinking since
you sought this rural solitude that you cannot
think any more. The lovely and simple habit
of early rising does not agree with you, and
you feel as though something was decidedly
wrong You do not teel like gong out into
the field to work, the woods are rather distant
and the surroundings are not so picturesque
as they might be- or as you supposed they
were when you first thought of them, Dinner,
with its savory smell of pork and greens, comes
at last, after which, for the sake variety, you
recline once more on the old hair sofa.
Supper time arrives, and as stroke of good
| luck a farmer and his wife put in an appear
ance at the evening meal-which was part
what they came for They appear to do all the
talking and most of the eating, and while this
is going on you have new objects on which to
fix your gaze. When they rise from the table
they invite their entertainers to come over to
our place and take your pay for this,' and
when they do the old.fashioned delicate china
| is exhibited-china that is kept only for show
or the sacredness of ministerial teadrinking
and such occasions, while at any other time
the family would as soon think of drinking
from the Holy Grail as from those beautifully
favored cups which perhaps have served
through several generations
You imagine that the lovely and simpk
habit of early rising does not agree with you,
so you retire early, following that old adage OF
Early to bed and early to rise, &c."
And thus the days go by, sunrises and sun
sets are all the same to you, and time hangs
heavily on your hands, till at last it occurs tc
you that some other way of passing your caca
ton ight be preferable or more enjoyable.
OF course in most cases the situation may bt
changed and the monotony of your solitude on
happiness made still more sad about the time
of leaving. There may be some very pretty
girls in the neighborhood who, like yourself
may be ''ruralizing' for the time beng ant
who no doubt would make your fair solitude
still more fair, and with whom you are sure tc
meet and not only tlrt but become "smitten.'
Perhaps it will be because you never though
of doing such a thing before, or because there
is no one else to get smitten with, or because
you have nothing else to do. Something o.
this sort makes it more interesting, and time
passes quickly away.
At watering places it is different, tor there
are hundreds of ways to pass the time, and AZ
flirting and 'mashing" seem to he the real
and only business Of such places the greatest
"masher" has the most admirers. But when the
awful moment comes, and you declare youl
passion with careful form, hoping yet hardly
daring to hope, OF acceptance, and perhaps
telling her you cannot cease to love and will
not live without her" she tells you that it Is
only a summer fancy, an affair of sunshine anc
moonlight and flowers, and bids you farewell
with Il playful smile and gentle nod OF the
head On the other hand those fascinating
young ladies get taken in" once in while
and think they have caught an heir, duke Oh
count, an artist or something of the kind, who
Is married, they find ont at last, and calls this
meeting and parting a romantic friendship
charming little ideal, simply summer days
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