The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-04-15

honest toll and slillful spinning. How
do they do it2 But this is digresion,
and am quite of the opinion of the old
lady in David Copperfeld," who says:
"Let us have no meanderingW
Though my wife had declined to risk a
ceremonious call on our neighbors as a
family, | saw no reason why should not
speak to the husband as an individual
when l happened to encounter him by
the wayside. l made several approaches
to do so, when it occurred to my pene-
tration that my neighbor had the air of
trying to avoid me. resolved to put
the suspicion to the test, and one fore
noon, when he was sauntering along on
the opposite side of the road, in the Vi
cinity of Fishers saw-mill, | deliber-
ately crossed over to address him. The
brusque manner in which he hurried
away was not to be misunderstood. OF
course / was not going tc force myself
upon him.
1t was at this time that began to form
uncharitable suggestions touching our
neighbors, and would have been as well
pleased if some of my choicest fruit trees
had not oyerhung their wall. l deter
mined to keep my eyes open later in the
season, when the fruit should be ripe to
pluck. In some folks, sense of the del
icate shade of difference between meum
ct tuum does not seem to be very strongly
developed in the Moon of Cherries, to
use the old Indian phrase.
was sufficiently magnanimous not to
impart any of these sinister impressions
to the families with whom we were on
visiting terms; for l despise gossip. /
would say nothing against the persons up
the road until had something definite to
say. My interest in them was-well, not
exactly extinguished, but burning low.
| met the gentleman at intervals, and
passed him without recognition; at rarer
intervals l saw the lady.
After a while | not only missed my
occasional glimpses of her pretty, slim
figure, always draped in some soft black
stuff with a bit Of scarlet at the throat,
but / inferred that she did not go about
the house singing in her light-hearted
manner as formerly. What had hap.
pened? Had the honeymoon suffered
eclipse already? Was she ill? fancied
she was ill, and that detected certain
anxiety in her husband, who spent the
mornings digging solitarily in the garden,
and seemed to have relinquished those
long iaunts to the brow of Blue Hill
where there is a superb view combined
with sundry venerable rattlesnakes with
twelve rattles.
AS the days went by, it became GER
tain that the lady was confined to the
: house, perhaps seriously i'll, possibly 6
confirmed invalid. Whether she was at
tended by physician from Canton OF
Milton / was unable to say; but neither
the gig with the large white allopathit
horse, nor the gig with the homeopathic
sorrel mare, was ever seen hitched at the
gate during the day. If physician had
charge of the case he visited his patient
only al night. All this moved my sym
pathy, and reproached myself with
having hard thoug ghts of our neighbors.
Trouble had come to them early.
would have liked to offer them such
small, friendly services as lay in my
power; but the memory of the repulse
, had sustained ranked in me. So hesi
} tated.
One morning my two boys hurst int
, the library with their eyes sparkling.
"You know the old elm down the
| roadF' cried one.
eyes"
"The elm with the hang birds nest?
shrieked the other.
eyes, yes!"
"Well, we both just climbed up, ant
there's three young ones in i'll"
} Then | smiled to think our new neigh
bors had got such promising little
family.