Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1879-02-13

stores at the sole estaOllShmenL III THE
village-an inexhaustihle little bottle d
shop which Il advertise it gratis) can
turn out anything in the way of groce
ries, from handsaw to Il pocket hand
kerchief. | confess that | allowed this
unimportant detail of their house-keep
ing to occupy more of my speculation
than was creditable to me.
In several respects our neighbors re-
minded me of those inexplicable persons
we sometimes come across in great cites
though seldom or never in suburban
PAGES, where the field may be supposed
too restricted for their operations-per'
sons who have 10 perceptible means OF
subsistence and manage to live royalty
on nothing year. They hold no gov:
eminent bonds, they possess no real
estate (our neighbors did own their
house(, they toll not, neither do they
spin; yet they reap all the numerous
advantages that usually result from
honest toll and skillful spinning. How
do they do it? But this is iii gression
and am quite Of the opinion of the old
lady in David Copperheld, who says
"Let us have no meaudering!'
Though my wife had declined to risk
ceremonious call ON our neighbors as
a family, saw no reason why | should
not speak to the husband as an individ
ual, when happened to encounter him
by the wayside. | made several ap
proaches to do so. when it occurred tc
my penetration to my neigh6or had,,the
air of trying to avoid me. l resolved tc
put the suspicion to the test, and one
forenoon, when he was sauntering along
on the opposite side of the road, in the
! vicinity OF Fishers saw mill, deliber
ately crossed over to address him. The
brusuue manner in which he hurried
away was not to be misunderstood. o.
course l WAS not going to force mysel
upon him.
| 1t was at this time that l began te
form uncharitable suppositions touching
our neighbors, and would have been a:
well pleased if some Of my choicest fruit
trees had not oyerhung their wall.
determined to keep my eyes open later
in the season. when fruit should be ripe
to pluck. In some folks, a sense OF
the delicate shade Of difference between
n,sum ct tuum does not seem to be very
strongly developed in the Moon Of Cher
ries, to use the cid Indian phrase.
/ WAS sufficiently magnanimous not to
impart any Of these sinister impressions
to the families with whom we were on
visiting terms; for despise gossip. /
would say nothing against the persons
up the road until | had something deti-
mite to say. My interest in them was
we'll, not exactly extinguished, but
burning low. / met the gentleman at in
tervals, and passed him without recogni-
ton; at rarer intervals | saw the lady
After a while I had not only missed
my occasional glimpses of her pretty,
slim figure, always draped in some soft
black stuff with 3 bit of scarlet at the
throat, but I inferred she did not 90
about the house singing in her light
hearted manner, as formerly. What
had happened? Had the honeymoon
suffered eclipse already? Was she i'll:
I fancied she was i'll, and that I detected
a certain anxiety in the husband, who
spent the mornings digging solidarity in
the garden, and seemed to have re.
linquished those long jaunts to the brow
of Blue hill, where there is superb view
combined with sundry venerable rattle
snakes with the twelve rattles.
As the days went by it became certain
that the lady was confined to her house,
perhaps seriously i'll, possibly con-
frmed invalid. Whether she was at
tended by physician from Canton or
Milton L was unable to say; but neither
the gig with the large white allopathic
horse, nor the gig with the homeopathic
sorrel mare, was ever seen hitched at
the gate during the day. If q physician
had charge of the case, he visited his
patient only at night. All this moved
my sympathy, and I reproached myself
with having hard thoughts Of our
neighbors. Trouble had come to them
early. I would have liked to offer
them such small, friendly services as
lay in my power; but the memory of
the repulses had sustained ranked in
me. So | hesitated.
One morning my two boys burst into
the library with their eyes sparkling.
"You know the old elm down the
road" cried one.
eyes"
"The elm with the hang-bird's nest?'
shrieked the other.
Yes, yes!"
"Wel], we both just climbed up, and
there's three young ones in it!'
Then I smiled to think that our new
neighbors had got such promising little
family.-Atlantic Monthly.