Northern Ohio journal. [volume] (Painesville, Ohio) 1872-1896, 1880-03-20

but DOtn. TILL we fall into ruin and wreck,
To our fortune of toll are bound;
And the man goes and the stream flows,
And the wheel moves slowly round.
-H0rper's AagdzsseJor Aprit.
A CONTROVERSY WITH CUPID.
Little wretchl 1 hate him. We
have never had moments peace since
he took possession of this house." de-
clared Polly Patten, with a stamp OF
her foot.
The she" referred to was not, as
might be supposed, a tramp or q
Sheriff officer, not even a poor rela.
ton, or an Irish butler, or a heathen
Chinee. Not at all. The object OF
Polly's wrath was parsonage lifted
up, as it would seem, by virtue of his
position, above human criticism as
above human rules, a myth, an un.
known entity-no other, in fact, than
the little god Cupid himself. He and
his machinations had of late wrought
changes-woful ones, Polly thought
in the constitution of the Patten family
and to her imagination represented al
manner of discomfort and discontinue
the alteration of plans, the blight o1
hopes-innovations and ss-purposes
without end. She felt toward him 9
good, honest, hearty hostility, as one
may toward an opponent of flesh and
blood, as she sat in her bedroom, in.
Weighing upon the subject to her specia,
friend, Susan Gilmore, who was
perched beside her on the broad win.
dow sill.
go, it's all. very well to laugh" she
went on; "but just wait till you try il
yourself. All last year was given up,
you know, to marrying Helen. Hel
trousseau, and her presents, and hel
or spoken of for twelve long months.
The house was choked with her things.
We all worked our fingers to the bone.
Nobody could turn round without find.
ing woman and sewing al
her back. We never even pretended to
hear ourselves speak. Well, just as il
was all over, and Helen comfortably of
our minds, Lizzie must needs set up 9
lover and a long engagement John
Shaw, too, of all personsi Now 1 may
be dull, but in the name of common
sense why John Shaw, of all men in the
worldp'
90 Lizzie knows, presume"
s'Well, perhaps she does; still, it is
provoking. Every morning of his life
0OAA NA6W 1OOAS LII 4Ol d1lA dA hOul Ol
his way down town. He and Lizzie alb.
sorb the parlor, of course That is all
right, no doubt; but, as it happens, that
particular half hour is precisely the one
which 1 used always to take to tidy up
the flowers, water and trim, fill the
vases, and make the room nice for the
day, and the want of it put me out
dreadfully. l sit and twirl my thumbs.
and scold to mother, and she never will
agree with me. Lovers are privileged,
she says.''
tsOf course they are. Don't be a
spoil-sport, Polly. It's their turn now.
Yours will come"
"Never! But there's more behind.
What do you say to Eunice's indulging
in an engagement, tooP'
&c Not reallyp''
every really indeed. John Norman
is the happy man this time. Two Johns
you observe, by way of making the
confusion greater---So they sit in the
dining-room every evening, while Liz
zie and her John occupy the parlor. u
Sand where do the rest of you sitP''
ssEcho answers. We sit wherever
we may. Mother takes her mending-
basket up stairs, and has a student
lamp on the round table in the upper
entry. Papa shuts himself up in that
dreadful little close 'den' of his, OF
goes to the Office. observe that he has
business there of evenings much often.
er than formerly-because there is nc
comfortable place for him at home, nc
doubt. Jim makes point of being
out. As for Amy and me, we sit or
the back stairs, or in the butler's pan
/ try, or any other odd corner which no.
body else wants." Polly laughed, but
there were tears in her brown eyes
and very mutinous look about the
pretty mouth, which John Norman
. while in process of sampling the
family" to borrow Polly's own phrase
had once Ekened to beautiful EVELYN
Hopes, of the true "geranium red. ,
"As if all this wasn't enough" sh,
went on presently, with half giggle
half sob, "here is a letter come to- da,
from Fanny Allen-our cousin. vol
know-and she is engaged, too; and sh,
proposes to make us visit, and he
young man means to drop along,' for
sooth, while she is here. Now wher
are they to sitp 1 can't imagine, un
less they take the air-chamber of tn
furnace. The front steps are quite to-
cold at this time of the year. Or
might have the trunk room cleared on
for them; I hadn't thought of that be
fore.
t'Polly, you are ridiculous. You
cousin will manage all that for hersel
Tsee If she doesn't. They viii tax
walks, or something"
80, if they only would! If the Who'll
lot of them would take walks an
keep on walking, and never walk thi
way, how comfortable it would be! Sue
you are abominably tolerant about sue
matters. That miserable cupid! Iwis
/ could hold his wings in the candle an
burn them off. He never flies but to d
mischief somewhere. How peacefu
and happy we all were together befor
this sort of thing beganw
stake care; he will hear you, an
he's revengeful creature. 1 believ
him to be the original little pitche
with long ears,'' laughed Susan.
stI don't care if he does hear me,
answered Polly, defantly.
Has Cupid earsP Certain it is ths
matters grew worse rather than bette
for Polly from that day forward Fam
Allen came, and in due time her lover
according to programme, and with tn
latter cousin, Mr.. Othniel Oliphan
a successful merchant, just home fror
China for brief visit. His return wa
not purely for business purposes. MI
Oliphant was on the lookout for wife
and with the prompt decision of mel
camille man, he elected Polly Patten fc
that position on two days acquain
ance. A firm believer in the faith ths
faint heart never won fair lady," an
'' nothing venture, nothing have" b
offered himself at the end of the weel
and quite undiscouraged by Polly's di
mayed "no," sat resolutely down an
traced his parallels, resolved to gain b
siege what he had failed to win at
coup by assault. This complication s,
the seal to Pclly's discontents.
ssFor just imagine what state
things it Makes" she told her conf
dante Sue. .'There they sit-the thrs
sets of ninnies-one in the parlor, OF
in the dining-reom, one in the den
from which poor papa is turned OF
bag and baggage; and there is tn
abominable o! o! (never did man ha7
such suitable initials) looming like doc
or q thunderstorm all day long, dete
mined to get me by myself. and cult
vate my acquaintance How can
make me care for him, he says, if
Il