Litchfield enquirer., 1880-03-18
From Harper's Bazar. A CONTROVERSY WITH CUPID.


 l sion of this house," declared Poly Patte2, witt l stamp of her foot. ..,. ... -...,....I The ''he' referred to was not, as might be ! supposed, tramp or sherlff's officer, mol egeh apoor relation, or an Irish butler, CT { heathan Chinee. Not at all. The object oi l Polly's wrath was parsonage lifted up, as il would seem, by virtue of his position, above human rules, myth, an unknown entity-nc other, in fact, that the little god Cupid himself He and his machinotions had of late wrought changes-woful ones, Polly thought--in the constitution of the Patten family; and to her | imagination represented all mannerof discom. fort and discontinue, the alteration of plans, the bliht of hopes-innovations and cross. purposes without end She felt toward him good, honest, hearty hostility, as one may toward an opponent of flesh and blood, as she sat in her bedroom, inveighing upon the sub. ject to her special friend Susan Gilmore, who was perched beside her on the broad window sill
 "Oh, it's all very we'll to laugh" she went on; but just wait till you try it yourself. All last year was given up, you know, to marry ing Helen. Her trousseau, and her presents, and her furnishing nothing else was thought of 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 finding woman and 8 sewing machine at his back. We never even pretended to hear ourselves speak. We'll, just as it was all over, and Helen con- fortably of our minds, Lizzie must needs set upa lover and long engagement-John Shaw, too, of all persons! Now may be dull, but in the name of common sense why John Shaw, of all men in the world ?"
 ''Lizzie knows, presume"
 "Well, perhaps she does still, it ia provok- oE 1os~ 1,%o Tal1. looks in tor half an hour on his way down town. He and Lizzie absorb the parlor, of course. That is all right, no doubt; but, as it happens, that particular half hour is precisely the one which 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 puts me out dreadfully. I sit and twirl my thumbs, and scold to mother and she never will agree with me. Lovers are privi- leged,' she says" .a as ..
 ''Of course they are. Don't be aspoil-sport, Polly It's their turn now. Yours will come."
 Never! But there's more behlud. What do you say to Eunice'sin dulging in an engage ment tool"
 'No really ?"
 "Very really, indeed. John Norman is the happy man this time. Two Johns, you ob- serve, by way of making the confusion greater. So they sit in the dining room every evening, while Lizzie and her John occupy the par lor."
 And where do the rest of you sit? p
 ''Echo answers. We sit wherever we may. Mother takes her mending- basket up stairs, and has student-lamp on the round table in the upper entry. Papa shuts himself up in that dreadful little close den of his, or goes to the office. observe that he has business there of evenings much oftener than formerly -becanse there is no comfortable place for him at home, no doubt. Jlm makes point of being out, As for Amy and me, we sit on any other odd corner which nobody 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 Pollys own phrase, had once likened to the beautiful Evelyn Hopes, for the true "geranium red"
 ''If all this wasn't enough" she went on presently, with half giggle, half sob, ''here is a letter come today from Fanny Allen our cousin, you know-and she IS engaged too ; and she proposes to make us a visit, and her young man means to drop along, forsooth, while she is here. Now where are they to sit? can't imagine, unless they take the air-chamber of the furnace. The front steps are quite too cold at this time of the year Or might have the trunk room cleared out for them l hadn't thought of that be- fore"
 Polly, you are ridiculous Your cousin will manage all that for herself-see if she doesn't. They will take walks, or some- thing"
 ''Oh, if they would! If the whole lot of them would take walks, and keep on walking and never walk this way, how comfortable it would be! Sue, you are aboninably tolerant about such matters That miserable Cupid wish could hold his wings in the candle and burn them off. He never flies but to do mischief some where. How peaceful and hap py we all were together before this sort of thing began"
 'Take care: he will hear you, and he's a revengeful creature. beliving him to be the original :ittle pitcher with long ears,' /" laugh cd Susan.
 T don't care if he does hear me-" asserted Polly, de6antly
 Has Cupid ears? Certain it is that matters grew worse rather than better for Polly from that day forward Fanny Allen came, and in due time her lover, according to programme, and with the latter cousin, MT. Othniel Oli- uhant a successful merchant, just home from China for brief visit. His return was not
 
 was on the look. out for wife; and with the prompt decision of mercantile man, he elect ed Polly Patten for that position on two days acquaintance. A firm believer in the faith that faint heart never won fair lady," and nothing venture, nothing have, he offer ed himself at the end of the week, and quite undiscouraged by Polly's dismayed mo-" sat resolutely down and traced his parallels, re- solved to gain by siege what he had failed to win at coup by assault. This complication Set the seal to Polly's discontents
 ''For just imagine what state of things it makes" she told her confdant Sue s'There they sit-the three sets of ninnies -one in the parlor, one in the dining room. one in the sden, from which poor papa is turned out bag and baggage and there is that abominable Ol Ol (never did man have such suitable initials) looming like doom or 8 thunderstorm all day long, determined to get me by myself, and cultivate my acquaintance.' How can he make me care for him, he says. if he never has the chance to see me alone? As if wanted to see him or care for him either It is the most embarrassing, abominable condition of affairs. 1 seriously mediate running away to teach school-or something. Home is growing un- bearable."
 "Why do you dislike Mir. Oliphant so much He seems to me very pleasant" ..l'".
 JAW ] declare she is blushing. Are you turning trai tor too?'' '- .e''' t7"
 ''No: in the least-I don't know what you mean, that is. What wanted to tell you was that we're going to have a. young man of our own also. My brother Jack is coming. home next week .'- ."'IIow coherentl declare, Sue you make me suspect something. Jack? He's the one who's been so long in Germany. Well, Ihope you'll enjoy him ; but pray keep him to your selves- I've had enough of young men, Johns especially Fnever want to see one again as long as | Hve-I thsnk. Gracious there's that tiresome O. O. strollng up and down in hopes of catching me as I come out I declare it is unendurable. Goodbye, Sue. Pm going home by the back door, If you don't mind. i" And catching up her bonnet Polly vanished, while Susan Gilmore, with guilty look in her eyes, and pair of red, red cheeks, tied hers on, and issuing sedatcly from the front door, encountered Mir. Oliphant, and presently, un- der his escort, walked up the street. After al /" she thought to herself. eff Polly can't like