The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-05-13

did II Tor uTOleTls Dut AZ AiShI AiO IL
turned, sans dog, gun and watch and
accompanied by boy who led spotted
two-ycar-old heifer-a little beauty, not
withstandng she was as lean Is hound.
| named her Calico on the spot. The
next spring she gave milk, and to this
day Calico is one of my Staunchest
friends and allies. l accused Jerry OF
having Swindlcd somebody dreadfully IN
that trade. He called me his second
conscience and told me "quiet right
down. for it was all perfectly straight
and honest.
Il traded" said he, with old Tony
Wallace. He had four head of young
cattle and scant fodder for three, so,
YOU see. the heifer or one of her COM
panionS must have starved before spring.
lie was keen to trade; said the dog and
Gun would help him to his winter 5
meat and the watch would stand the
old woman and himself three months
credit at Jupp's grocery for tea and to-
bacco. Then. too, if YOU must know it,
/ gave him three dollars in money
more than he has had at one time IN
many long day
We moved into our new dwelling
when it was little more than half COM
pleted. The work stopped when the
funds ran low, for jerome would not con-
tract a heavy debt to the builder. We
were not alone in occupying an I'M
finished domicile. 1t would have mat
tered little to us if we had been. We
passed under our implanted Intel and
proceeded to arrange our few things
with hearts as light as birds at nest-mak-
inc. | took my little school into the
parlor, and managed to teach it faith
fully, and do my Homework out OF
hours. More than this, took bOarder.
took him one day in Jerome's absence,
and | am firmly of the opinion that
/ if our lives had not been controlled by
principle rather than impulse, we would
have Quarreled seriously over that.
"What did you do it for?" asked DR..
+ jerome, with volume of discomfort in
his voice.
=" For the money" replied. -Four
/ dollars Il wcckn'
=. Mercenary womanr' he exclaimed
"To sacrifice the sacred privacy Of om
table and fireside for the paltry sum o.
four dollars Il week.
Mr.. Lemuel Robertson, our boarder
was a short, rather stout man Of abou
forty-fve. | should say. though he car
ried himself with the slow grave dignity
of a much older man. He had one o
the very kindeSt of faces, which, whcr
YOU talked to him, had a way Of express
inc evevv degree of interest by looks o
interrogation and exclamation. His ian
ouage. which was always ScrupulOuSl1
Grammatical and well chosen, was ais,
most carefully pointed and emphasized
He had not been in the house three day
before jerome gave him-behind hi
back. of cOurse-the sobriquet OF - Pro
fessor of PragmaticS,n and before TIT
end of the week he had the audacity t
call him " Professor to his face. tn,
innocent creature looked flattered, an,
remarked, in his stilted phraseology
that he had never been Il member OF an,
faculty, but had frequently, in the cours
of his life, been mistaken for such DIG
nitary.
1t was impossible to find out mucl
about Mr. Robertson. When he apple,
to me for board and lodging he Informed
me that he was a bachelor and obliget
to find home wherever he could; tina
he had thoughts of becoming a perma
nent resident Of Crummelsville, and
..Much. YOU know, madam, depend
r upon mans first anchorage in a place
The doctor, madam, the foremost doc
tor in the town, is person of position
and influence, and l would very niue
like to be able to say have my home a
DR.. Chilcote's."
| never told Jerome this; it woul
have made him spiteful.
| assigned my boarder a chamber in
, nocent Of plaster, with coat of prett
r paper tackled over the laths. His lug
rage came-three heavy trunks
, carried up. The trunks contained books
tools. and some odd-looking pieces {
ioinerv. His clothes We're few and Yer
= threadbare. But he paid me four do
f lars every Saturday. He was very IN
, obtrusive. keeping his room for the NO,
r part when about the house, and spenC
4 inc many whole days away, rambling i
the woods aud tramping up and dow
- the numerous rapid little streams tbs
thread this part of the country. He a
ways carried gun on these tramps, bl
never brought home any game. He W.
< very neat in all his habits and adelicat
q and faStidious eater. | soon grew
> like him, and jerome certainly did NJ
- hate him. after he discovered that the
/ had one taste in common.
D Both were afflicted with what Mi,
5 Bremen. in "THc Neighbours" calls
e "carpentering mania" Mr.. Robertso
. had a tool-bOx; so had my husband
r During those idle months immediatel
. succeeding our marriage Jerome Ia
t figured out an invention-an improve
t invalid bed-and since he had CON
5 West he had obtained letters pater
upon it. He had never realized dolls
out of it and never expected to; neve
# theless, it was sort of pet with hin
Some remark at the table, one da.
e turned the conversation upon what hal
n pened to be the hobby of both-mechal
e les. After dinner jerome got out h
little model and the Professor toe
i ii upon his knees as if it had been bah,
I A LONG. low talk followed, and much c.
,. ressive handling. After that, when Je
:, ~ had an hour or two of leisure, Il
/ two would 90 into the woodshed togetI
p er and tinker" Many were the pref
brackets, frames. etc, of which | W;
j. made the pleased possessor by this harm
n less amusement.
4 few weeks passed and we had ju
e become used to our new situation, wht
st thunderbolt fell in the shape of lett
d from a connection of Jeromes famil
, threatening us with visit Of week
If This person was none other than Mi
n Irene Grimes.