Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-12-10
BETSEY'S BONNET.

"WELL, Uncle Abel, now you are off
for home, l suppose; trading all done,
crops all bargained for, ehP" and John
Dare lifted his hat and pushed back his
thick hair as he stood on the hotel steps
talking to plain, ,ecountry farmer in a
suit of homespun gray. Y"
"Wa'al, no, not quite yet, John. l
want to get Betsey bunnit; real nice
one; just as good as Yorker might want.
Cause Betsey's worked awful hard this
spring. Times are good, too. So guess
well see if my Betsey shan't look as
good as anybody. S'pose you don't
want to go along with me, do youP"
&c Let me see--four o'clock-yes, I'll
go, Uncle Abel. III look at the pretty
girls, though; you won't mind that.
Come on"
So they walked up the street, the
fashionable attire of the young lawyer
contrasting strongly with the antiquated
cut of the farmers garments, which at
home were wont to lie in solemn state in
the spare room all the week, only to be
worn on Sunday with becoming careful
ness. There was little likeness in the
face-a trifle too fair for manly beauty,
with its blond mustache and setting Of
close brown curls-to the bronzed and
beardless one, with the few locks, spare
and gray, beneath the well-brushed hat;
but the blue eyes were the same in both,
and like those that were closed forever
under the sod in the apple orchard on
Uncle Abel's farm, where his dead sis
ter was laid when Johnny was tiny
child. 1t troubled John not whit to
be seen with the plain countryman; in
spite of his perfumed hair and we'll
gloved hand, his heart was as true as
steel to the good friend of his boyhood,
and the inquiring glance of his compan-
ions gave him no annoyance whatever.
They reached Madam Rozette's at
last, and John lounged inothe doorway
and straightway engaged in the lauda-
BILE employment of finding out the pref
test face of the girls in attendance.
Josie Molliet, radiant with smiles, and
l think little artificial bloom, came for
ward with the most bewitching glances
to wait upon the farmer who brought so
attractive a person with him and fancy
ing that she would show her superior
quality by so doing, made up her mind
to quiz Uncle Abel numerically. Poor
old man! He never was so miserable
in all his life. In Hoptown he would
have made no trouble whatever. Miss
Crabtree, in her plain dress and cap
with lavender ribbons, would have told
him at once what to get; and her little
gray eyes would not have confused him
in the least.
But here was fine lady, with a great
circumference of black silk trailing out
along the carpet, a waist no bigger than
awasp, head on which the hair seemed
struggling in crimps and curls to get
away from the shining bands strapped
tightly around it, and o pair of great
black eyes looking straight at him, while
the damsel held up one style after an
other, or tied them on coquettishly, but
derived no help from him.
I" Now, young woman, show me some
of your best bonnets-real good ones.
None of your poor, old-fashioned things
for my wife,
Having said this, Uncle Abel felt that
he had stated the case clearly and should
have no more trouble.
Miss Josie sailed about, and returned
with white chip gypsy, trimmed with
blue, a shirred green satin with a red
rose on it, and q gray straw, trimmed
with scarlet poppies.
"Now, that win be just what you
want, am sure; only twenty-five dol
lars, too-so cheap and 80 becoming. -
Uncle Abel confessed afterward that
he felt quite confounded at the price,
but he did not mean to let that Frenchi-
fed girl know it, so he only said, "Oh,
that's the style, ehP 1t amt a bit like
Betsey's old one, though. {"
"Oh, no, sir; the fashion has changed
entirely. Now the gypsy is the newest
thing out, and your wife would set the
fashion, don't doubt"