Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1880-09-10

be glad when your uncle and aunt are back
in their own home again. They are GER
tain to be particular, and I am afraid you
will find it difficult to amuse them whole
week."
sBut expect you to help me, Edward,
| am SO anxious that they should like you
and do hope you will humor all their lit
tie notions. I should die if uncle Rock
well took dislike to you.''
81 hope the case would not be quite SO
serious as that. Lily H
'sWell it would be terrible grief to me.
Apart from having a proper pride in your
standing as well as with my only relatives
as Bells husband does, I want to be re-
membered in Uncle's will. What morti-
fication it would be to me, if he left her all
and me nothing! I'm not mercenary bit,
but 1 would like to be a little better off.
Edward, do try to please them. You can
1 be such an angel when you choose. y s'
Edward laughed at his little wife'sI fiat
terry. and rising from the table, went into
the-cosy parlor adjoining the dining room,
where he threw himself into an easy chair,
and TOOK up late magazine. Buthe fail
ed for some reason to turn its pages, and,
when Lily came in. ten minutes later, she
found him deep in thought.
care you planning how you will amuse
the Rockwells, Edward?" she asked, kiss
ing his upturned brow affectionately, as
she bent over his chair. q.e
eyes, he answered, with a peculiar
smile. 81 wonder how you guessed Az
81 don't know. Pm sure-intuition, I
suppose. Thought at first, that you were
Matching some mischief, you looked SO
pleased with YOURSELF
He made no response to this remark, and
she did not SEQ his eyes twinkle with sup
pressed merriment. And little did she
imagine what a true guess she had made,
had determined upon.
81 hope aunt Rockwell won't bring her
big Saratogas," said Lily, after short
silence during which her brain had been
busy with the arrangements of the spare
chamber. "You never saw such trunks,
Edward ! They are as large as mountains,
and we could never find room for them in
the spare ROOM"
sHardly, if they are as large as noun
talns,'' said her husband.
Edward /! how you take up! One cam
talk by rule. All women exaggerate.
am not an exceptional case, I assure you. u
eff all women exaggerate, want you to
be an exception, Lily. Sometimes
though, despair of curing you of this
bad habit. think exaggeration leads to
a light regard for truth, and it is sure to
bring ridicule upon you, if nothing worse. >
"Well, I'll try to cure myself said
Lily, whose sweet temper was seldom
rufled by her husbands reproofs. -'sBut
there! must run down into the kitchen
and tell Hannah about the biscuits fol
as green as grass-she must have put al
least quart of soda in them.''
And away ran Lilly, too intent on the
cooks delinquencies to notice the look Of
resignation and utter despair on her hus
bands face.
/ L
wells, who were very sensible old people
with apparently no desire to make a. dis
play of their wealth. One trunk contain
ed all in the way Of clothing they had con.
sidered necessary for weeks stay with
their gland-niece. They were very affec-
tionate in manner toward Lily, and lis
tened kindly to her praise of Edward
whom they had never met.
Tea time came; but to Lily's surprise
and modification, her husband did moi
grace the meal with his presence. She
made dozen excuses for him, thinking as
she did so, however, that no matter how
brisk his business at the store, he might
have come this evening of all others. The
meal was half through, when a note ar
rived from him, saying that be could moi
leave the store until nine O'Clock, owing te
the necessity of filing late order, which
could, on no account, be left to the clerks
Lilys read The note aloud to her uncle
and aunt, hoping they would not think any
disrespect had been intended them by Ed
: ward, but very anxious as to his chances
of pleasing them.
When Mr.. Reese entered his parlor al
nine O'Clock, it was we'll filled with guests
who had been invited to do honor to- tn,
arrival of the rich relatives Of the young
hostess, whose eyes beamed with satisfac
ton as she saw her handsome young hus
band.
AS soon as she could reach his side. sh.
took him by the arm and triumphantly lee
him to where her uncle and aunt sat at ont
end of the room, feeling sure, as she ap
preached them, that they must mark Ed
wards superiority to Bellies husband
James Maynard.
''Aunt, uncle, my husband, y she said
proudly, as the old people looked up.
'.Never, in all my life," said Edward
bowling low, ''have been so glad to see
any one as am to see you, Mr.. Rockwell
and as for Mrs. Rockwell, words cannot
express how have pinned to meet her. My
wife has told me oceans about you both
and nearly tainted when you wrote thai
you were afraid you could not visit us this
winter. am sorry that 1 could not be al
home to tea, but there were millions Of
things at the store to attend to: fifty
thousand people running in on business Of
every sort, and I could have murdered
them all for keeping me at my desk so late
My head felt as big as a mountain, and
thought my arm would drop from the
socket, it ached so with writing"
Lily's face was study az she listened tt
her husbands words, and a chill of horror