Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-03-19
A CONTROVERSY WITH CUPID.

Little wretchl 1 hate him. We
have never had a moments peace since
he took possession of this house." de-
clared Polly Patten, with stamp of
her foot.
The "be' referred to was not, as
might be supposed, a tramp or a
sherif7s officer, no. even a poor rela-
ton, or an Irish butler, or heather
Chinee. Not at ALL The object of
Polly's wrath was a 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 Vaccinations had of late wrought
changes-woful ones, Polly thought-in
the constitution of the Patten family;
and to her imagination represented all
manner of discomfort and discontinue,
the alteration of plans, the blight Of
hopes-innovations and cross-purposes
without end. She felt toward him a
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 special
friend Susan Gilmore, who was perched
beside her on the broad window-sill.
"Oh, it's all very well to laugh she
went on; " but just wait till you try it
yourself All last year was given up,
you know, to marrying 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 find
ing woman and sewing-machine at
her back. We never even pretended to
hear ourselves speak. Well, Just as it
was all over, and Helen comfortably off
our minds, Lizzie must needs set up a
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
worldP"
"Lizzie knows, l presume"
"Well, perhaps she does; still, il is
provoking. Every morning of his life
John Shaw looks in for half an hour on
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. sit and twirl my thumbs,
and scold to mother, and she never will
agree with me. Lovers are privileged
she says
"Of course they are. Don't be q
spoil-sport, Polly. It's their turn now.
Yours will come"
"Neverl But there's more behind.
What do you say to Eunice's indulging
in an engagement, toogh
"NOt really?"
every really indeed. John Norman
is the happy man this time. Two Johns,
you observe, by way of making the con,
fusion greater. So they sit in the dining
room every evening, while Lizzie and
her John occupy the parlor."
"And where do the rest of you sitP''
echo answers. We sit wherever we
may. Mother takes her mending.
basket up stairs, and has q student-lamI
on the round table in the upper entry
Papa shuts himself up in that dreadful
little close den of his, or goes to office
/ observe that he has business there o.
evenings much oftener than formerly
because there is no comfortable place
for him at home, no doubt. Jim makes
point of being out. AS for Amy anC
me, we sit on the back stairs, or in the
butler's pantry, or any other odd corner
which nobody else wants." Polly
laughed, but there were tears in hel
brown eyes, and very mutinous lool
about the pretty mouth, which JohI
Norman, while in process of samplinG
the family" to borrow Polly's owl
phrase, had once likened TO beautiful
Evelyn Hopes, of the true "geraniun
red.n
Gas if all this wasn't enough" sh,
went on presently, with half giggle
. half sob, " here is letter come TO-DAY
from Fanny Allen our cousin, yol
know-and she is engaged, too; and sh,
proposes to make us a 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, unles
they take the air-chamber of the furnace
The front steps are quite too cold a
this time of the year. Or l might hav
the trunk room cleared out for them;
hadn't thought of that before"
"Polly, you are ridiculous. You
cousin will manage all that for herself
see if she doesn't. They will take walks
or something"
"Oh, if they only would If th
whole lot of them would take walks
and keep on walking, and never wal
this way, how comfortable it would be
Sue, you are abominably tolerant abou
such matters. That miserable cupid
wish l could hold his wings in tn
'candle and burn them off. He neve
flies but to do mischief somewhere
How peaceful and happy we ALI wer
together before this sort of thin
beganp'
"Take care; he will hear you, an
he's a revengeful creature. l beliey
him to be the original little pitch(
with long ears" laughed Susan.
81 don't care if he does hear me,
asserted Polly, detiantly.
Has Cupid earsP Certain tits that ma
ters grew worse rather than better Il
Polly from that day forward. Fanny A
len came, and in due time her lover, a.
cording to programme, and with the la
terra cousin, Mr.. Othniel Oliphant, SUI
cessful merchant, just home from CHR