The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-09-23
The German Countess.

ONE thing which caused me much
perplexity was the effort l was con-
stantly making to reconcile the de facto
German Countess with that naughty
creature who, wearing coronet of dia-
mOnds on her lofty brow, trails her
velvet robes through her ancestral halls =
on the stage and in Marlitt' towels.
The ancestral halls are certainly there,
and the coronet, in some form or other,
is omnipresent. One sees it carved
upon the furniture, engraved upon the
plate, embroidered upon every con-
ceivable article from a handkerchief to
a dust-cloth, embossed upon every but
ton of every male servant livery, and
branded eonspicuously upon the wood
en- shovels aud buckets in use about the
place. l should not have been sur
prised to see it in repousse upon the
shells of the. eggs served at supper.
In short, it is everywhere except upon
the place it was originally intended to
adorn, where it appears only on oeca-
sioDs of state. To-
But the German Countess, according
to nv observation, is>aplain. domestic
creature, who trots brisSly about dur
ing the forenoon hours, attired in q
simple short dress, with big apron and
snowy cap, heavy key-basket jingting
in her hand. She arranges TO the MI
nutest detail the meals Of the family,
the servants of the house, and the
IaboreFs, p in the court, all OF whom
receive a separate bill of fare. Every
article required in the preparation
of these meals, even TO the salt,
is carefully weighed out. Each
servant has so much sugar. tea and cof--
fee per week, which he can consume. at
his pleasure. That this alone is labo-
rious task every hOusekeeDer will adj
NIT At dinner the countess appears
freshly, but still simply, dressed.
After dinner she is seen with knitting
in hand, orlangreat basket of mending
by her side, working with as much as
siduity as any American housewife,
hardly allowing. herself as much time.
for reading or recreation Each nap
kin, towel. etc., is held up against the.
light, and .rigidly inspected; each thin.
place, even. In the coarsest crash towel
for kitchan use, is carefully harmed. [
was much amused, at one place
where l visited, to see the daughter
of the house, fresh from board
ing-schools going through this process.
with great basket of linen, under the
supervision of her mother. remarked,
rather inthe way of self-congntulation,
thai in, America we made. ourselves less
trouble.
"Whatp' exclaimed tae lady. "You
do not mend your linenn'
ssNot the kitchen towels, al all
eFents,'' 1 ventured to. answer.
sOh, Frau S-r' exclaimed the
young girl, with melsdramaGc feryor.
Take me to America with youI A
land where one need not darn the
kitchen towels must be heaFenlyr'-
atlantic Monthly.
a LEAP-YEAR PRIVILEGE
She laid her hand upon his arm, AMI gazsd up
and smiled a smile. full to the brin, Of witch
cry and graces
= The girls have al been teazing ne, Just aw-
- And every day they're asking nc when we
1 tell them they are cruel; but it seems they
won't refrain-t rrlL5s.-.f
80 -''s wy 's''>''' -Sosserrae Jostr7di
He looked her fully IN the eye. then tanred his
The question Z took him unawares, aias. what
For though he liked to fiirt with hs, and praise
Within his heart another reigned.a far more
And as to cut the subject short, sddhe, ~dear,
You can say that / have asked you, and you
thought best to REFUSED" i.