The Princeton union., 1880-06-24

Little folks marching like stalwart men,
Muster before us princely sight: Z
Ganialons floating and flags outspread,
Lily bells ringing and censers swung,
Bonnetted, plumed, and with slippered tread.
The sweetest cavalcade ever sung!
What is their mission? Which of us knows.
Save that they bless us, and pass aWay.
Destined to scatter the seed that grows
And blooms in battalions here today?
-- Nary B. DODGE. IN Wide-A aoake.
a ACoNPKOVERsY WITHCUPID.
Little wretch! I hate him. We've
never had q moments peace since he took
possession Of the house, declared Polly
Patten, with a stamp Of her foot.
The ne referred to was not, as might
be supposed, a tramp or sherif,s Off
Ger, not even poor relation, or an irish
butler OF heather Chinee. Not at all.
The object of Polly's wrath was a person
age aee lifted h up, as it would seem, by virtue
OF his position, above human criticism as
above human rules, myth, an unknown
entlty-no other, in fact, than the little
god, cupid himself. He and his machina-
tons had Of late wrought changes -wo-
ful ones, Polly thought in the constitu-
ton OF the Patten family; and to her i'm
aglnatlon represented all manner of dis
comfort and discontinue, the alteration of
plans, the blight of hopes innovations
and cross purposes without end. She
felt toward him good, honest, hearty
hostility, as one may toward an oppo-
nent ofihesh and blood, as. she sat in her
bed room inyeighing upon the subject to
her special friend Susan Gilmore, who
was perched beside her on the broad win
dow sill.
"Oh, it's all very we'll 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
Tor twelve months. The house was choked
with her things. We all worked our ting-
ers to. the bone. Nobody could turn
round without finding woman and o
sewing machine at his back. We never
even pretended to hear ourselves speak.
Well, just as it was all over, aud Helen
comfortably off our minds, Lizzie must
needs set up lover and long engage
ment, John Shaw, too, of all persons! /
may be dull, but IN the name of common
sense why John Shaw, of all men in the
Worlds'7
Lizzie knows, i presume.''
Vel, perhaps she does; still, it is
proved kiahs Every morning Of his life
John Shaw looks in for halt an hour on
his way down town. He and Lizzie abb
sorb the parlor, Of course. That is all
right, no doubt. but, 1t happens, that
partic icular 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 dread
fully. sit and twirl my thumbs, and
scold to mother, and she never will agree
with me. Lovers are privileged , she
says"
s'Ot course they are. Don't be spoil
sport, Polly. It's their turn now. Yours
will come.n
# "Neyeri But there's more behind.
What do you say to Eunlce's indulging
in an engagement too?"
'ssNot reallylp
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 din
ing room every evening, while Lizzie
and her John occupy the parlor."
Where do the rest of YOU sit?n
"Echo answers. We sit wherever we
may. Mother takes her mending- basket
upstairs, and has a student-lamp on the
round table in the upper entry. Papa
shuts himself up in that dreadful little
close den Of. his, or goes to the Office.
l observe that he has business there of
evenings much oftener than formerly-be
cause there is no comfortable place for
him at home, no doubt Jim makes a
point Of being out. AS for Amy and me.
we sit on the back stairs, or in the butler's
panters, Or anyiother odd corner which
nobody else wants. Polly laughed, but
there were tears in her eyes, and a very
mutinous look about the pretty mouth,
which John Norman, while in process of
ssampGng the family" to borrow Polly's
own phrase, had once likened to beauti-
full Evelyn hopes, "of the true geranium
-ed.'
ssAs If all this wasn't enough she
went on presently with halt giggle,
half sob, "here is letter come to-day
from Fanny Allen our cousin, YOU
knowand she is engaged too; and She
proposes to make. us visit, and her
young man means to drop along, for
sooth, while she is here. Now where are
they to sit2 ! can't imagine, unless they
take the air-chamber Of the furnace.
The front steps are quite too cold at this
time of the year. Or / might have the
trunk-room cleared out for them I hadn't
thought of that before 2
Polly, you are ridiculous. Your cou-
sin will manage that for herself see if
she doesn't. They will take walks, or
something. =
s.Oh, if they only would If tAe whole
lot Of them would take walks, and keep
on walking, and never walk this way,
how comfortable it would be! Sue, you
are abominably tolerant about such mat
tiers. That miserable Cupid I wish I
could hold his wings in the candle and
burn them Of. he never flies in but to
do mischief somewhere. How peaceful
and happy we all were together before
this sort Of thing began 70
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