Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1880-04-06
o,.rovors> with Cupid.


never had a moments peace since be
took possession of the house," declared
Polly Patten, with stamp of her foot
The "hen referred to was not, as might
be supposed, tramp or sheriff g Of
ficer, not even poor relation, or an
Irish butler, or q heather Chinee. Not
at all. The object of Polly's wrath was
personoge ifted up. as it would seem,
by virtue of bis position, above human
criticism as above human rules, myth
an unknown entity-no other, in fact
than the little god cupid himself. BE
and his machination had oflate wrought
changes-woful ones, Polly thought-in
the constitution of the Patten family
and to her imagination represented all
1 manner of discomfort and discontinue,
the Alteration of plans. the blight of
lhopes-innovation and cross purposes
without end. She felt toward him a
good, honest, hearty hostility. as one
may toward an opponent of flesh and
blood. de she satin. her bed room, in
Weighing upon tie subject to her special
ffie{d Susan qjI5ho1&, who; was perched
36e,i6& e ~ ON Il 6fbhd Htndow-sill.
ss66, IT'S a}f very to ladgh," she
went on "but just wait till you try it
yourself Ailfast year was given up,
you know, to marrying Helen. Her
trousseau, and her presents, and her fur
lnishing- 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. No
body could turn round without finding
woman and sewing machine at his
back. We never even pretended to hear
ourselves speak. Well, just as 1t was all
over, and Helen comfortably off our
minds. Lizzie must needs set up lover
and a long engagement. John Shaw,
too, of all persons! Now 1 may be dull,
but in the name of common sense why
John Shaw. of all men in the world?"
"Lizzie knows. I presume"
"Well. perhaps che does; still, it is
provoking Every morning of his life
John Shaw looks in for half an hour on
his way down town. He and Lizzie
absorb the parlor, of course. That is all
right, no doubt; hut, as 1t 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
dreadfulIy. I sit and twirl my thumbs,
and scold to mother. and she never will
agree with nae. Lovers are privileged,
she says'
"Of course they are. Don't bea spoil
sport, Polly. It's their turn now. Yours
will come" a. e
"Never! But there's more behind
What do you say to Eunice's indulging
in an engagement too?"
mot really?"
"Very 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."
"And where do the rest of you sit?"
"Echo answers. We sit wherever we
may. Mother takes her mending bask-
ct upstairs, and has student.lamp on
the round table in the upper entry. Pa
pa shuts himself up in that dreadful lit
tie close dem of his, or goes to the office.
I observe that he has business there of
evenings much oftener than formerly
| because 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 but
t3er,e@ pantry, or any other odd corner
which nobody else wants." Polly laugh
ed, but there were tears in her brown
eyes, and very mutinous look about
the pretty mouth, which John Norman,
while in process of ''sampling the fami
ly," to borrow Polly's own phrase. had
once likered to beautiful Evelyn Hopes,
of the true ''geranium red"
tAs if ali this wasn't enough" she
went ON presently with half giggle,
half sob, "here is letter come to-day
from Fanny Allen-our cousin, you
know-and she ia 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 sit? I can't imagine, unless
they take the air-chamber of the fur
mace. The front steps are quite too cold
at this time of the year. Or I might
have the trunk-room cleared ont for
them / hadn't thought of that before" "
"Polly, you are ridiculous. Your cou-
sin will manage that for herself-see il
she doesn't. They will take walks, or
something"
"On. if they only would Ifthe 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
matters. That miserable cupid! | wish
/ could hold his wings in the candle and
burn them off. He never fiies in but to
do mischief somewhere How peaceful
and happy we all were together before
this sort of thing began ~
"Take care he will hear you, and he
is a. revengeful creature. believe him
to be the original little pitcher wi, h long
ears" laughed Susan.
II don't care If he does hear me-" as
serted Polly, defiantly.
| rf,y, i- hot
matters grew worse rather than better
for Polly from that day forward. Fanny
| Allen came, and in due time her lover,
according to programme, and with the
latter a cousin, Mr. Othniel Oliphant, a
successful merchant, just home from
! China for brief visit. His return was
not purely for business purposes. Mr.
Oliphant was on the look out for wife;
and with the prompt decision Of a mer
camille man, he elected Polly Patten fol
that position on two days. acquaint-
ance. A firm believer in the faith that
"faint heart never won fair lady" and
"nothing venture, nothing have" he Of
fered himself at the end of the week, and
quite undiscouraged by Polly's dismay-
ed mo-" sat resolutely down and ira ced
his parallels, resolved to gain by siege
what he had failed to win at coup by
assault. This complication set the seal
to Poi]y's discontents.
"For just imagine what a state OF
things it makes" she told her conf
dante. Sue ''There they sit--the three
sets Of ninnies-one in the parlor, one ir
the dining room, one in the 'den,' from
which poor papa is turned out bag and
baggage; and there is that abominablt
O!O! (never did man have such suita-
BILE initials) looming like doom or {
thunderstorm all day long, determined
to get me by myself, and cultivate nay
acquaintance How can he make M,
care for him, he says, if he never has
the chance to see me alone? 1t is the
most embarrassing, abominable condi-
ton of affairs seriously mediate run
ming away to teach school-or some
thing. Home is growing unbearable. ,
"Why do you dislike Mr.. Oliphant sc
much? He seems to me very pleasant
"Sue! When he leases the life out o
me! declare she is blushing. Are yol
turning traitor too?"
mot in the least-I don't know wha
you mean, that is. What l wanted t.
tell you was that we're going to have
vOunp man Of our own also NV broth