Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-06-20
A CONTROVERSY WITH CUPID

"Little wretch 1 hate him. We've
never had a moments peace since he took
possession Of the house," declared Polly
Patten, with stamp of her foot.
The he referred to was not, as might
be supposed, tramp or sheriff's Off
Ger, not even poor relation, or an Irish
butler or heather Chinee. Not at all.
The object Of Po,ly's wrath was person
age lifted up, as it would seem, by virtue
of his position, above human criticism as
above human rules, myth, an unknown
entity-nO otheI, in fact, than the little
god, cupid himself. He and his machina-
lions had Of late wrought changes-wo-
full ones, Polly thought-in the constitu-
ton of the Patten family; anu to her i'm
agination 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 a good, honest, hearty
hostility, as one may toward an oppo-
nent Of flesh and blood, as she sat in her
bed room inveighing upon the subject to
her special friend Susan Gilmore, who
was perched beside her on the broad win
dow sill
ooh, 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 rousseau
and her presents, and her furnishing
nothing else was thought of or spoken of
for twelve months. The house was choked
with her things. We all worked our fng-
ers to the bone. Nobody could turn
round without finding a woman and a
sewing machine at his back. We never
even pretended to hear ourselves speak.
Well, just as 1t was all over, aud Helen
comfortably off our minds, Lizzie must
needs set up a 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
world?"
"Lizzie knows, l presume"
well, perhaps she does; still, it is
provoking. Every morning of his life
John Shaw looks In for halt an hour on
his way down town. He and Lizzie alb
serb the parloy, 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 dread
fully. I sit and twirl my thumbs, and
scold to mother, and she never will agree
with me. Lovers are privileged she
says"
cot course they are. Don't be spoil
sport, Polly. It's their turn now. Yours
will come"
"Never But there's more behind.
What do you say to Eunice's indulging
in an engagement too?"
"Not reallyr'
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?"
echo answers. We sit wherever we
may. Mother takes her mending- basket
upstairs, and has 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 buffers
pantery, or any, other 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
"sampling the family" to borrow Polly's
own phrase, had once likened to beauti-
full Evelyn hopes, "of the true geranium
red"
'As If all this wasn't enough" she
went on presently with half giggle,
half sob, "here is letter come today
from Fanny Allen-our cousin, you
know-and 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 wi ere are
they to sit? 1 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 i might have the
trunk-room cleared out for them; l hadn't
thought of that BEFORE"
"Polly, you are ridiculous. Your cou-
sin will manage that for hersel-see if
she doesn't. They will take walks, or
something"
"Oh, if they only would! If the whole