Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1881-02-03
Old Shoes in an Old Garret.

cli pllONo' Ollll ulNA A1lilbbN
all of them; many quite worn out. Th
last things in the world to make a 10
nance of; and yet, as / stand in TIN
old garret, looking at them, | find my
self thinkig about them; and it begal
in this way: l felt sure, so sure tina
that pretty pair of pink slippers, will
rOsettes on them, belonged to the lad.
whose portrait is in the parlOr. Fort,
years ago the picture was painted, foI
the date is on it, with the artist:
name.
She was Il belle then, eighteen Ol
twenty at the most; and these slippers
match the pink dress she wears.
think she wore it the night she went
TO the ball with her cousin Just from
Europe on visit. There are his
pumps, not far off He was tall and
slender, and had dark eyes; and Of
course they fell in love with each Other
as they danced; and they would have
been so happy if these square-tocd ties
in which an old gentleman-thc young
lady's father-OncC walked about, had
not interlered. And how unhappy
they were then,
But here are the soft, flat slippers OF
the maid, who went up and down the
house so quiety; and who, when she
dressed her young lady's hair in those
wonderful puils we see in the picture
below, sometimes had Il letter in her
pocket. And so nemight the coachman
there ARE his boots in the COrncr-I
think the dark-eyed cousin gave him u
new pair-droyc the coach, in the dead
of night, down to the old church in the
valley there, and another cousin there
are his clerical shoes, firmly bucElcd--
married the lovers, with the lldy's
maid and Il bridesmaid-thc little
thing who wore those number two
black satin shocs--fOr witnesses.
think the square-tOed ties forgavc them
very soon. the soft, mothcrly slippers
have settled down 50 costly beside
them; and believe that those shape
less, red kid baby shoes are the first
grandchild's.
Now, whose are these long, fiat boots I?
can imagine their owIcr IA cousin 81
las sleek, thin, constantly smiling, con-
stantly writhlng about in his politcness.
llattering his pretty cousin. represent
ing himself MS the best friend of all his
relatives and hating them all in secret,
while waiting. waiting for those great
easy shoes in the corner there. grand
| fathers shoes; for the old gentleman
was very rich indeed when he trottcd
about in those shoes yondcr.
But what do | see here? Trim kid
boots, always neatly laced in the fash
ion OF the day: heels worn evenly. toes
almost Unrdbbcd even new; the boots
Of Mrs. Checkers. grandfather's house
keeper-fal. rosy. black-harcd, and
forty-iiye. Cousin Silas waited in vain.
At eighty odd, grandfather's shoes
trottcl into church beside those of
Mrs. Checkers, and she outlived him, Il
rich widow. Those indefinite boots
belonged TO various poor relations, who
spent summers here, How they abus-
ed her. How they resolved that she
was designing creature, And whence
come these prlnella boots. edged with
fur? can see them lust below an
edge Of alpaca skirt They were
worn by the spinstcr. with Il little
money. whom Silas finally married.
In the rage for old furniture people
have carried away the spindle-i legged
tables. the tall narrow bureaus, the
queer cscIitOrcs, the spinning wheels,
and the rest Of the old garret: but the
shoes are left and fancy comes to me
that in the night, when the clock
strikes twelve, they may all 20 pattcr-
ing about the floor with ghostly feet in
thcm,playing their old roles over again,
loving and hating. fearing and hoping.
as they did of yorp.
no" a brakeman saved 0'S L'fe.
y brakeman on the New London
from death in thr FREIGHT ward in New