The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1881-01-06


cousin found himself noticing how
very shapelv pair it was thus folded.
Then aStonished at himself he wrenehed
his mind back to the subject that was
to bring him the desired information
d" Helen Bartlett" Miss Comfort was
saving in a clear. even tone, 'an' she's
very fond of old-fashioned things; be-
cause l s'pose she don't have to live
'mongst 'em, but has home chock full
of everything that money can buy.
Well. she was up in York State last
summer. in a little country place that
she took a notion to-Hallett's Sta
tom
The gray-bearded man started sud
denly at hearing the familiar name.
&" was born there" he said, with
sparkling eyes, land grandfather and
grandmother old place stood till 1
moved ont West. Did your niece say
anything about the look of things gen
erallyP I'm on my way there now;
haven't seen it for ten years. Do go on
and tell me all about it"
Miss Comfort didn't seem to think it
necessary to inform him that she was
stopping for his own convenience, but
taking up the thread of her narrative,
commenced again.
d" An my niece is always a-lookin'
out for antiques as she calls 'em. An
well, must tell you, she found the
folks she boarded with, John Beebe s
family, quite ready for bargain. In
t-they-they'' Miss Comfort sent up
one swift glance into the eager, ques-
tioning eyeS-then blurted out, 4" they
grabbed at a trade, an SO Helen made
itr'
The eager, questioning eyes returned
the look; then the parsons cousin
said honestly: 81 know it, Johns bad
enough for the dollars; but his wife
well there, she's tight as the bark of a
| tree, and no mistaken
"She made mistake there" OBJ
served Miss Comfort, drily, and with
unmistakable signs of contempt in
voice and look, when she sold that
gown-waist, an a few other things l
could mention. I've no patience with
| hertz
The gray-haired man turned look of
decided admiration on the indignant
| face that was before him-as if to say,
Here is a woman for your
"An' Helen came down to our house
on the way home," said Miss Comfort,
going on undisturbed by his steady
gaze; Z" an showed all her bargains; an
just like all other young things, she got
tired of some of 'em, an declared she
wouldn't carry EN- any further; so she
give me the gown-waist; an two days
ago ripped it up an sewed some bits
of it into that quilt over there; an this
mornin' / run over an give it to Miss
Beales. An that's every blessed scrap
l know about it allr'
Miss Comfort having finished her mar
rative had nothing better to do than to
lean back in her chair and be stared at.
You say" said the "parsons'
cousin, "when he had looked sufficient
ly long time to prevent his failing to
recognize her again when they met,
"that you disposed of some of the pieces
in this highlY-creditable way, as gift
to my respected relatives. Now, would
you object, marin, to my walking over
to your residence sometime-to-mOrrow
say-to get the remainder"
mot in the least" replied Miss Com
fort, coolly, feeling rather than seeing,
"Mrandys'' tishY eye, from the other
side of the room, widen at the pro-
tracted conversation. "You can have
every thread that's left. I'm sure 1
don't know who's better right. I'm
only sorry that any of it's CUT
Never mind; never mind" ex-
claimed John Beebe's brother" in
the most reassuring of tones. eff
'twasn't for you should have lost the
whole, and plunging gayly into an
interesting talk concerning the village
and the village news, for which he
didn't care two straws, he soon had
Miss Henderson in a perfect stream of
conversation that lasted till Parson
Beales raped on the table for conclud-
ing prayers.
Before the company stopped gossip
ing to put their heads decorously down,
however, Mr.. Beebe with admirable
forethought, secured Miss Comforts
company on the way home from the
society.
You'll have to let me-" he whis-
pered, under cover of the parsons first
words, "to show me the way. How
else can come for my grandmother's
wedding gownn'
In some way best known to them
selves, it took some time for the two
preservers of the Beebe ancestral treas
ures to select them out and put them up
in the proper state for transportation.
In the first place, Miss Comfort had to
pick out all the stitches, which on ac-
count of her jealous hurry over the fin
ishing of the quilt, had been thought
not worth care. Then Mr.. Beebe
must watch with painstaking precision,
each little bit and notch to be sure that
it 1OdS his grandmother wedding
gown! The whole of this, interspersed
and interlarded by so many anecdotes
told on both sides, of heir looms in gen
eral, that the whole morning was found
to be pretty well consumed when the
call at last came to ali end.
And then. on the next day the "par-
sons cousin" had to come over to apol-
ogize for it; the enormity of the breach
of etiquette, seeming to gave just come
to him! And on Miss Comforts assur-
ing him she didn't consider it worth
feeling badly over, he came over the
third day without the faintest shadow of
an apology at all!
Until it got to be quite settled thing,
and matters drifted along with them,
just exactly as if they were two young
things, instead of on the sober, shady
side of forty! And Mr.. Beebe wisely
concluded he would defer his visit to
"Brother Johns" and the old place,
until he could take somebody with him
to supply comfort, amid the devastation
of the antiquesr'
Miss Comfort Rugged up the ample
revenge she now enjoyed over 50 Mirandy
Peck and fairly reveled over it, invit-
ing her to the wedding. and otherwise