Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-11-27
TAKING BOARDERS.
independent

llnQepenQentI
SIT was a scandal" the neighbo1s
said. "that Miss Della should be obliged
to take boarders, after all she'd been
through; and heaven knows boarders do
not help body to work out her saliva
ton. And so much money In the fami-
~, too, taking it by small and large.
Wasn't her Uncle Eben, over at Dover,
well-to-do and not chick of his own to
care for, except the boy he had adopted,
who was no credit to him? It was odd,
now, that man with poor relations
should take to strangers, when his own
flesh and blood was needy; but some
times it did seem as if folks had more
feeling for others than their own kith
and kin. Then there were cousins in
the city, forehanded and fashionable,
who were never worth row of pins to
Della, and there was her great-uncle
Johns widow a-larking on the continent,
a-gaming at Baden-Baden, and trying
the waters of every mineral spring in
the three kingdoms, for no disease un-
der the sun but old age. She had been
known to say that her folks were too
rich already, and probably she would
endow some hospital with her property. :"
Plainly, wealthy relatives were of no
value to Della. To be sure she had
never seen her great aunt since she was
little child, when her uncle John had
brought her into their simple life for a
months visit, with her French maid and
dresses, her jewels and fallals, which
won the heart of her namesake. Since
then uncle Johns widow had become q
sort of a gilded creation, always young
and beautiful; for, though Della had re-
ceived little gifts from time to time
across the seas for the last fifteen years,
she had neither heard nor seen anything
of the being who had inspired her
youthful Imagination, and was quite I'M
certain if such person as Mrs. John
Rogerson was in the land Of the living.
Dead or alive, she seemed to have made
no material difference to Delia's hum
drum life. After having nursed her
father through long sickness, Della
found that he had left q heavy mortgage
on the homestead, and her mother and
herself on the high road to the poor
house, unless they should bestir them
selves. AS her mother was already bed
ridden, the stirring naturally fell upon
Della, and she advertised for summer
boarders:
''Good board in the country, at the
riverside, at seven dollars week. Large
chambers, broad piazzas, fine views,
berries and new milk. One mile from
the station. Address
DELLA ROBERTSON,
Croftsborough, Maine.
"Cheap enough" commented an ell
derby lady who happened upon it.
'tDelia Rogerson. An old maid, I sup
pose, Obliged to look out for herself.
I've a good mind to try her broad
piazzas and new milk. If don't like it,
there'l be no harm DONE
And so Delia's first boarder arrived
an old lady with false front hair, brown,
wrinkled skin, faded eyes. black al
paca gown and e hair trunk. Della
made her as welcome as if she had been
3 duchess; lighted wood fire in Mrs.
Clements room, as the night was damp,
and brought out her daintiest cup and
saucer, with the fadeless old roses
wreathing them. wonderfully kind, !"
reflected Mrs. Clement, as she combed
out her wisp of gray hair and confded
the false front to box. Wonderful
kindness for seven dollars week! She's
new to the trade. She'll learn better.
Human nature doesn't change with lati-
tudes. She'll find it doesn't pay to con-
slider the comfort of a poverty striker
old creature" But in spite of her
worldly wisdom, Mrs. Clement was
forced to confess that Della had begun
as she meant to hold out, though her
boarders came to demand her attention,
to multiply her cares. The fret and jar
Of conflicting temperaments under her
roof was new experience of Della.
When Mrs. Gresome complained of the
mosquitoes, with an air as If Miss Roger.
son were responsible for their creation;
Of the flies, as if they were new acquain-
tances; of want of appetite, as though
Della had agreed to furnish it along with
berries and new milk; of the weather, as
If she had pledged herself there would
be no sudden changes to annoy her
boarders; of the shabby house and an
tiQuated furniture, ''too old for comfort
and not old enough for fashion then
Della doubted if taking boarders was
her mission. "What makes you keep
us, my dear?" asked Mrs. Clement, after
day when everything and everybody
had seemed to go wrong. ''Why didn't
you ever marry? You had lover, !
dare say?"
eyes; long, long time ago."
'sTell me about hint"
'sThere isn't much to tell. He asked
me to marry him. He was going to
Australia. I couldn't leave father and
mother, you know, they were both SO
feeble, and he couldn't stay here. That
is ALL"
''And you"
'Now, all men besides are to me like
shadows"
Sand have you never heard of him
since?"
"Yes. He wrote; but where was the
use? 1t could never come to anything.
1t was better for him to forget me and
marry. I was milestone about his
neck. did not answer his letter."
"And supposing he should return
some day, would you marry him?"
ST dare say" laughed Della, gently,
as # the idea were familiar to her. "Let
the neighbors laugh ever so wisely; I've
thought of it sometimes, sitting alone,
when the world was barren and common
place. One must have recreation of