The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1882-05-19

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haps her baby might be added to the
list Of the unreturning.
"Why, we expect company to-day,
Mrs. Chickwit-company from the city
-ahem very rich I; and want them to
think your baby is mine, to make am
appearance with. she is 80 pretty"
Mrs. Chickwit was satisfied as far as
the baby went, but she did think
that, after all she had lent Mrs. Bah,
she might have been polite enough just
to have invited her over, too; which
Mrs. Bah no doubt would have done, il
she had not been afraid that the baby
and mother together would betray her.
Judging from the songs and loud
laughter which Mrs. Chickwit heard
proceeding from the Bah house during
the afternoon and early part of the even
ing. they were having a very enviable
and high-spirited time over there and
the more they seemed to enjoy them
selves, the more angry she felt at not
being invited, and the more worried
about the baby; and when finally Mr..
Chickwit came home and grumbled
about the baby, and scolded her for let
ting it out in that way, she became first
remorseful and then furious, and de-
termined that as soon as that confound-
ed Mrs. Bah came over to return the
child she would give her ga hopping
piece of her mind-that she would |"
At about 8 o'clock the tardy Mrs. b.
came over with the baby, and = horrible
sight presented itself, gratis, to the
startled gaze of Mrs. Chickwit as her
90 ,,,t na,ohLar h. L. Il
en-Mr. Chickwit having gone to bed in
disgust.
Mrs. Bab's face was unbecomingly
flushed, her breath ginny, her eyes ex-
cited, and her voice husky. She had
upon her person the borrowed dress, a
light silk, highly priced, but now ruined
by multitude of spots, and additionally
besmeared with mud; for, terrible to
tell, Mrs. Bah, baby in arms, in coming
over had tripped, staggered and fallen in
to puddle, and, still more piteous to
relate, the baby's right cheek had re-
ceived deep cut, from which the blood
and mud now streamed, in equal parts
we'll mixed.
The infuriated mother seized the
child, which was crying dismally, and
while she cared for it at once. with all
a mothers expert compassion, she
launched forth into such an amazing
TRADE against the inebriated Mrs. Bah
that that woman could for awhile find no
tongue to reply. She was taken by sur
prise, and had plenty Of spirits but no
strength.
If we should undertake to give the ex-
act language of Mrs Chickwit upon that
occasion. In her animadversion upon
"borryers" in general, and Mrs. Bah in
particular, it would require several col
umns of this paper. We will therefore
pay high compliment to the imagina-
ton of our readers, and suppose they
can fancy the exact language of the ex-
asperated Mrs. Chickwit, when she found
herself 80 egregiously imposed upon by
the borrowing woman.
But the borrowing woman at last found
her tongue, and rallied in turn, vowing
she would return everything, and more,
off her feet against the house of the
Chickwits.
"No great treat" she concluded, "to
take care of the baby. Many discon-
veniences-many on 'em. L won't say
what they were-squalling all the time,
for one thing, and scratching 1 was
ashamed to have them think the ugly
thing was mine"
Here there was short, sharp fight
about the baby's beauty and behavior,
in which the borrowing woman was
worsted.
"Pd like to know if you don't want to
borry something else before you go
What else do you want, I'd really like to
know? Say quick-my head or my
husband-and then go And, mind you,
send everything home to. morrow morn
ing, or we'll have the constables after
you if we have to call out the Governor
of the State -
Mrs. Bah vanished, and silence and
darkness hung over the neighborhood
till the following day, when the Chick
wits found nearly all (Which was not eat
able) piled up together at the door
in confused mass, and everything in
a ludicrously damaged state--decidedly
the worse for having been borrowed
during the reign of Bah
1t was a severe but useful lesson to
the supplemented Mrs., Chickwit; and
she thinks, althoug there is scar on the
child's cheek yet, that she bought the
experience cheaply. The Chickwits have
a high board fence around their house
now, and keep q bulldog chained at each
gate, front and back.