The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1882-11-02
LErITIA,s LONG DAY.

am perfectly certain that it mus newt
ably be the very longest day in all my life."
Well, well, you know besf- At any rate
you are provided with books, flowers, a piano
ardently desires, 1 suppose. And you needn't
see anything of Tom"
"How can l help it?'
$50 into the garden when he is in the house;
go into the house when he is the garden. Shut
the door of the drawing room in his face Che is
notlikely to trespass in your domain, thought +:
have yourluncheon sent in to you on a tray If
you require absolute seclusion. | can think
of nothing more at this moment"
90, dear, it will be such q long, long day,
auntie.n
$50 you said before. Well, 1 am truly sorry.
sWhat can't be cured must be endured you
know. Good-by, child.n
Ny aunt hereupon folded mel in a voluminous
embrace, and mounted up into the fy, a musty
and antique vehicle which had been hired from
the neighboring town to cnuyey her and her
dozen packages to the station. My aunt, a
maiden lady of mature years and energetic
habits, was going to spend the day with anoth-
er maiden lady of mlture years, her sister,
wholiyed at E. preferTing the gay vortex
ola cathedral town to the simple pleasures Of
the country.
Where's the basket of c~owsl!ps, Lefty, and
the bacons And, oh, The creamrn
I" It's all right, auntie; cream and bacon and
all. But, dear me, dear me, how l wish the
day was Overt"
<NcNCT WISH tudi, YOU IOOllSu RlTl. II 3 pOSl-
lively wicked. And you might change your
mind, after all, before evening"
sol no, indeed
swell, good-by again; good-by."
The driver clicked his whip, the old horse
started, the fly gave sundry creaks and lurches.
my aunt waved her handkerchief, and l was
left standing lonely on the doorstep, while the
departing vehicle meandered slowly between
the trees, and was presently lost to sight.
Then L turned to go indoors, revolving in
INV fhnn 1.nnv II a0Nrll haaf a.@s1 T@-,
But ere l could solve the difficult problem a
loud, rough voice called out from the shrub
berry:
minute t~oo late, amt 1? She's of, amt she go
AUNT Nab has just gomez / replied, with
chilly dignity. Tom in his brief speech had
already Offended me twice. l did not like to
be called Lettuce; | could not endure the word
~.taIn't.n
However, he emerged from the shrubbery as
unconcerned and cheerful as usual, and came
up 10 where / stood. lie was dressed in white
flannel from head to foot, and was lazily
swinging his long arms to and fro.
nis.n
''Thank you, Tom; I am busy, and would
you please kindly remember to call me Lett
aoertainly; certainly.
NJ dearest love. 1 could not wish her
Anau1e more charming than Letitia."
"Or shall 1 call you Tishy?
Little Miss Tishy,
Her'conduct was fishy."
"Tomlr
Eyes, Letitia.n
It am going in a1d-and-I shall be ex-
tremely busy all day"
40, indeedI Well. SO shall 1; too busy to
talk to you, Miss Tishy. | know how to take
a hint as well as anybody, believe me.n
So saying, and with a very red face, Tom
strobe away, whistling GA dLda'' as he went.
What a pumpkin he was, to be sure, and
+. wI,a . n nr-raa,fraIu anl frrff q ~ nlv ,-1I
ners some unkind fairy godmother had be-
@sto~sd On himI It vas all very well that he
pretended to study Latin and Greek while he
spent the summer with Aunt Nab; he was far
more. likely to take a double iirst-class in
boating or cricke ing, or become a senior
wrangler with q fishing rod, than to excel in
any purely mental struggle. As for myself, /
was q young Londoner on a fortnight's visit
to Aunt Nab, and n garden party at Fulham
or Chiswick with plenty of strawberries and
cream, q couple of laburnum irees-and the
Hungarian ba d. realized my notion of the
country far more than his silent nook in the
wildS of Devonshire, in which, however, I had
already spent ten idle days, wandering about
with my aunt; making UNBEATABLE cheeses under
the supercilious direction of he dairymaid,
and perpetually squabbling with Cousin Tom
Tom had walked away now, whiss ling and
aggrieved, and l went indoors and opened the
piano, and praeticed a nocturne by Chopin. ]
could hear Tom in his study, stamping up and
down, and banging the d or of his bookcase
Linen all was SILL, ana L knew ne naQ SETTLED
down to read; but L practiced diligently, fOl
/ reflected that music might annoy him and
interfere with his meditations on Horace OF
Euripides.
Idistinctly hated Tom; I must have done
so, for l often longed to do him an injury. II
only irritated me to see that Aunt Nab liked
him, and that the vicar, the housekeeper, the
dogs and cats, and all the dirty little village
children loved and idolized him: But of course
in a sleepy benighted village there is nobod,
for anybody else to like, and the one young
man in the place must needs go spoiled ant
oyerbearing.
An hour had passed, and my fingers grew
tired, and my head heavy. Had Tom been am
one but Tom, / should have Utmost regretted
my refusal of his offer of lawn tennis. Lawn
tennis the very word was refreshing, ant
suggested pleasant pastime and good fellow
ship. Ileft the piano and turned to the opel
window: the garden was cool and green, tn
room was close and decidedly dreary. Finally
/ sailed forth, my complexion protected b,
the shady hat and gauze veil that Londoner
deem necessary for rural life, and carrying il
a basket the latest invention of yellow-browI
art needlework, intending to spend a pleasan
hour in the shade.
But 1 had not gone a dozen yards before
came upon Tom, partly asleep, his legs AM
arms stretched over half a dozen chairs, two
Latin books and a big dictionary lying on tn,
gravel path, and the last number of Puncl
spread open on his knee.
20, dear, I am afraid I have disturbed
you,'' said T.
"Not in the least" answered Tom, being
nantly.
81 thought you were in your study.n
$50 was, but the internal noise of you
II forgot you are not fond of music"
sOn the contrary, / love music. It wa
music that drove me out of the house, AM
caused me to find this deliciously calm retreat
Have a chair2n
mo, thank you; I am going in."
"What, when you have only Just come out
How restless you are! You had better 81
down.
"Why should If'
SIT is your duty to entertain me-"
"My du y, indeedl"
Did not Aunt Nab bid you do 500 No
Well, anyhow, she told me to entertain you
Cousin Lettice."
''She told you?'
Certainly. Tom, my dear boy (Aunt Ma
always calls me dear boy)-'Tom, my dear boy
you are bucolic, and Lettice isn't anything o
the sort. She must tame you.'"
AUNT Nab never spoke like that.n
"She did-to that effect, at least. And sh
added: Tom, dear old man, it's your mani
fest duty to be tamed.'"
go, Cousin Tom!'
80, Cousin Lettuce Getitia, i mean, d
so want to be tanned!
But Tom, as he made this apparently humbl
speech, looked up with so defiant and imper't
nent an expression on his cOuntenance that
turned angrily from him and walked quickl
DN0 - bNtSS Nv IL wv bO"nIu II
house. AS went l heard a peal of derisiv
laughter, and Iknew that Tom was mockin
me. o, how | hated Tom!
L medi ated On revenge, however, and, whe
the luncheon hour approached / determined t
follow out my aunt's suggestion, and there
fore | gave orders that l should be served o
a tray in the drawing room. Five minute
after / had given the order there came q knoc
at The door, and Tom walked in.
"You are Ill, )" he said, abruptly.
"Nat at all.n
"What is he ma ter, thenf'
"May l not wish to be alonef'
80, certainly
As red as fire, Tom retraced his steps, but
equally suddenly, he changed his intention
and recrossed the room rapidly to where 1 sal
This is all nonsense, Lefty. You ar
really ILL.,"
81 amnot ill.,
"Either you are i'll or you must be able t
walk into the dining room. 1 shall send for
doctor at once"
"Xeu will do no such thing, Tom; I wi
not have it.n
81 shall do what 1 think necessary. In m
aunt's absence l am the only responsible pei
ann in tho hOusa