The National tribune., 1882-10-19


,nxiety incident to the reception of the
| guests"
What's tasty negljge,' Jim?"
"How do know? Ask Mrs. McCafIery."
Il must have one for Thursday night,
cause they're so fascinating"
Now, see here, Sallie, l amt goin' to give
YOU no money for another new dress. You can
wear what you've got on"
well, then, you might get me some more
cwelry Jim. Mrs. McCafery wears a locket
and chain and big pin and earrings, and
bracelets and five most beautiful rings. One
IS q plain gold ring and two of EN- has diamonds
in and one has red stone, and l forget what
The other is. L know she has five, anyhow, for
[ counted 'em only last night You haven't
never given me one single diamond, jim!
" But they cost such an awful sight"
"Why, how can they, Jim, when such lots
of people wears EN-? Now, there's that Mrs.
Wilson, you know, that used TO come in the
store so often. She has elegant big diamond
earrings, and her husband is only clerk or
book-kccpcr, l forget which. Anyhow, they
amt mil-lec-on-aircs like us, jim"
NO, l rather think that they amt. They
don't have no great sum of money to spend,
III be bound"
But she told me herself, one day when she
come in the store, that her husband made her
Christmas present Of them diamond ear
rings"
"Wen, then, he was big fool for doin' it,
that's all have to say. You see they board at
cheap kind of a place, and then they put
every extra cent into jewolry. If he was to die
tomorrow, she wouldn't have thing in the
world, like as not Now, if I had dropped OFF
kind O. sudden last year, you would "a had the
store and the house and could "a gone on with
the business all the same. Ten to one you'd
had good-lookin' partner by this time"
"What would [ have wanted partner for?
I guess l could have run the business alone,
couldn't II"
"Well you might; but was thinkin' how
Iwould do if you left me with everything on
my hands"
you're real mean to talk about my dyin',
jim! The idea of goin' on so about gettin
partner, as though, if the store was all right.
you didn't care whether l died or mott"
80, you don't understand! 1 was referrin'
to my gettin married again"
"What! Why, Jim Miller, amt you ashamed
of yourself! won't die for forty years yet,
you see if I do! You wouldn't really marry
again, would you, Jim?" 1 says, pretty near
cryin.
"Well, I reckon you'd better keep on livin',
so as not to give me chance. But don't you
go to maxim me promise never to marry, cause
/ don't believe in no such hasty promises. IF
you're set on doin' so, you'd better just write it
down co Tj11 ba c1ra not 70 F,ryof
"W1y, Jim, think it's awful to have more'n
one wife!"
"Well, it just depends upon whether one of
'em is up in Heaven or not"
" But you wouldn't ever lore anyone but me-
would you, Jim?"
"Why, how do I know what I'd do if was
left a melancholy young widower? 1 haven't
ever been one yet, have I? l amt particular
about your dyin', however, so you needn't get
mad and cry. Read some more out of that
book"
"J Jim, it says here that it isn't proper to talk
about yourself all the time when you're out in
company. Why, Mrs McCafery is always talk
in about herself and her daughter, and so on,
and l guess she wouldn't do what wasn't
proper, would she?"
)
thing that book says, do you? It's half of it
nonsense seems to me-"
ave know how to behave without readin' it,
don't we, Jim? What shall we give em for
Supper Thursday night?"
Fried oysters, and coffee, and chicken salery,
and wouldn't mind havin' mince-pie, too"
"And big cake, all frosted and pickles, and
jelly, and oranges, and hot biscuits"
"Yes, and couldn't you have some doughnuts
like you used to make? They were frst-rate
doughnuts."
80, Pm afraid Mary wouldn't like my goip'
down in the kitchen to cook anything! She
always acts as if she thought 1 had no right
there at all"
"Well, you're mighty timid, to put up with
such airs, l must say! 1 reckon it's yoar
Kitchen isn't it?'
"Yes, but I'm afraid to say q word for fear
she'll get mad and leave"
Z" l most wish she would, for 1 don't like her
cookin' near as well as l do yours, anyhow
You go down stairs tomorrow and make me
some doughnuts, and if she gives you any of
her sass, just tell her to march as quick as ever
she can"
"But how could I get along without her
Thursday night, if she did?"
Cant Annie help yOu?"
"Oh, | wouldn't ask her for anything! She
was tellin' me only yesterday that she wouldn't
do kitchen work for the world, and she says
she never lived before in such small house as
this, where there was only one other girl
She'd go right off in less II no time if asked
her to cook for day or SO. [ don't think
Mary III stay much longer anyhow, cause she
was sayin' last Monday that the washin' was
too hard for her to do all alone, and we'd have
to get wash-woman or else put some of it
out"
"Now, you just tell her that you done our
washin' yourself all last year, and you didn't
find it one bit too hard neither"
al guess l would tell her that! Why. she
wouldn't stay in the house one minute after
she found out knew how to wash. She's an
awful proud kind of woman, and she never
worked for any but frst-class ladies, she says.
l was talkin' away with her yesterday and l
asks her very polite if she wouldn't please wipe
the dishes right dry, cause they was slippery
to pass when they was wet, and she says very
scornful-like, that she never had been in the
habit of wipin' her dishes no dryer, and we had
MT as nice china anyhow as she'd always been
used to handlin', and common white china was
awful hard to wipe dry. Now, when ! washed
FI,, ,ZI, l.