The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1882-11-04
FRONT DOORS.

Don't believe whatW
There are people living in any OF
these houses"
Dot raised her eyes from her inter
mlnahle crocheting for a moment, and
glanced up and down the village street
at doesn't look much like it," she as
sented
We were sitting on the top ste . of the
front entrance of an old lar ~ house III a
Maine village. had been reading, but
had dropped my book, leaned my head
against the door-post, and ueditated for
some minutes. l had neve, imagined
quiet so absolute-save for the distant
sound, constant, soothing, and magnetic,
Of the unseen breakers rolling up the
sand below the opposite slope-as the
quiet of this Maine village street. There
we're houses On every side, well-to-do
looking country houses, with elms shad-
,ag their froAt doors and gates; but no
body ever went in or out, no servant
maid shook dust-cioth out of any of
the windowe, no children tumbled over
each other in any of the front yards
There was . dog residing opposite that
VAS Watching Skye, which seemed to
suggest civilization and blue ribbon and
city streets. He trotted out moment
ago, and lay down in the road with an
air of sullen apathy. There was no So
ciety inside the fence, perhaps there
might be some in the highway. 1t al
most seems as if he was willing to be run
over for the sake of creating little di-
version. But he soon trotted back in
subGued manner; the society. such as it
is, is not to his taste. He tried feeble
bark at man in broad hat and a wo-
man IN d waterproof, but it was not a
success; he felt it was not himself
Dot" said l, they talk about hard
working New England farmers"
Who do2"
oh, they-everybodv. How can
they work hard in such an atmosphere
Us this? In the rush and competition Of
eity life it Is natural to work, to be oc-
cupied is ones normal condition"
Its singular how successfully some
people accustom themselves to q nor
NAL one"
''If one is not working hard to get
money, one must work hard to get nd
Of it, But here, among these siler;
houses and under these elms, and within
sound of these breakers, work is out of
place. 1t is like playing croquet Ga Sun
day-it NAV or may not be wrong, but
il is disturbing"
did you make that up, or did you
just read it?"
II made it up. Don't you think it's
rather good"
Its not bad"
ado you notice that whenever wag-
on drives by, it's such an event that we
watch it, from its first appearance down
the road to its final disappearance up the
road, with the rapt absorption generally
gwen to an election parade at home"
1--WE noticed that you do"
You seem SO much interested in my
speculations that Pl tell you what the
wagons have In them almost without ex-
ception; two women with shade hats and
a half grown boy sitting between them
and driving. The women looked at us
rather curiously but the boy had some
thing better to do This is the Sabbath
stiffness of the country. You've heard of
it, you know"
"The devil you do! Mind your game,
and I'll mind mine. The words came
through the closed door that led into
the living-room at our right.
Yes" said Dot, dryly, " this is the
sabbath stiffness of the country"
It viii readily be seen by the mo u,
'"reless reader of the above convers2.
ton that Dot was given to snubbing NE
It every turn. feel it only due to my
selft to state that I am really very
nice and very sensible; but if had not
been well grounded in the fac ts of the
case, she would often have contrived to
make me feel rather foolish. This time,
however, it was difficult not to acknow-
ledge the forte other satire, and / laugh
ed. -Four men We're playing euchre III
the next room. They were only fellow
boarders in this out-of-the-way farm
house, and, az we had made out from
their conversation at the table, had
come out forsome shooting They play
ed euchre during most of their odd hours
and two Of them we're always quarreling
over the lead, the play, the deal, or the
score. One of the others tries to clear
the air by genial laugh when words
wax too warm, but it is not efectual,
and the fourth contents himself with
silence till, weary with contention, he
shouts II said Pass What do you say
This brings them back to business for
the time being.
We had been in the house two days,
and we devoted much of our time to
speculations in regard to these four men.
They took not the slightest apparent
notice of us, though we took breakfast,
dinner, and supper at the same table,
and met them at every turn.
DO you think it would seem odd if
went and rang the door-bell opposite,
and asked: Please. do any folks live
here? And if they do, had they just as
lief come and stand around in the front
yard @ few minutes each day7'
~ don't know" said Dot, doubtf1llv.
1t might seem odd in some places, but
perhaps here they always wait to be
urged"
Il shall try it, if we stay here week.
| must know if they always climb the
walk, when they come to make O real
neighborly sit-down visit, and why"
why do you let it worry you so?"
Because / can't help it. I've been in
this place two whole days, and | know
no more about my neighbors than did
the evening | came-and | never want
to know anything any more except about
my neighbors. I've laughed and been
contemptuous about the petty curiosity
OF country villages, but now-curiousl II
lived here six months I'd know just
how much this girl gave for her new
bonnet ribbon, and whether or not it
was remnant, while if a young man
went to see her, I'd go and ring the
door-bell, and insist upon knowing his
middle name."
Well take drive tomorrow. it yor,
like, and see if we can't find out some
thing about somebody"
The next day it rained, and my impa-
thence. grew with delay. think Dot was
wouldn't allow it. Certainly when the
sun came out the day AFTER. she lost no
time in telling Mr.. Stubbs that we want
ed carriage, with a horse we could
drive ourlelyea. q three IN the affer.