Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-10-13
entiemen to whom I wrote had the

"Aeneu W De my tenant, and each con.
GUIDED by saying that such testimony
on his part was almost unnecessary.
seeing that the said gentleman was n
OF the Shutes of Sheffield. 1 read this.
ana straightway a fine flavor of respec-
liability attached itself to my tenant
ne was n of the Shutes OF Sheffield.
This being the case, l dedicated to his
enjoyment the larger part of a large
hamper of fine ferns which had been
sent me from Cumberland, and went
and planted them myself in TELLING
spots, That done, l tied I'D his roses 80
that his wife might have the full benefit
of their beauty. And now all care was
over, and we were really happy at Fair
lawn. MY wife had her pony carriage
and explored the neighborhood, and 1
had my garden and my box of books
from the library. Mr.. Shute's furniture
began to arrive, and Mr.. Shute himself
came to see all made ready for his deli
cate wife. He stayed with us, but he
was so busy that we did not see much of
him. He was, however, a very pleas
ant fellow, and we liked him.
81 won't trouble you with nv furni-
ture-arranging difficulties, my dear Mr..
and Mrs. Peveril," said he, :.but there
is n little favor I would like to ask of
you. Would you mind having that treh-
lis lowered a little? 1t would be such
a treat to my poor wife to have Just a
glimpse of your exquisite garden from
her sofa. She is so unfortunate as to
be almost a confirmed invalid"
81 shall be very glad" I began.
l SSJhanL vC1,f %ho~1~ -o- f1x ----
you would be kind. Shall 1 give or
ders to have the trellis removed, or will
your"
"Removed" had imagined that he
said covered" Now, 1 like to throw
off my coat and waistcoat when l am
working in my garden-but one can't
behave ill to a delicate woman.
"She is coming tomorrow" said he:
''there is no time to lose."
l had not the courage to plead for it's
only being lowered, and now the win
dows of Byzantine Cottage raked my
happy hunting-grounds where I had
hitherto been so full of liberty, and so
alone. My heart ached for the poor
roses which had been thrown down with
the trellis. MI. Shute began to pluck
them, and said he would put them in
water to help to make the house gayfor
his wife. Then he threw them down,
exclaiming: CATER all, she won't be
here till tomorrow. [ am sure you
will give me a handful of fresh ones in
the morning"
"You have roses of your own," said
!, ;mpatiently, for he had flung down
all those he had just gathered-and it
il furiates me to see flowers ill-treated.
Il know l have" said he, calmly;
8 uut I don't want to touch mine. They
make the front of the house look we'll.
My wife, Mr.. Peveril, is quite the crea-
ture of impression! Come and see how
you like the look of the little place now
thai the furniture is in"
Everything looked most charming.
The rooms were large and low, with
low, w%ide-latticed windows and window
seats. The view into my garden was
delicious. I never thought the Shutes
paid too much rent after I had seen that.
Their furniture was of the .Queen An
ne'' time, and suited the rooms to per-
lection. Byzantine Cottage was inf
nitely prettier than Fairlawn. Irbegan
to feel unbounded respect for this scion
of the Shutes of Sheffield, for all this
delightful result had been obtained so
easily. There vas very little furniture
in the drawing-room; the floor was COW
cred with Indian mating and Persian
rugs; the curtains were of Japanese
muslin; the walls hung with the most
exquisite water-colors in perfectly sim
| pie wooden frames. There were twelve
or thirteen magnificent Turner'S! I had
only one, the gift of my rich uncle, and
1 was accustomed to consider it a price,
less possession. MI. Shute actually had
thirteen, and a Girtin and a Barrett as
we'll! Besides this there were shelves
full of beautiful china plates. I had
never seen such a dainty abode before.
Such richly hung walls were a most
agreeable sight to a landlord! Full of
comforting inner warmth, l exclaimed:
s.Well, there is no fear of Mrs. Shute
not admiring this!"
"You think SOP" said he; "I'm SO
glad! I have had to be very careful
what 1 did. You see, she is quite the
creature of impression. l should be
miserable if she said the Cottage was
not pretty. By the by, did you know
that she was one of the Wilmots OF
Taunton?"
Now | was not going to stand that. ]
had made up my mind to feel q great
respect for the Shutes of Sheffield, and.
if they all had as good an idea of fur
nishing as Edward Shute, they were
emphatically worthy of it; but 1 was not
going.to allow myself to be so much
impressed by any otherfamily. Besides.
what were the Wilmots of Taunton tc
mep [ was we'll acquainted with every
rose that was grown, I knew every
pansy worthy of a place in my garden,
butt had never heard of the Wilmots
of Taunton.
We went over all the rooms; one was
fitted up as a studio. Mr.. Shute's easel
was set up, his color-box and palettes
were ready; but, of course, he had not
begun to work yet.
Il shall be glad when l get her safely
here" said he. "By the by, how am ]
to fetch her from the railway station :
Do you mind lending me the pony car
riage?"
1 said'I would lend it to him; but
wished he had not said the pony car
riage; if he had said your pony car
- ra,1l ro+ houo 1ooEoI Gu "1nh