The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1883-07-20
IN LOWLY GUIsE.

'Hearcd aOOnt the Oiu buttOnWOOu
Place a-bcin' sold?" inquired Mrs. Spar
rowgrass, who was spending the day
with the Widow SnapweiI.
1.-The Buttonwood Place? No! Wal,
that isMews! Who's bought it?" queried
the widow eagerly. Us she carefully
basted a trill of Spanish lace in the neck
of her new polonaise.
'.Why, man named FlOwerdale,
they say. And he's a-gOin' to repair it
up, Nathan Scudtler's wife says. Must
be awful rich it he does, for the old
house is pretty well run down. It's a
good farm though"
The new purchase furnished suffi-
cient subject of conversation till supper
was over, and Mrs. Sparrowgrass had
rolled up her knitting, donned her shawl
and worstcd hood, and taken her de.
parture, with many injunctions from her
hostess to be sure and ''come' back
again" After which Mrs. Snapwell
fell into a brown study over the new
polonaise, while her pretty niece Eu-
stechia gathered up the tea-things, and
gave Hedges, the hired hand, his supper
in the kitchen.
Eyes, it must be him that put in the
advertisement for board, =" said the wild
ow, going back to her sewing. "It's the
very same -Flowerdale-and he
wants to git board som'ers in the neigh
borhood. Ofcourse it's him!
"a bachelor, the advertisement says.
Prob'bly about forty-five or fifty years
old. Wall, I'm on the shady side of f.
thirty myself, and think I'll answer it.
It's about the only chance for lone
woman like me to turn an honest pen
n.y." she added, her grey eyes brighten
ing at the prospect before her. 'Tl
answer the advertisement right of, " she
declared; "and if he comes, can fix
the spare bedroom fur him to sleep in.
And I'll hev Hedges put up some more
shelves in. the buttery to set the milk
and butter on. It'll take up too much
of Eustachia's time to be a-runnin' out
to the spring-hollse after 'em.
Whatever may have been the Widow
Snapwell's faults, representation was
not one of them, and her plans were
soon carried into effect.
Mr. Flowerdale had engaged the
room, paying month srent in advance,
and Hedges had put up shelves in the
buttery, for the accommodation OF the
milk and butter.
Hedges slept in the little loft, or attic,
at the top of the house.
Its mighty cold up there, these
nights" he conlded TO Eustachia as he
stopped at the stove one morning when
she was baking griddle-cakes for break
fast.
But the widow was in the pantry in
speeding the plum-preserves, in honor
of the expected boarder, and her sharp
ear had caught the mans words.
mighty cold, is itp" she snapped out
tartly. "Fll warrant faint q patchin
10 what you've been used to, Hedges,
and don't want none of your sass!
..And you are as much to blame as he
is, miss" she continued. as Hedges
slipped out of the kitchen door with the
tin milk-pail in his hand. You are al.
ius.a talkin' to him and. encouragin' his
impudence.
.'.I-I didn't say anything, aunt, -
stammered Eustachia, blushing con-
fusedly, as she thought how frequently
she had talked to Hedges, and remem-
bered the admiring glances that had
lurked in his honest brown eyes.
And in truth it was not strange il
Eustachia's soft little heart was slightly
touched by the owner of the brown
eyes, for she had small chance of falling
in love with anyone else.
You hain't got time to be a-galli-
vantin' about with beaux," declared her
aunt, 'snd if you had, Wouldn't hev
'em a-toolin' around here. Poor girls
like you had best attend to their work,
and IL Providence wants 'em to marry
He'll give 'em chance. 1t not, they
may be sure they was meant fur ole
maids, and now faint no use to furse
about it.
"But don't want to be an old. maid, {"
pouted pretty Eustachia to herself, as
She baked and secured, MIXED and
churned, and did the chores.
That was before Mrs. Snapwell had
hired man to do the outside work.
And now that Hedges had come, she
wanted still less to be an old maid; for,
somehow or other, in spite of the wild
ow's hawk-eyed vigilance, there were
plenty of chances of conversation with
him.
II was astonishing how many errands
he made to the little kitchen in the
course OF q day, to fill the wood-box, or
chip-basket, or get drink.
And somehow or other, Eustachia's
cheeks had acquired chronic habit
of blushing on the most singular occa-
sions.
The sound of quick footstep outside
the kitchen-door, or a gaily whistled
tune from the cornfield or barnyard,
would set them glowing under their
dropping lashes like whole garden
bed Of carnation pinks.
"Eustachia!"
Mrs. Snapwell shook out the fiounces
of her new dress, rs she opened the
door of the kitchen, where her niece was
washing up the dinner dishes. 4
I'm a-goin' over to Mrs. Deacon
Marjoram's," she continued with a
sharp glance at Eustachia's suspiciously
rosy cheeks.
ssAnd II Mr.. Flowerdale should come
while I'm gone, show him into the best
room. and run over after me immediate.