The National tribune., 1883-02-08
an UGLY VALENTINE,
And The Good Fortune that II Brought
With Il.

It was St Valentines Day. and the old Quis-
enberTv farm house was ~ applC-plg order, from
attic 10 cellar.
The rine wood floor in the kitchen was white
as soap and water could make il; the pots and
pans fairly shone from the scruhb5ng they had
received: and the window -panes biInkcd and
blaZcd. like sheets Of polished silver
I'm glad its done" sighed Miss Priscilla
QuiScrncrry. rolling down her sleeves, and gaz-
ing at her work with au air of satisfaction.
Let me see. slcaddcd. I've secured and
churncG: baked bread and made cake; and
fried crulIs and boiled ham. III have a
chance to rest q spell, now, before it's time to
get sup9er.'
&c Pris-ci-la," called her sister-in-law. in a
shlili voice from the sitting-room Priscilla.
Come an see what Bob Jones hcz fotched YOU.
What do you reckon 'tis?" she quericd, rs
Priscilla obcved the summons. a vountine?
It's too hig for a letter.
lit does look like = valentine" assented
Priscilla. turnfa- the square embossed envelope
over and over, witt q puzzled air
WHY don't Euu opeu 1T. an see what 'tis2
cried her s-ter-iu-Iav,. tartlv. An not STAN
there. a-uolorin' up TIL Your checks are rs red
as the g0--elS oU ;Uc iron. Wiuder-curluus.'
Priscilla had reasons Of her own for not OPEN
ing the valentine IN . hurry. she Thought she
recognized the handwriting on the envelope.
1t WIS that which sent the red blood IutO her
checks; for she thOught-shc felt -ury--it WdS
Mr.. Chegscboro's handwriting, and ch. how She
wished she could slip away To her room, and
open the precious treasure by herself
But this WAS ast Of the question. with those
sharp eyes staring aJ hey. and with trembling
fingers. and her heart beating a tattoo in her
bosom, she carefully slit open one end of the
envelope. and drew 0ut-a comic valentine. =
horrid ca!caturc oI an old maid, with peaked
nose and chin. nigh cheel-bouCs ard very, very
red hair.
An old maid! Wal. wal" Uttered the sister
in-law, Lucinda. i lowed twoUla he q nice
one, from the locks, Who d ye reckon sent II,
PriScila?'
u don't know"
Bya great effort, Priscilla kept back the tears
of modification and disappointment that were
almost trembling in her eyes.
Looks some like Felix Chccsboros hand
write, don't it, said Lucinda. Pocring at the
envelope. Though don t reckon he'd trouble
hiSsef to send YOU a voiuutiue. pritty or ugly
They say he tuck AiiTandy Sprig3 home from
singin '-schoc. the other night"
Priscilla woulG have given q dlamOnd-mine,
If she had possessed one, only 10 get away from
LucinGa's pryIng eyes and keen tongue, and
from all the other eyes IN the world, and have
one good cry by herself But there WAS the
supper to get and chores to 60. the comfort of
her father and brother Reuben to look after;
for Lucinda, RcubcA's wifi. chose to consider
herself an Invalid, and shirked her share of the
household duties
But at last after what seemed like lifetime
TO Priscilla. the Suppgr-dishcs were washed. her
father and brother had seen and criticized the
valentine; for, Of course, Lucinda had given all
the particulars of it; at last the old clock had
ticlcd away the hours till bedtime, and Pris-
ella was alone.
But Indignation had taken the place Of grief,
by this time, and she crept under the home
spun blankets and the blue-and-White coverlct,
with dry eyes.
If he does consider me an old maid she
thought. d" it was a cruel way of telling me so.
besides. he's Older than I am: and if my hair
is red. il isn't 2 fiery red, like that
Now. Miss Prscilia's hair was nOt fiery red,
by any means. II was clear chestnut brown,
with only a tinge of sunlit gold shining i'll its
way depths
And. i she was an old maid, as some had
sajd-Jh0Ugh twenty-five Is net sOvery DID, to
be surc-,he w a very attractive one, with
dcru dmpes indenting her checks. and a COM
plcEiou fresh as pink-lipped sea-sheI.
II was the day after st. Valentines Day, and
Felix ChegscboT0 was holding communion with
himself. after a fashion he frequently had.
=" ] don't know" he muttercd, as he finished
his dinner, and rose from the table with a
thoughtful frown. Il don't know but what
I've had encouragement enough from Priscilly
Quisilbnuy to-ah, that is l b'Iieyc she'd have
me. if I'd ask her outright.
"Shc isn't a bit for'ard, ike Mirandy Sprigs:
but he- eyes drop down kinc o shy like an
her cheeks git as red as crab-apple blows, some
times when / meet her, all OF a sudden. An
she's a mighty good housekeeper too That
wife o Rubc's amt with a shuck round a
house. | could see that, last time we thrashed
fur the old man. PriscilIy has the hcft Of it
all. She shouldn't work an dredge so. if she
was my wife. she could see TO things like, an
tell Aunt IsinGV what To do.
- don't know but II call round there this
evenin'. ! can let on ! want TO see Reuben, or
the old man-'tisn't likely they'll be in yet,
from the new clcarin'. An mebbe I'll git
chance 10 talk to Priscilly, alone. If do
Hello what's this Aunt Lindy?"
Dunno" Uttered Indy. "Spec it's vol
untine. Sam jes' now brung it from de pos
offs" And with a show Of ivories that a young
elephant might have envied, Aunt Lndy re-
tired 10 her kitchen to make her own comments
on the subject.
Mr. Cheeseboro did not bestow much atten-
ton on the outside Of the envelope, at first
not being a cOnnOisseur in regard to chirogra-
phy-but opened it at once with some natural
curiosity. Aunt Lindy's supposition proved a.
correct one. IL was valentine and a comic
one, at that.
"Well, /"
Mr.. Cheeseboro stopped short His counte-
nance betrayed an unusual degree OF astOnish-
ment, together with some amusement.
Somebody has mistook me fur an old maid"
he muttered. Fur this here amt uolhiu' but
an old maid, with red hair, an a most audacious
sharp nose.
"NOw, who in thunder was smart enough to
send ii, / wOnderE"
He turned the envelope over and over: but
the stiff, grabbed handwriting evidently dis
guised, gave no clew TO the sender.
"I wonder now" he pondered, thOughtfuly.
" if twasn't Mirandy Sprigs that sent it? III
bet cheesc-cal1c it was heri
Yes, now l come o think Of it. she was a.
teasn' me- spell back, about Priscilly Quisen-
berry; an l recollect she called her an old
maid
"Old maid, indeed" Priscilly's the best
lookin' girl on Huckleberry Creek, old or
young; an worth dozen like Mirandy Sprigs.
besides.
well, if she thinks it's such a Joke to send
me picture Of old maid, III Just send it
back 10 her 10 let her sec | know%here it come
from"
And when Mr. Felix Chcescboro mounted his
sorrel mare, 10 make the projected call at the
Qulsenberry farm house, the valentine was care
fully deposited IN his OvercOat pocket
it went nO further than the village post
Office however, whore Felix procured a square
envelope enclosed the old maid Is "picler," and
posted the mIssiVe, addressed To - Miss Miraudy
Sprigs'
1t was late in the afternoon, and Priscilla
was in the kitchen. getting supper swapping
fire rOaTcd and cracked in the wcIl-blarEened
cooking stove, on which she placed q skillet Of
fresh pork to fry. Taking "A handful Of dried
.I4 VY1i laI Z. I...