The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1884-04-26

autumn. lnueed, IL was SOmeWnaL
doubtful whether he might come home
even then. In his few and rather mea-
ger letters he spoke of the possibility OF
another commission which might take
him to some other distant quarter of
the world. in order TO reach which 1t |
would not be at all necessary to call ut |
Foulhaven, or even to visit England. |
Of course there were hopes and fears ut |
home, long,ngs that he would come, !
and lamentations on the state of uncer- |
tainty in which he left them, but a con-
viction underlying all that he would 90
his own way, and that he knew, better
than any one else, what was best for
himself.
One peaceful August afternoon every
one aud everything at Red Lees APP
peared to be taking prolonged siesta.
There was silence in the farmyard,
silence in the sunny garden. except
where the bees were buzzing and hum
ming about the hives, silence in the
spacious old house itself. silence every
where. The wide entrance door stood
open, so that one could see into the
sunny, square hall, with the black oak
table in the center, on which stood the
great blue china jar, full of gorgeous
roses, pink and white and crimson, and
the queen of them all, the yellow Gloire
de Dion, with its musky fragrance.
| The hall was tagged, and in summer
the flags were innocent OF mating or
carpet. On one side were the polished
oaken stairs, with broad carved hand
rail and twisted sticks. The deep
wanscoting was of oak, too, and the
doors of the parlor the same. A large,
ample, chintz-covered sofa stood on one
side strewed with books and a half
knitted stocking, in the midst of which
debris the blue Skye terrier, DR.. John
son, (why so called no one had ever
been able to discover, but the name was
his. and he answered to it. } had coiled
himself up after turning round four
times, and subsidized, with deep, drawn
out sigh, expressive of beatitude I'M
speakable. And now he lay there sleep
ing, occasionally stretching out a paw,
or pricking up one of his silky ears,
and the yellow canary appeared TO sleep
in his cage near the door, and the great
gray parrot was quiet on her percl OPP
posite the object of her contempt and
spite, the aforesaid canary. Had you or
any one else peeped into the room on the
left, close by the sofa, the stalwart form
of Mr.. Massey would have been apparent.
his red and yellow pocket-handkerchief
lightly thrown over his face; his hands
folded, his limbs outstreUched, sleeping
the sleep of the just. In the rocking
chair by the window sat, not slept, his
wife--she was not of drowsy tempera-
ment-but with her usual after-dinner
recreation, a volume of fiction or poetry
in her hand.
In the room to the right of the hall
which was the drawing-roOm, or parlor
as they called it, there was another
great sofa, of the good old kind which
has now ceased to be manufactured
and upon that sofa was stretched the
J shape of Grace Massey. She, too, wa:
apparently lost to outside things. Tn,
, book which she had seemingly been read
, ing. and which may have had the sooth
ing effect mentioned, had fallen from he
hand upon the floor; it bore the title
, Political Economy-John Stuar
. Mill"
Is there any one else, sleeping Of
) waking, on the premises? 1t would
l seem so, for there came Sitting dowr
Y the broad, black stairs, the slender fig
5 ure OF girl, tall and lissom, dressed
t IN some soft, flowing, gray stuff, car
rying q book in her hand, and hold
e ing by the brim a broad, shady, straw
hat.
She came gliding down the stairs
4 and paused in the hall, looked aroun,
: and seemed to listen, Then, looking
G into the drawing room, she beheld tn
PROSTATE form of Grace, and smiled al
g irrepressible smile which ran over al
d her face, and frightened it like flas
i of sunshine. She stole softly away
r and looked next into the dining parlol
G saw the sleeping master and the readin
s mistress of the house, and came o
Il tiptoe toward the latter, who ha
}, looked up.
e "Going out, Mabelle, all alone" aske
Mrs. Massey.
O Yes Grace is asleep, Won't it b
n fun to tell Hermann that she has actual
:. been seen slumberng over John Stual
Mills Political Economy?'" Mr.,
:. Massey smiled, and shook her heaC
e And ! want you to tell her when sh
n awakes-but don't d sturb her ON an
IS account-.that | shall be in the hollo'
on the cliff, you know. and shall sta
V there till tea time. So goodbye ii
d then"
d Mrs. Massey looked up, and the swcC
face looked down. Mabelle dropped
le kiss upon the matron's cheek, and wer
away again, putting on her shady ha
l. as she went out into the sunshine.
e! Delicious, glowing warmth of q
August INSTRUMENTATION the spicy pinl
and carnations send up an incense tC
precious to be forgotten; when the la
roses and mgnonettes in some forgotte
IS corner of the garden blend with tn;
ie incense; when the trees are full of plum
er and nears and summer apples: Whe