The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1884-02-01
WISHING AND HAVING.
~ wish I had a beau;

What q WISH Tor II WeIl-Dreu Malden.
M wonder her stern father frowned,
her sober mother sighed, and her maid
en- aunt groaned in spirit, as she eiacu.
lated:
Ono maiden modestyl No delicate
reserve! No womanly decoruml Ida
lane. what will become of your"
az don't pretend to know" she an
sgered, meekly. "From present indi-
cations, I presume / win proceed in the
old way, working, and laughing, and
yrlmbIing, and wishing, for a few more
years' and then will settle down to my
fate. and knitting stockings, and die a
s2perannuated spinster, mourned by
~eoventeeu cats, and rs many pet dogs"
sob, my daughter! are you not afraid
rome Judgment will be sent to you for
such frivolous talking" inquired her
gtaid mother.
"No, ma am,"was her quiet reply. Elm
deed, | can not see the exceeding sin
fitness Of my wish. / know it is con.
trarv to the regulations Of society to ex-
press such q desire; but, after all, / am
only little more honest tn an the scores
Of girls whe are looking at the moon.
and wishing in their hearts even as |
did. | should not wonder ii Aunt Sally
the most proper damsel on earth,
should find my wish echoed in her
heart. I only have q bad habit Of
thinking aloud. AS for judgments, If
one should tome In the shape of q nice
Young man, / would have no objections.
think q stroll in this moonlight,
with my arm resting on a piece
Of %broadcloth, would be vastly
more agreeable than to read this Book
of Martyrs again; and Islppose | will
shock YOU out OF a fortnight's appetite,
by asser ting that, as / leaned my head
against this post, | am wondering If
gray or black cloth would not make a
pleasanter pillow-say it should be 6lled
with m arms length OF flesh and bone"
How Ida Lane dared talk thus was a
mystery to I'll who knew the deac n, the
uncompromising slernness of her moth
9 Grand the careful precision of her
aunt She had in reality been curbed
and restrained until her CAV spirits were
so repre5Sed that she was In general a
model OF department.; but occasionally
she rebelled against the rigid discipline
and gave expression to thoughts which
elected lectures as lengthy as the moral
law. While her mother and her aunt
waited in silence for the deacon to adj
minister his reproof, and that gentleman
Was recovering from his astonishment,
Ida continued:
Eyes, | do wish I had a beau!-really,
decidedly, empba ically, / wish | had a
beau; though, goodness knowsl | under
stand nothing at all about the entertain
ment ofthe tribe. 1t is my opinion such
nights as these were made with a special
reference to the better acquaintance of
broadcloth and muslin, with their re-
spective Enclosures. But / do believe if
the Angel Gabriel, with his excellent
reputation, could come down from his
exalted seat and invite me to take a
moonlight ride in his chariot you would
find some iaait IN his angelic higghness,
and make me remain at home
OF course such a speech was more inn
pious than might have been expected
from a deacon's daughter, who had been
taught the catecbisn from her baby
hood-Rnd yet not very unlike what a
person well versed in human nature
would have expected from a merry, in
dependent girl who found herself de.
MED all the halmless little pleasures
others of her sex enjoyed. The provo.
cation was very severe that night, too,
for she was thinking of the gay party
who had urged her to accompany them
on their moonlight ride until a veto from
her parents decided the question.
Having relieved her mind and know
ing that she must do penance therefor,
by listening to an evenings lecture, she
folded her hands and leaned against the
post, with the air of martyr.
Her father had Just reached the point:
If you don't ccend your ways you will
never be a credit TO anybody" when
the shadow OF q manly figure fell across
the doorway, and arrested the deacon's
prophecies.
The newcomer he recognized as Har.
vey Stratton-a lawyer OF eminence, who
was spending the summer in their viii
lage---and arose cordially to greet him;
while Mrs. Lane, with a high respect for
their distinguished guest, oourtesied her
S~Iotouldest courtesy, and Sally Lafe
who admired the lawyers fine face and
f~aultless dress the Sunday before, when
she should have been listening to Par
son Browns discourse on the "Fanities
or Earth'-smiled her most bewitching
smile, as she expressed her happiness
al meeting him. As for Ida, when she
recognized the stranger as the GENTLE
man who had sat in DIR. Smiths pew
and seen her pull the hymn-book from
her neighbor's arm-whicl sudden
movement sent that sleepy parsonage
"bobbing around" in a fiightful manner,
much to the amusement OF DIR. Smiths
guest-she arose and lett the room9to
sit IN the beautiful moonlight, while he
inquired as to the boundaries Of an adj
Joining estate. So it was that, leaning
over the gate, she encountered a hand
some lawyer on his way home, who
asked her if she did not fear getting
moonstruck?
"Oh MOP she answered gayly. II
oeiieye Il 10 like the me~asles-contagi-