The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1884-02-16

trimming Over VIII Cnlltire0. inc green |
grocer's cart passes through them with |
such mechanical regularity. one Won
ders how the inhabitants can bear it.
IL e. into street of the second order |
that Iwould lead you-a street in whose
homes one would think there ought to
be happiness, since in it live, to quote |
from the geographical primer of youth,
''no Cery rich, and no extremely poor;'
but chiefly those who are neither one
nor the other-it is strictly q middle
class street. Lawrence street was its
name; il was rather long, and possessed
the attraction of a bend about midway
in its length. The houses below the
bend were smaller and meaner than those
above it. This upper end of Lawrence
street enjoyed several advantages over
the lower one, including a row of horse
chestnuts on either side the road, which,
at the time l speak Of were, though
stunted in size, and occasionally mis-
shapen, just beginning to burst into an
exquisite network of dazzling, yellow
green young buds and leaves. 1t was
the beginning of May; these buds and
leaves were as yet too young to have
been smirched by the dust which
whirled up from the passing carts and
omnibuses. Pollution would arrive soon
enough; at present the green was as
fresh and vernal as if, instead of being
| planted down a busy street. they had
been deep in woody dells, miles away
from house.
| Behind the trees on either side the
street was, of course, q row of houses.
They were moderately sized, modest
looking houses, with succeed fronts
which had long been of a dirty gray in
color. They looked and were thinly
built. The blinds appeared nearly all
afflicted with some inlirmity, generally
constitutional, and, as a rule, taking
the form of rooted tendency to ''draw
up crooked" and hang with a rakish,
slanting appearance at the top of the
window.
The houses had bay-windows, at least
the house with which we are concerned
had bay-windows. In front of it was q
remarkably small strip of garden, with
little red-tiled walk leading up to the
front door. The doors of the houses
were placed in twos, side by side-an
advantage, no doubt, to the postman
and the tradesman, who rang both bells
at once, and transacted their business
with two establishments simultaneously,
but, as some of the heads of those estab-
lishments thought, degrading to the
persons who had to live in them. |
merely wish to insist on the fact that
living in Lawrence street was like living
in one great house; everything which
was done in one house being distinctly
audible to the persons who lived in the
next. There was no hiding ones light
here, either literally OF metaphorically,
yet it was very popular place of resi-
dence, and the houses in it were rarely
empty, and snapped up again if they
were vacated, almost before there was
time for the new whitewash to dry.
The evening was warm and pleasant.
1t was Friday in the week that follows
Whitweek. Irkford had just had her
! great annual holiday, and was settling
down to work again with what spirit
she might. The wind, oddly enough,
for it was MAY, was blowing from the
southwest instead of from the north
east. One of the bay windows on the
ground floor of one of the stucco-front-
ed houses was open, and in the emf
brasure sat two young men, with'a lit
tie table between them on which stood
coffee cups and cigar box. They sat
in easy chairs, one in either corner of
the window, and there had been a long
silence between them. In fact, there
was lull altogether; as it happened,
no children were screaming in the inn
mediate vicinity of the gate; it was
nearly quarter of an hour since the
last omnibus had passed, and during
that time no vehicle had gone by.
But suddenly the silence was broken.
There arose clamor which grew into
roar. All at once Pandemonium
/, seemed to have been let loose. Two
: omnibuses came laundering past; one
up and one down the street; as soon as
! the din they occasioned had somewhat
subsidized, the strains became distinctly
; audible of street-pianO, frantically
: performing an air with variations from
that select repertory of popular melo
, dies, "La File dc Madame Angot.'
Several carts and a large van hurried
up and down the street The musica
instrument which had so suddenly ap
/. peared upon the scene was being adj
.. vanced slowly and steadily toward the
: window at which the two young meI
!, were sitting. AS yet, the swarthy-look
: ing soi-distant Italian who turned the
: handle of the instrument had not per
J ceived the two highly promising vic
: tins. Suddenly his eye fell upon them
u With q joyful bound, which caused al
7 abrupt pause in the wild and terribly
!, brilliant crescendo passage, which wal
. then issuing from his machine, h,
: swooped down upon the open window
g as an eagle swoops upon his prey, GER
: tain that if the young men liked hi
7 music, they would give him money t.
= reward him for it's beauty, and that i
~ ~ they did not like it, they would equal,
q give him money to depart and cease t.
= lacerate their ears.
uJovei That fellow has found II