The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-08-08
For THE ARKANsAw TRAVELLER.
 BOARDING-H POLITICS.
Tale of the Old War Days.
BY JENNIE PORTER ARNOLD.


 
 One evening early in April, 1865, some six or eight gentlemen were assembled in the parler of Mrs. Henderson's large boarding house, No.- Chapel street, dis cussing that all-important subject, the wal, and comparing opinions as to the pro5a oilities of Grant capturing Lees army; while directly above, in No. { second floor, front, about the same nun. Der of lady boarders were assembled ia species of feminine military tribunal, to try one oftheir associates for the crime of high treason against the morals of the house <; but, as is usual in such cases, the culprit was not present.
 No one would have suspected, to have glanced into Mo- 4, at the pretty, girllsh- looking woman arranging her hair be- fore the glass, that she was the criminal whose misaemeanos had arraigned her before that dread tribunal.
 But so it was. Innocent as she looked pretty Ruth Lacy, or Mrs. Captain Lacy, as Mrs. Wyllys, the leader of the gossip ing clique at No. 6, had always styled her until to-day's misdemeanors had changed it to "that war widow" was really the unprincipled creature whose conduct had called forth the righteous in- dignation of the virtuous matrons and spinsters of No. 6.
 Because Captain Lacy was at work for "Uncle Sam" :" on the sacred soil of Vir- ginia, and had left behind him a remark ably pretty wife, not yet arrived at years of discretion, seeing she was as yet only twenty, it was the duty of her fellow boarders to keep a watchful eye over her, of course, in a friendly, christian way. You know such things are usually con- ducted in that manner; and, although for six months sue had been an inmate of Mrs. Henderson's boarding g-house, they had failed to discover the first dereliction from duty until to-day.
 And to-dayl
 "Oh, it was dreadful how unprincipied the war widows were growing |"
 At least Mrs. Wyllys said SO; and of course she ought to have known it any one; for hadn't she for the last three years, for want of business of her own to attend to, spent at least six hours out of the twenty-four in investigating this par ticular branch of military scienceI And when she declared most emphatically that this particular war widow was no better than the rest" she undoubtedly had good reason for that declaration. Now, the whole head and front of the of- fence was this:
 Ruth Lacy had been absent from the city week or more, and had returned late the previous evening. During her absence, the family circle had been in- creased by the addition of new boarder "a handsome young lieutenant, whom business would detain in the city some t~o or three weeks, during which time he was intending to make Mrs. Hender- sons house his home. Now, as Mrs. Lacy did not arrive until late in the evening she did not meet the newcomer until the next morning. That she did meet him then, Miss Anderson-Mrs. Wyllys' able ieutenant-could positively testify for wasn't she in the hall when they met, and didn't she, Mrs Lacy, actually allow him to kiss Der, and returned 1t, too, calling him Dear Harry" and saying how glad she was to meet him!
 No wonder the whole sisterhood held up their hands in virtuous indignation.
 It was positively shocking. and she protesting to be such a pattern of pro- priety, and pretending to love her dear @Charlie" so devotediy. Great love she must have for him, to be kissing other men and calling them love names, when