The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1885-12-31
ness tyeward the little count-v o,r, who

w Wv WutAlS 70 1CCCpo viz AViOd-
+, zion, though / may add. here thai this
is not a love story, and there was no
love in thecase
But after aH Matte did MT, begin
at home Just where she left off. We
never do this; and the Matte who
went back was hot just the same Mat
| tie who went away. Her mother
feared that she would be more discon-
tented than ever, and less suited to
the homely details of everyday
life. Whether this was so or
not, her horizon had widened,
and she had more things to
think about. Contentment does net
really depend so much upon the cir.
cumstances in which we are placed, as
upon what we are in our own selves;
and Matte had the new pleasure of
| living over the visit in her Imagination,
and in recounting her triumphs to her
| friends.
She talked very fast ofwhat she had
seen and heard, and what II said,"
and che said;" and the name Of Tom
Sherwood, who wasnot lover at all,
became quite prominent in her list of
admirers. 1t was always e. pleasure
to Matte to talk about herself, and
her companions often said OF her that
her talk had a great many large rs in
| it.
But one day dreadful surprise
came upon her. Her father came
driving up the hill, with q letter for
Mat tea manly but unknown chirog-
raphy.
"For me! Oh, what? Who can it
be from?" (Mattie's grammar was not
always quite correct) and quick
glance at the foot of the brief page re-
vealed the name of Tom Sherwood.
This was the letter:
| "WAvERLEY, AUG. Is IS.
"DEAR MISS READ,-I have come up to
these delightful green hills to visit my cous-
in, Miss Maria Smith. l find that / am
only u few miles from your beautiful home.
which you 80 often described to me; and
rs l find that Maria knows you well, and
is quite intimately acquainted with the
Silva family in your village, and wishes
| much to see them, | have persuaded her to
60 tomorrow with me to Stirling, when
shall give myself the pleasure Of accepting
your kind invitation to call upon you at
your home. As have come to this decis
ion suddenly, and expect to return to Cam
bridge on Monday, / cannot wait for a re-
ply to my note, but trust 1 may be so for
tunate as to find you at home, and happy
| to See US.
| Every sincerely yours,
| ''THos. E. SHERWOOD"
Poor Matte! What should she dol
How could she let him see the old
farmhouse, with its rag carpets and
yellow-painted floors and braided
rugs; and granpa and Aunt Melissa,
and all the rest of it; and especially
the unkempt, untidy, utterly unpre-
sentable maid -of-all-work, who was, as
she thought, almost an idiot, yet who
must be considered "as good as the
rest" and eat with the family at the
table, and Hiram, the hired man, com
ing in from his work In his shirt
sleeves, and dripping with prespira-
ton? He must have q seat st the
table, too! Oh no, the could not; she
would not; she should die with morti-
fication.
In this dilemma she thought of Mrs.
Silva, the mother of one of her young
friends, a woman of rare RIGHTEOUSNESS,
in whom the maternal instinct was so
strong that she seemed like every
body's mother, and resolved to con-
fide in her. She could not bring her
self to confess to her own mother that
she was ashamed of her and her
home.
To this kind and wise friend she went,
disclosing her affection, and begged
that she might call herself boarder
for the time in her house, and receive
the visit there.
"Your house is so sweet and nice
and cool, and you and tho girls know
how to do everything, and make every
thing so pretty! If my home was like
this, and my mother just like you, 1
would never feel bit ashamed of it,"
But this proposal was kindly but
firmly negatived. Mrs. Silva's upright
soul could not stoop to assimilation.
"No, my dear, / cannot allow you
to do that. If your young friend does
not care enough for you to bear seeing
you in your real home, and with your
own family, his is not the friendship
which you wish to RETAIN"
Here Matte burst into sobs OF un-
comfortable emotion, and the sad re-
frain,-
"What shall / do?" burst ever and
anon from her qulvering lips. "Oh,
dear, l wish had never seen anybody
outside of this town! / wish had
never been born here-or any where
else!'
At last the brilliant idea struck her
that she might forestall the visit by
going over to Waverley, and meet him
there quite by accident, and pretend
to be very much surprised, and never
to have received his letter. Yes, that
would do nicely; but she had nobody
| to take her over. Father was using
the horse, and he never would spare
Hiram to Observation-Disclosures her
sobs and tears began afresh.
Her distress, which Was real, and by
this time communicated to the whole
family, SO wrought upon the sympa-
thies Of young lawyer, prospective
sun-in.law Of Mrs. Silva's, that he f.
nally offered lat great inconvenience to
himself, to drive her over to Waiver
ley early in the morning. She dried
her eyes, went home and slept.
The next morning they started for
Waverley at an early hour, taking
cross-cut over the hills in order to
reach their destination in season to
prevent their friends from starting;
and after their departure, as IL seemed
to be broken day at the farmhouse,
the family thought it good time to
90 off on blackberrying excursion,
| leaving only the obnoxious Sally at
home to clear up after the Saturdays
baking, Fright up" the house get din
ner for TIE hired man, feed the chick
ems, and look out for tramps.
But alas for Mattie's schemes!
Tom Sherwood and Maria Smith
took an early start too, Sin the cool
of the day." but not being in any
special haste they went by the usual
route, arriving at Mr.. Reals soon
after the family departed, and before
Sally's righting up of the house had
fairly begun. Sally saw the horse
turning up towards the house, and
was delighted with the prospect Of
having her lonliness cheered by COM
company. She rushed to the door to