New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1885-12-30

III
g. " 4. tiiDn esl-
EsSHs ~ Il iyIllided
shsili1 Il = lace lals ''ssl
and she drsw sun nh d pic nre g her
IIsol !ntry e.see that she alm.ost
Believed ia it it 4 herself ei,as
Tom Sherwo od was her hero sof the
nour He had always lived in Boston,
but thought he should delight IN the
country, and she told him Of her an
fcestra home and broad acres, and re-
ally worked herself up to q little en-
sthusiasm on the natural beauty of
her native place.
Every day brought new pleasures
with it. There we're drives and pic
MICS and spreads, " and all the be-
wildering delights Of q young girl in q.
college town. There were visits
to Boston, that wonderful CEN
ter of everything attractive to the
New England mind! there was the Mu-
scum; there were the shops, with ev-s
erything to tempt the eye, and the.
concerts to charm the ear. Oh, it was
.1just lovely!'' as she said; and Mat
tie had never dreamed of,such good
time in her lie. But the visit came to
an end at last, and Matte returned
home, with q sad consciousness that
the bright vision was over, and the
old life was to begin again just where.
it left off.
Tom Sherwood had a slight tender
ness toward the little country girl who
had given him such obvious admira-
ton, and when she told him that she
would like to show him her country
home, he felt that he should
be quite willing to accept the invita-.
ton, though | may add here that this
is not a love story, and there was no
love in thee
at home just where she left off. We
never do. this; and the Matte who
went back was not 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 was not a lover at all,
became quite prominent in her list Of
admirers. It was always a 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
Matte, "a manly but unknown chirog-
raphy.
'.For me! Oh, what? Who can it
be from?" Mattie's grammar was not
always quite correctly and q quick
glance at the foot of the brief page re-
vealed the name of Tom Sherwood.
This was the letter:
s'WAvERLEY. AUG. Is IS.
. "DEAR MISS Read have come up to
these delightful green hills to visit my cous-
in, Miss Maria Smith. I find Chat I am
only o few miles from your beautiful home,
which you so often described to me; and
as find that Maria knows you well, and
is quite intimately acquainted with the
Silva family in your village, and wishes
much to see them, I have persuaded her to
90 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 may be 80 for
tunate as to find you at home, and happy
to SEQ US.
very sincerely yours,
.'THos. e. SHERWOOD
Poor Matte! What should she do?
How could she let him see the old
farmhouse, with it's 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 at the
table, too! Oh no, the could not; she
would not; she should die with morti-
fcation.
In this dilemma she thought of Mrs.
Silva, the mother OF one Of her y Dung
friends, a woman Of rare graciousness,
in whom the maternal instinct was so
strong, that she seemed like every
body's mother, and resolved to con-
fde in her. She could not bring her
self to confess to her own mother that
she was ashamed of her and her
home.
II Tl.sIts., t-.#1 80 . /, 81 Sst5s.