The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1885-05-30
In PARENTHESIS.
A Conversation Incident to a Ger.
tain Morning Call.

The scene is an elegant drawing-roor
In large city Of the Northwest. Mrs
Newrich is making a morning call upo
Mrs. Van Highton, who exclaims, in he
most gushing manner:
II am delighted to see you in sucl
exuberant health and spirits, my dea
Mrs. Newrich. How is your charmin,
tamily?"
20, sorter middlin'. Pretty well tire,
out with Serafiny, who's gettin' read,
to be married, and is a-pesterin' MS t
pieces about her trosser. She dom
seem to think nothin' here is goot
enough for her, and wants everything
from Paris. Her par says if this wed
ding don't land us in the poor-house he
shall bless has stars. Girls is awfully
expensive and unreasonable.
''But you, with your millions, need
not mind few thousands lavished on
that lovely girl" (Aside-"What a
shame to throw away fine clothes and
costly jewelry upon that tallow-haired.
freckled, dull-eyed, scrawny. stupid
. creature! No man would think of mar
rying her If it were not for her fathers
money.')
II s'pose my husband is rich as Gre
osus, but that don't keep him from
groanin' over the money it takes to keep
up the style we live in. He wants il in
land and stocks, where it will be brinpin'
in somethin'. The more he has. The
more he bankers arter.''5 tsai -. /
.i ''de knows that here in the North
west the dollar is almighty. Therefore
he wisely reaches out for It in all direc-
tons" replies Mrs. Van Highton.
suavely, with this mental commentary:
Giles cold-blooded, horrid, rascalfy
old Shylock, bound to have his pound
OF flesh; and everybody says so."y
"uriah says that money is the. one
thing needful in this world" remarked
Mrs. Newrich; ''that nobody can't be
nothin' without it.
"a very wise observation returns
Mrs. Van Highton, adding. beneath her
breath, CHE certainly can not. Iwon-
der ii he has forgotten the time when
he worked as day laborer on the rail-
road and his wife boarded the hands
and did their washingp'') Thinking it
well to change the subject, sore one
10 her just then, she said, sweetly: al
hear that you have been investing some
what largely in paintings and statuary.
knowing your aesthetic tastes, am
anxious to see these rare works of art
Eyes. we have. When we was in
furrup last year we bought lots of |
statutes and picturs of the old
good many articles of
virtue, as Serafiny calls EN-"
Mrs. Van Highton, aside-("A great
Zeal goa know of the old masters! You
nave no doubt been wofully taken in.
md it serves you rightly
I'VE bought 'em in job lot, and of
irt connoshers, who swore that thew
we're geniwin. They orter be, consid-
rim the money they cost
.Will you kindly name some of the
'aintings?'
There's Madonny with heavenly
herlbubs by Rattle, sculptur piece by
'ra Diayolo. a Venus arisin' from the
ca Dy Leonard Winchy, and lots of
tner high-up things by old fellers with
utlandlsh names that / dsremember.
nd couldn't pronounce nohow. Sera. ,
ny pegs me never to try. She can tell
Q all about 'em. She reads the art
ooks and has the art lingo at her
,ngue's end. She says she wouldn't
i've house-room to a picture naintad i,
,meriky."
II have heard that your daughter ;s '
most admirable art connoisseur." '
''rretentious mink! She doesn't know I
re Greeks from the Romans. She can
OF tell an old master from a tea-store
nromo!) was Mrs. Van Highton,s {
,ental criticism; but she said, blandlv:
How proud you must be of yonr G
aughter's accomplishments n
A smile OF gratified maternal vanity
radiated the broad, red face of Mrs. s.
ewrich. Yes, Serafny knows h
zap" she said; '.but she has no jdee !.
the valew of money, and can't trust =
y 70 buy things. promised to shop n
TN her this mornin', and L must be +
goin'. I've ten thousand other things y
do" !.
with your large establishment and a,
'ended visiting list your time must be ci
ore than occupied. A.
with housekeeper to see to things. Of
9 . corpse of trained servants. 1 have b,
tning to do to home but to give
lers. But my outside duties is tre- o,
day." ~ "a
Mrs: Van Highton glanced over her ii,
'nd's tablet and read a long list of M
yagements-''Cawls; bord meetins. to
: anniversary of the Society for Indig, an
It Femails.n etc. ~;
Indignant }emoiis ~ laughed Mrs. ris
uHighton to herself; but she said ri
ely: ,s -
fou are marvel Of industry and Be-