Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-01-01


fairly begun ssI sttiie horse
turning up towards The use, snd
Was delighted with the prospect 81
having her lonliness cheered by CONS.
company She rushed TO the door td
meet them before they alighted iron,
the chaise, and greeted them with
great cordiality She WAS barefoo ted,
and had on d very dirty and ragged
dress, and her red hair was scratched
up under a head covering known in
those days as a log-cabin sunbonnet.i
In this plight she was even less than
usually prepossessing d
Is Miss Matte at homer s17 4
.:Oh, dear, mol Pm awful sorry, but
she heard there was some dreadful
grand folks over to Wayerly, and they
werecoming Eere toses her;and shesaid
she wouldn't have 'em come here for all
the world, cause the house looks So.
bad; and she made Square Converse
take her over across Pomfret hills to
head 'em. Idon't see why she didn't
want EN- to come, but she said she
wouldn't have 'em nohow, but she'll
be awful sorry to miss o. seem you"
But Sally was hospitable, if she was
not clean, and insisted that they
Ishould s'come right in.'' ~. !
so Toni said Maria "don't let us
lsstop; We will drive right down to the
village. / want to see Mrs. Silva, and
T know she will be glad to see U.S." 60
| But this was too funny an episode
for Tom to give up. He would 90 in,
and sit down and look at the prem
ises., Sally. came in and sat
down too, and did her best to enter
tain the company, but when by way
Of making herself agreeable, she adj
dressed him with the inquiry
| ''Tom, are you going to thesarcus?"
he nearly went into fits over it, and
almost gave her an invitation to next
| weeks circus on the spot.
At last Maria, who was too kind to
| enjoy this dreadful modification to
her friend, succeeded in getting him
st arted for the village, and WAS glad
to introduce him to the family of her
dear Mrs. Silva, where they were SO
cordially and kindly received that it
was not difficult to persuade them to
| have the horse put'up, and stay until
| after tea.
Maria was glad to have this city
cousin see this charming specimen Of
q farmers home in Vermont. Every
thing was SO clean and appropriate
and well-cared-for, within and with
out. The garden, with it's rows of veg
etabes and ripening fruit, the barn,
| the beehives, the COWS coming up from
| the pasture, the sheep crowding eager
| ~ about the farmer for their salt, tho
hens and chickens, and even the pigs,
| We're interesting to the city boy, and
he asked so many intelligent questions,
and expressed SO much admiration of
the horses and colts, and evinced such
hearty appreciation OF the bread and
butter and everything else, that the
family were delighted with him, and
gave him cordial invitation to come
and see them again Gin sugaring time"
| Just before tea, the other pair of ex-
cursionists drove up TO the door.
Matte had fingered in Waverly until
she was sure that Tom and Maria
must have started for home, and then
came back after wearisome and I'M
successful day. Her embarrassment
was extreme at meeting these friends,
but, luckily for her peace of mind, she
did not then know what had happened
at the farmhouse, or the extent of her
misfortunes. She did feel, however,
that she had made an utter failure of
her well-laid scheme, and could not
help seeing that her friends regarded
her with q kind OF contemptuous pity,
rather than with admiration. How
ever, she tried to forget her troubles,
and join in the general conversation
at the tea-table, but she thought that
atom had not improved since she saw
him, that she did not think it was
very polite to burst outs laughing at
the table when there was nothing to
laugh at
Poor Tom had really such O. sense Of
the ludicrous that he really could not
help it, though he did try faithfully
and was more shocked at himself than
she was at him.
We do not know what account Sally
gave OF her visitors, but re may be
sure that Matte heard enough to
give her q good lesson for all the rest
OF her life. Whether she learned it or
not, history does not say, but we
may take it for ourselves, remember
ing what the Irishman said, '"The
wickedness OF the wa-r-r-ld is mighty
improvin' if yell only take way-r-yninR
by it,"
Had Matte had an eye to the real
worth other country no me, and sought.
to have made it the ideal one she had
represented it to be, Tom doubles
would have admired her spirit, GER
tainly he would have respected it.