The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-07-10

what difference It made. To be sure the
| profits were divided with the most rigid
exactness, but everything went TRANQUILITY
| on until more than a year after fathers
| death, when Armida had suspicion, con-
| firmed by appearances, that Lucas was be-
| coming interested in a young girl in n
neighborhood a few miles away. The spirit
IF jealousy surely animated poor Armida,
| for nothing else could have prompted her
action. Having ascertained the girls name,
| she caused to be conveyed to her the facts,
| colored for the occasion, relating to the
partition of the house and lands and the
| young woman, having shrewd eye to the
| main chance, bluntly told Lucas when next
| she saw him that she didn't wish the half
of house nor the half of farm.
Lucas had thought all might go on
smoothly with wife, and had counted on
her accepting the situation lnqulrlng as
to who had meddled in his affairs, he traced
| the matter back to Armida, and coming
home mortified and angry, reproached her
in unsparing terms, ending his recital of
wrongs with: II don't know what you did
it for unless you was afraid your half was
going to be invaded; and il you feel that
way, you'd better keep to your side, and
take care of your own property. l amt
going to interfere"
Armida was powerless to protect herself
except with tears. which did not avail with
Lucas. She made overtures of peace, such
as offering to cook her brothers. meals and
look after his share of the milk, but was
warned to attend to her own business.
Lucas had new pipe-hole made in the
kitchen chimney and bought a new stove,
| and hunted up kitchen table, telling Ar
| mida she was welcome to the stove and
| table they had previously used in common,
but he'd thank her to stay on her own side
of the room. The situation would have
| been ludicrous if it had not been grim
| earnest to the brother and sister. Lucas
had hard side to his character, and he
could not forgive his sister SIinterference.
He would not even give Armida advice, but
allowed her cows to break into her corn
| field and her sheep to stray away without
warning her, though all the while his heart
| pricked him at sight of her distress. Still,
all he would do was to suggest that she get
| a hired man.
Accordingly Armida, in despair, hired an
easy-going, good-natured creature, that
offered his services He did very well, and
Armida got on better-and took courage.
But there was dreadful blow in store
for her. Lucas brought gang of carpen-
tiers to the farm, who instituted repairs on
his half of the house. He even went so far
as to commit the extravaganza of having
blinds hung for his sitting room and front
chamber windows and his half of the front
porch was trimmed with brackets and then
the whole of his half of the house painted
white, so that his neighbors rallied him on
being proud, Only" as one said, "Why
don't you extend your improvements right
along acrost the house, Lucas? 1t looks
sorter queer to see one half so fine and the
other half so slack"
"Armida's free to do as she's mind
to" said Lucas. IF she wants to fix UP
her side, she can. don't hinder her"
Nor you don't help her either, as l see,"
said the other.
Il believe in tending to your own affairs
and not interferin' with other folks"
Lucas rejoined
Armida was made very unhappy by these
changes and the comments of the neighbors
and would gladly have beautified her half
also, but had no money to spend. The
farm had fallen behind and she was
pinched for means. She did what she
could taking more care than usual of vines
and flowers, and even had an extra bed dug
under her front windows, where she had
many bright-hued flowers, but as she rose
from digging around her plants and sur
veyed the house-Lucas' side with the
new green blinds and the clapboards shin
ing with paint, hers, with its stained,
weather-beaten appearance and its staring
windowS-She felt ashamed and discour-
aged.
She feared her hired man was slack and
neglected his work, yet when he threatened
to go and afterward compromised the mat
ter by Offering to stay if she'd marry him,
at loss what to do, and partly because
she was lonely, she married him. He was
respectable man, whose only fault was
laziness, and she hoped that now he would
take an interest. When Armida and her
husband came back from the minister's
and announced to Lucas that they were
married, his only comment was: "Well, a
slack help will make a shif'less husband''
Years went by, and Armidas side of the
house fell more and more into ruin, while
carefulness, kept his in excellent repair
and occasionally renewed the paint. The
contrast was 50 great that passers-by
stopped their horses that they might look
and wonder at their leisure. Every glance
was like blow to Armida, so that she
avoided her stting-room and kept herself
in the uncomfortable kitchen, that was
divided by an imaginary line directly
through the middle line never crossed
by her brother, her husband or herself
II would have looked absurd enough to
stranger TO gee this divided room, with the
brother clumsily carrying on his household
affairs on the one side and the sister doing
her work on the other, with often not a
word exchanged between them for days
together Absurd it might be, but it was
certainly wretched. Armida grew old rap
idly Her husband was poor stick, and
when as years passed touch of rheuma-
tism gave him real excuse for laziness, he
smoke
As Armida sat on the bench under the old
russell apple tree by the back door one day
EegretttIg her evil fate she heard footsteps
approaching, and pushing back her old
bonnet looked up to see a shabby,
stumbling, oldish man coming around the
side OF the house and gazing in at the
windows. What We dom there!" said
Armida sharply.
The man turned, surveyed her with a
smile, then said with drawl she remem-
bered: II hain't been gone so long but
that know ye, Armida. Don't you re-
member me3n
Theodore Huxter Is that youl Wellm
and she hurried up to him and shook
hands violently.
Il heard only last week that father was
dead, he explained. II see man from
this way and he said he was gone. How
long SINCE"
More than ten years ago"
well, | thought I'd come and see ye.n
'Pm glad you did" she said. But come
right IN" and she led the way into the
kitchen.
He loaned up against the door and sur
veyed the room. II should "a sposed I'd
have remembered this room, but what we
don TO it! What hev We got two stoves
and two tables and all that for, Armidy 2"
Armida told him all, winding up her
story with few tears.
That accounts for the looks of the out
side, s'pose," was his only comment. II
thought il was about the dueerest / ever
see. It's ridiculous Why haven't you
and Lucas Strengthened out affairs before
this!"
Ican't and he can't / suppose" she
said, hopelessly; land every thing makes
e 1 I,ft 9 4 n 4