Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1886-08-10
THE OLD PIANO.

tupIotf lNoI " Nv 'ANs'-H'' ~
~ondsring Why Miss Janey cling. TO
such battered old hulk a. l. ~iih my
muiil.d. reluctant tone. and dingy. yell
low.,inged keys. bu, could tell them a
reason II chose.
Who but |. in the early isiligh,s. res
ponding 20 the touch Of her trembling
ting,r.. call. up with my faint, NOUN.
fal tone. bi'ier.sweet memories Of a van.
i.h,d youth, With whom slsc can she
commune over the ong.buried hope.
and feArs and loves Of her early .blishted
spring time. no- ihA, the autumn draws
nearer and nearer, We understand one
another. J.ney and |. and We have
grosd old and ysllos and qasrulou~
toned together l. no, Janeys own
voice becoming ,ra- cracked Of late.
and have no, the fresh tint. Of her girl.
i.h complexion taken on hue ,ha,
matches NV yellow ksls'
To be sure. | am something the elder.
bg, am equally positive ihs, have not
gone of in look. bi, more than Nj.
Jansy htrelf. although | don, wan, 20
give myself air, because time has favored
me a little more than !, has my mistress.
There j. the difference Of wear and tear
to be considered. | never had lover.
although eauno, deny ihA, ! have on
numerou. occasions supplied needfal
physical supper, 20 vAfiou. weak kneed.
Intensely yesrning. chaotic bundles Of
masculine emotion. lhavr. therefore. had
oppor,uniiie. Of observing the general
method and particular madnss, Of young
men 10 love. and should judge them 10
be very wearing upon the nervous sys'
tenn; At lsa,, have found some Of them
very wearing upon mine. There ".
Almifa's young man. for instance. lie
Was an entomolosi.,. and bad the habit
Characteristic Of hi. profession Of drop
ping all manner Of small. creeping thing.
In yariou. stage. Of activity out of his
eapaeious pockets. made TO order unu.'
ually large. | remember particularly
that on one occasion. while the professor
was absolutely turning Almira' music
in the wrong place hne specimen OF
poly ydesmus eomplans,u. escaped from hi.
poke, and disappeared within my internal
economy. causing me greA, di',res, and The
professor much anxiety, no, on my account.
/ assure you. bu, les, the polyis.mu'
eomplana,us should be squeezed little
ia ,rAn,i, OF lose a few Of the locomotive
apparatus with which Nature in gener.
ous mood had sndowedi,. really could
no, understand Why the loss Of few
feet. more OF less. where one has 90 many
more than necessary. should be regarded
a. domestic calamity, bu, then have
no, a scientific mind DO no, think
Almira had. either. though she did no,
spoil her prospects by saying 50. aud
be.,irred herself mos, actively TO recover
the pes, with the long name.
Soon after ihi. little episode AlmirA
and her en,omologist were made one and
removed to another State, with all their
worldly goods. which consisted for the
most par, Of new dresses. wedding pres
en,, and a large and varied assortment
Of native and foreign bugs.
Ada. the second daughter. being IN
the ,hump and bang period Of musical
transition, when young ladies do not play
for company but merely for their Own
amusement. | enjoyed shor, bu,
blessed respite from the passive super
vision Of young men aud msidens on
matrimonial tactics bent. Less than two
years this lasted. and then followed the
mos, trying period Of my whole existence.
Ada wa. considered the beauty Of the
family. Almira had been we'll enough IN
her way. bu, We had secretly considered
ourselves fortunate in bts,owing her up
on a lean young Professor with .Pectacle'
and a very thin stand OF side whisker.
and whose hearts best affections were
sealed up in small bottles Of picked rep.
tile. and many long legged bugs imp.lsd
upon pins. For Ada we looked higher.
Ada had many admirers. considering
the quiet country town in which We
lived, bu, I well remember ,ha, she had
passed her 2l., birthday. having received
only one offer. and that from local sew
ing machine agent. when Frederick
Foster came to spend the SUMMER with
his college ehum. George Marshall. A
gentleman OF leisure. apparently. ~hc
were upon his little finger an elegant
diamond ring, was Mr.. Fred Foster
but he was fortunate enough to possess
physical development, that rescued him
from an appearance Of dandyism. 10
spite Of certain outward tendencies IL
that direction. All bis sppur,ensnee'
from the distinguished little finger dowr
to hi, join,ed fishing rod and gsyl,
esparisoned but delusive boxes Of instei'
sppertsining thereto. were all ,ha, th'
most fas,idious could desire. Ada
chose mind. like the spare room bed wa'
alss,s made up beforehand, said inward
ly bet empha,ically here Was the mar
| for her. She admitted there might b
difficulties. lie nigh, objec, to the sP
preparation. or there nigh, be other lioaI
in the path. bu, whs, were lions com
pared with man'
Mr.. Fred had evidently been hunies
before, and that in every conceivable
manner known to modern ms,rimonia
woodcrsft and il Was very early in th
chase ,hs, Ada wisely concluded to feisl
perfect indifference and await with wha
patience she could command the de-.
when be should discover that here VA