Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-08-09
TOLD BY THE TWILIGHT.

TOLD BY THE TWILIGHT.
'You know Pm always doing queer
things" Kate said, "but last winter fair
ly outdid myself"
''What did you dor" This in chorus
from the group seated around the blazing
wood fire.
81 stole horse" she replied with per-
feet gravity.
"Ssole horse?" echoed the chorus;
'tell Us about it, Kate"
every WE'LL" she said. "Bring me my
knitting, Jack, will you please? 1 hate
to have my tongue the only busy mem
[ Der. Cans find it? Well never mind;
come sit down and I'll find it myself"
While Kate is searching for her knit
tings will you not allow the chorus to be
prefenSed to you? We, the chorus, are
Kate's guests at her charming OLD home
stead In Sussex. We are not all sopranos
and altos by any means; we are about
equal in extremely agreeable tenors and
baritones, for Kate the doer of 'queer
| things" never demonstrated her queer
ness by inviting lot of women to spend
October with her in a country house only
to leave them to languish before each
| others eyes.
Nor did she trust to such men as the
town might offer; she imported her own
specimens, and whoever received an in
vitation to "Morningside" could rely
upon the choiceness of the specimens.
This had been so in the days when
Kate had been entirely clancy Free" and
lived at "Morningside" with a chaperon
as charming as she was useless, and now
that the grand old place had master as
we'll as a mistress, the same rule of agree
able pairing off was still adhered to, which
proves, does it not, that Kate was glori-
Gus exception to the rule of az erage
young married women, who, being quite
content with their own life cavalier,
dream not that other maidens may sigh
for other companionship than his?
| This was our first October at Morning.
side since Kate's marriage, and on the
particular morning whereof l write, we
were seated in a semi circle around the
blazing logs, Kate in the middle, and Jack
her husband, very near her. When she
announced her last escapade a smile
might have been seen lowering about his
lips, amused at first, then gradually melt
| ing into one of extreme tenderness,
which said quite as plainly as words
| that Kate's story was one of interest to
him.
do you believe in the depravity of in
animate objects?" Kate enquired when
she joined US again.
81 do. am willing to swear that / left
this knitting on yOnder table. found it
| in the library under a chair, where it had
deliberately hidden itself away from
me-" l
at must be feminine" said Berry, cast
ing a reproachful glance at Laura, and
therefore bound to be as aggravating as
! possible"
81 know very well you would chase it,
Kate" said Laura, calmly.
"Imagine its disappointment if you
! hadn't Kate" said Jack, smiling sauoily
! at Laura.
my DEAR" said Kate, ''don't you know
they never run away except they are
morally certain CT being chased!"
"Is knitting They" asked jack grave
lily.
"No, but women are. You know what
I mean"-
''Bub the story" said Laura, who did
not fancy the turn the conversation had
taken.
"Of course, the storyw we exclaimed
together.
"Well,' said Kate, settling herself
comfortably in her chair. ''You know
spent winter before last in Boston, and
being thorougIy tired of hotel life, ]
went to large boarding house. | need
not describe it; you know that by some
mysterious ruling of the unseen fates 9
boarding house is nothing more nor less
than a rallying ground for widows, and
mine was no exception to this rule
There were widows in every stage OF
bereavement and every stage of mourn
ing; from the undisputabie hue of real
grief to the delicate tint of questionable
sorrow. Some were natural widows who
had really lost real husbands, others of
that variety called 'grass'-becaHse they
spring up everywhere, just as grass does,
| 1 suppose. But all call themselves
widows. Of one only shall 1 speak, Mrs.
Otis. From my arrival to my departure
Mrs. Otis was constantly on the watch
for me to do queer things And did
my best to crafty her desire; l never
disappointed her if could help it! When
l failed to furnish her with g weekly
morsel to roll under her tongue she was
positively offended, and looked upon it
as personal affront. Yet in spite of
my genuine efforts to be useful to her as
a moral wherewith to adorn her many
tales of feminine idiosyncrasies, she never
appeared specially grateful to me. In
tact we were so mutually antagonistic,
that, although no open warfare existed
between US, it was evident enough that
we were not friends. One of the bright
young girls in the house spoke of Mrs.
| Otis always as my particular enemy.
But enough of that. She has since mar
RED, and had 1 longed for revenge /
couldn't have had sweeter." And Kate
laughed unsteady.
"Whv?" we clamored.
Because she married the man she
didn't want. But no more of her now.
You know no one can live in Boston with
out becoming tainted with literary and
intellectual ambitions, aud I was no he
roic exception TO that rule. That winter
Browning was the idol worshipped. He
has ever been my idol, as you know, and
from my enthusiastic study of his vigor-
oss poetic philosophy of life I deemed
fit to conduct a Browning class. We met
at the house of a charming woman who
was such a sufferer that her couch was
literally her home. She lived III one of
the loveliest houses 1 have ever seen.
But there was this disadvantage, so far
as was concerned, her home was some
eight miles from the city, and most ideal
ly remote from the vulgar convenience
of a railroad. Consequently l was oblig-
ed to drive over. One very cold January
afternoon l was waiting impatiently for
the conveyance that was to take me to
W. was ready, warmly wrapped in
furs and prepared to defy the cold, and I
did net relish beirg kept waiting by the