The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-02-04
s. HE"
What the Telephone Revealed to
Aunt Sophronia.
Judge.

John King lived three miles out Of the
town Of Stanton, in the country. He was
bright young fellow. who owned pro-
ductve farm, with all the stock his acres
could feed, and a pleasant old house; vet
he found it hard to persuade pretty Martha
Carter to marry him. She liked him; he
had coaxed that confession from her own
rosy lips, but she was young, gay very
fond of society and the only child of
widow; it was the old Tilt,
81 Gamma leave my nanny yeti"
and John King, who was ten times as much
ia love with her as she with him, was
weil-nigh distracted AS his Aunt Sophro-
mia, maiden lady who kept house for him,
said:
'He amt good for nothin' | wish't he
was married an done whit, and / was
safe back to Elnathau's. He don't remem-
Der nothin'. I send in TO Stanton by him for
such things as is needtul to keep the house
sGoiu', and he don't never fetch one of
them, without 1 set to and give him a writ
out list and pin it onto his coat. Nor he
dent care uothin' about the critters; Hiram
has to do the hull ont; aud to leave costly
critters like them to hired help amt what
a man had ought to do. Not but what Hi
is real reliable, but John don't take no
interest, not mite!"
1t was all true. John was good for no
sort of work as long as Mary Carter turned
the cold shoulder to him; but after year
of persistent counting she began to show u
gentler couutenance to her devoted lover;
he began to hope.
About that time telephone company set
up its Office at Stanton, and sent its spider
threads all abroad over the surrounding
! ~.
here was another way to make his home
attractive to Matty. BY this invention he
could establish communication every hour
with the village, even ofteuer if it was
needed; SO that she need not be so separated
from her mother as she had dreaded-Mrs
Garter being wise enough to refuse home
with her son-in-law.
Sc John had a telephone put into the
''keepin'- room" of the farm house, and
told Matte the very next Sunday night
that whenever she made up her mind to ac-
cept him he would place one in her moth
er's parlor, so they could talk together
whenever they liked.
It was not so much this expensive atten-
ton that softened the little beauty's heart
as the proof it gave of Johns eagerness 10
do every thing and any thing for her COM
fort or pleasure, and, as she was more ambi-
tious and selfish than affectionate, she be-
gan to feel that it was agreeable to be a
queen.
However, this is not a love story. Matty
is only introduced to account Tor the tele-
phone. Now, about two miles beyond John
King there lived a family of Milers, con-
sisting of two elderly men, Aaron and
Joseph Miller, and woman little older
than either of them, as their housekeeper
These men were farmers, but they had
had thrown dam across wild brook that
crossed their farm just where it dashed
through small, deep valley, and, obtain
lug good water power, had built grist
and saw MILL which brought them in more
money than all the rest of the farm.
Miss Sophronia Perkins, John Kings
aunt whom we have already mentioned,
hated these neighbors thoroughly; what
reason or unreason there was for this feel
ing on her part, nobody knew; but there
was enough in the outward aspect of the
men to account for rational measure of
dislike in any woman; they were tall, stur-
dy fellows, dark of skin, rough, surly and
dirty always; stingy with their money, un-
social in their manners, and the woman
who worked for them had an unsavory
reputation.
The Miller farm, lying far back from the
high-road behind black hemlock grove,
on plateau half way up certain rugged
hills, was the sort of a place novelist
would select for robbery or a murder, so
adapted was the mise en- scene to suggest
such ideas, and so fit was the aspect Of the
two Millers to their place OF abode.
But there are many just such men and
inst such desolate farm houses in New
England, and no crime worse than greed
and selfishness enters their hearts or
homes.
The Miller brothers were proverbially
''near;" but no one except Sophronia Per-
kins ever imagined any harm of them.
They were Gurus actin creturs,n or
''smart at sixpences;" nothing worse was
laid to their charge.
When Aaron Miller heard that John
King had put in a telephone, he saw di-
Tectly the advantage the instrument would
be TO them in their daily increasing bust
ness, and after due consideration with Joe
the wire was extended to their mill, and
proved daily convenience; for they had a
-four and feed store in Stanton which
Joseph attended TO, going in early every
merning and driving back at night Now
he could send out orders to Aaron as soon
as they came in, notify him Of the arrival
at the station of grain for their grinding,
or transact directly any matter Of Eusi-