Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-11-15
BACKYARD STUDIES.
Aunt Matilda's Observations from
Her Back Window.


room, we were greatly disappointed.
fer sister Matte and had spent weeks
OF our precious vacation time in max
ing all sorts OF pretty nothings to
| beautify the guest-chamber for her
occupancy. We had not seen Aunt
Matilda for ten years. In that time
Matte and I had grown from little
| girls to young ladies in our teens and
members OF the high school. The
principal things l could remember
about Aunt Matilda were her pretty
gray curls and gold-rimmed glasses,
and that when she visited us l always
had on fresh, white pinafore, and she
would say to me:
Come here, my dear, and let me
wipe my glasses on your clean apron"
Very proudly would l comply with
her request for we considered it a
great honor to wear any thing clean
enough to come in contact with her
polished gold .spectacles. Then when
she had used one corner OF the pima
fore so carefully as not to leave rum
pie she would pass her plump, warm
hand over my curls and say:
What tall girl you are growing,
Hetty. my child. l hope you are
e good girl at school and always mind
3 your teacher"
And / would answer: Eyes. ma am,
Q very timidly and go back to my seat
on high, hair-covered chair, where l
: would make a desperate effort to sit
straight and keep from sliding off.
e Father had moved West-away out
h to Colorado-and. as l said, we had
# not seen Aunt Matilda for ten years
+ when we received the welcome news
l. that she was coming to pay us visit,
l. and we all resolved not to let her go
d away from us again if we could help
o it. Perhaps this was the reason we
h had taken such extra pains with the
,e guest chamber. | know, when it vas
d all finished, Matte and | surveyed it
h with what we hoped was pardon
c. able pride. We had coaxed from
r papa a new bedroom suit of polished
a oak which, with its broad mirror oil
i plate glass, shone grandly in the sun.
,e light which streamed in through the
70 curtains OF the yellow china silk. The
he bio, plush cushioned patent rocker
lie was resplendent in draperies of hand
s. painted silk, while the wicker chair:
D. displayed their fine linen and satir
r. ribbons, and even the ottoman wa:
es fine in silk embroidery. As for th'
ir bed-well, it was simply lovely
Shams were not out of date then. ant
ds ours were marvels of fine lace and tn
n. Chinese laundry art-and the pref
an test yellow satin bows in corner o
of each! The lace spread over quilt o
re yellow silesia, and the scarf of Graz
nj work in silk and velvet completed tn
he ravishing picture.
4 When Aunt Matilda came Matti
re- and | had the honor of escorting he
N. to this chamber of state and, you ma
iii be sure, we watched furtively to Sc
ms how it impressed her.
il Perhaps we were the more anxiou
cd because we knew she had oppose
he fathers coming West, and we wante
les to impress her with the financial SUI
lev cess of the move, and to show her thu
truly aesthetic taste dwelt even as fl
;s west as Colorado.
-. .Let me taka off your wraps, auntie,
i said Matte setting her little hand of
ON the floor by the dresser, and goir
ND to Aunt Matilda. who stood lookir
about in a hesitating manner.
mo "Wait a minute, my dear-let
tell you something you won't mir
if your old auntie is frank with you,
know. I've lived over sixty years,
W dear. and I've found that in the ell
a." it always pays to be frank with yo
best friends Nov, | know you wa
'"n me to feel perfectly at home here, a
" this room is very beautiful-yes, We
UT beautiful indeed-but 1t is too lar
Gus md fine for simple old lady like n
olo DON'T YOU see l couldn't really
the ,oainst any of these handsoi
'i.n lraperies-it would be sure to MT
AS bem-and-well, | shouldn't feel
10 east bit at home here. I've hvet
yery plain, quiet life, you know. NO
ross iris. if you We little coy back ro'
ght- omewhere, with just plain furnltu
died n that wouldn't feel that was mu
r SO mo- any thing, | should enjoy 1t
much.
COM In vain we protested that MOTH
1ong vas too nice for her to use, and u
wing 70 had no other room good enor
tam or her. She silenced us with gra
rms, nj. girlish wave of the hand a
more baking the gray curls, said
shed Now. my dears, you can not
COW ne that way, if am an old WON
tn am frst-rate at game OF hide-a
errl- eek and shall just find a room
the ,vself In this large house l XII
ough here is a corner for me somewnef
lor And sure enough she step
tnen, briskly across the hall, and pauseo
'hroe fore the door of a back chamber.
i .Does any one occupy thisF
lg oil Mott;e shook her head, and cas-
70 70. W despairing glance at me- as she .
an ..But it will never do at all, ani
,rsr1 1t is just little box oil a room
!. uished up with odds and enas
90 nut Miss Belts in there when
men, comes to sew for us, and sometl
heao Hetty and sleep there when we
n o;a extra company and have to give
a. our room"
Aunt Matilda opened the door,
l. ever. and stepped In.