The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1889-05-24

| forty years constant use, Tor the
Parkman mansion had once been a
dry goods store, and the spare cham
Der had been rented as a shoe shop.
Mrs. Parkman mended the fracture"
with a couple Of clapboards, and the
| carpet covered all deficiencies.
The bedstead was newly vanished
the chairs ditto; the window cur
tains were embellished with a fringe
two nail boxes were converted into
ottomans-the rocking-chair with the
broken limb" was mended with glue
and brought up from the parlor for
the accommodation of the visitor-a
| speckled pudding-dish, covered with a
green tidy, did duty as flower vase
and on the night of the last day of
May every thing was in readiness.
The first day of June brought
Charles Eastford to Beech Ridge.
Mrs. Parkman saw the depot car
ri age driving down the road and ran
to aequaint her daughters of their
cousins arrival.
Now. girls, remember to receive
him cordially, but genteeIy-don't hold
out your whole hand to shake hands
it is vulgar! two fingers will be suffi-
cient. And don't ask him how he does.
but inquire after his health; and Ange-
lima it will be well for you to bring out
little of your French occasionally
French words are so distingeyr'
| And Mrs. Parkman, having delivered
her admonition, shook out the flOunces
| Of her black silk dress and, followed
by her daughters, went out to welcome
Mr.. Eastford.
Charlie was a tall, fnelookirg
young man of eight and twenty. with
a fair complexion, clear. blue eyes and
| light brown hair. He kissed the ladies
all around, disarranging Mrs. Park
mans collar sadly in the operation.
and overcoming Angelina to such an
/ extent that she swOOned and fell into
his arms.
Dear childr' cried Mrs Parkman,
! sprinkling her face with cologne. "she
/ is so delicate and has such refined
| sensibilities! And she has been brought
up so carefullyr'
Charles felt very much as if he had
| committed the objectionable sin, and
when Miss Angelina recovered he
begged her pardon for his rashness so
gracefully that she was fain to gra-
ciOusly accord forgiveness.
Dinner was excruciatingly genteel;
it was postponed until five, and in the
meantime Charlie had vivid ideas of
how a death by starvation affects one;
and when, at last, he was invited to
the board, every thing was on so gem
/ 81 N 10 no he oh
to touch the miniature dishes Of edi-
bles, lest there should be nothing left
to tell the tale.
Don't set our hero down for a glut-
ton; he was only very hungry gen
tlemau who had been twelve hours
without food. and who was conscious Of
a shocking vacancy in that ungenteel
region known among vulgar people as
the stomach.
Well, two days of torture passed.
Charlie was nearly done for by the
agonizing politeness of his relations,
and when he retired to his chamber at
night he determined to cut short his
visit. But what plea could he urge?
Business? Humph! they would know
better than to believe him.
by jove! the very thingl TIL get q
letter from somebody at the point of
death, without delay!" cried Charlie,
and, elated with the brilliancy OF the
thought, he spraug up, struck his feet
together, and came down on the Y Y
spot in that floor where the clapboards
were doing duty under the carpet.
He ought not to have INDUCED in
z L.
situation must plead for him, when
they learn that the clapboards bent,
cracked, broke. collapsed-and down
went our hero heels over head into
the room belOw-where he brought up
in a tub Of soapsuds. with which Katie
Glenn was scrubbing the floor.
Katie's brown eyes opened wide
she let the mop fall in her astonish-
ment-spattering the water all over
her neat blue bingham dress; and
Charlie, after lying quiet a moment,
wondering if he was Baptist of the
Free win order or not, scrambled out
and confronted the little maid.
WELL" said he, at hast, ''Tm here.
And I wonder where I am, after all?'
You are in the Kitchen" answered
Katie, demurely.
"And who are your"
Il am Katie Glenn"
Charlie eyed her moment, then
approaching her close he inquired in
a sort Of confidential whisper:
Are you genteel?"
"I'm afraid not"
"Then give me your hand. I want
to fraternize with somebody who don't
know the meaning of that horrible
word" and Charles hand closed I'M
necessarily close over the little trem-
bling fingers of Katie Glenn.
From that time the idea of the sick
friend in need was rejected. The let
ter from that unfortunate individual
did not arrive, and Charlie resigned
himself to the wafer-like biscuits and
shrunken pies with Spartan philoso-
ply.
Three weeks afterwards he delighted
Mrs. Parkman by informing her in
confidence that he had really made up
his mind to get married, aud that the
lady was member of her own family
, Further revelations he did not make,
but Mrs. Parkman drew her own con-
ciusions, and as soon as Charlie had
gone out for his customary morning
stroll, she delivered the important
tidings TO her daughters OF course,
, she argued, Angelina was the chosen
oue-the dear child! She had seer
how things were going on from the
very moment when she had tainted in
| his arms! Her darling was to marry