Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1889-12-14

pending all his atfability and pollteneSS
outside of his own family-this charm
ing old gentleman had invited all the
neighbors to a Christmas party.
On the afternoon of the day appointed
for the festivities, as he was standing
by my open case, winding me up, a
servant brought a letter for Mistress
Dorothy, saying it had just been left at
the gates by horseman.
Who could be writing to his ward?
ALL that handwriting was not unfa-
miliar-Erncst De Lancey! While thus
bordering he suddenly heard Dorothy's
step. He hardly dared to DELHI
erately destroy the letter, and in his
indccision no abruptly threw tho
missive into the open case and closed
the door, and by this act sweet Dorothy
and Ernest Dc Lancey were forever
separated.
During the festivities that night, after
the Virginia reel, and while playing
blind-man's-buff, big six-footer, with
his eyes bandaged, ran plump into me,
and, with crash, eight feet of clock
was spread on the floor, and the next
day the attic was considered good enough
to hold the wreck.
Time passed and there lay, becoming
grad ually buried by tho dust and cob
webs and too run dozen to keep track of
time. One by one familiar companions
from downstairs were gathered about
me; the brass andirons, the silver can
dlesticks and the dear old spinning
wheel which Dorothy used to turn.
From these old friends l heard of Won
derful changes that were going on in the
world-of new ways of writing, of diff
ferent ways of heating and queer ways
of sewing, also of great alterations in
the old house itself, which at times had
shaken my shattered frame. But nc
news of Dorothy; and with that letter
still in my case rest was not possible.
Our long period of quietude was now
seldom disturbed. A few chairs had
joined us, but their opinion of what was
going on in the world were valueless;
they were so easily sat upon; they never
formed any Impressions of their own;
they simply received the impressions OF
others.
| like the silver candlesticks or the brass
! fire-irons, to come among US, when, after
an unusual amount of noise, an old
| Venetian mirror was thrust into our
midst. The first thing it did was to cast
reflections en- us all. We saw at once it
was cracked; in fact it was SO shattered
that it was hardly capable of framing a
reply; but, in its broken-up way, it gave
us some idea of tho great changes which
were still going on. There had been
marriages, deaths, births and picnicS
Why, hundreds, yes, thousands of days
must have passed since my exile from
the busy whirl!
After another long period of quiet
ness, merry peals of laughter gradually
aroused us. Our dark, dusty den had
been penetrated by two lovely girls.
Yes, they must have been lovely for
their voices to sound SO sweetly in this
dismal attic. We were all ovCrhauled-
the candlcsticks, the andirons, the
| spinning whecl-but their greatest 10Y
seemed to be on finding me. / now
gathered that one young lady was Wis
itor from place called Boston, city,
| judged from her talk, much older and
| larger than London or Paris.
Soon after they departed men came
and we were once moro taken into the
daylight. When the dust was removed
and we were rubbed and polished, how
we all frightened up! Once more they
stood me up, perhaps little shaky now,
through a missing foot and other injur-
les received the night of my fall, so long,
long ago. And all this time no one
found the letter buried in the dust al
the bottom of the case.
The Boston girl seemed so glad to sec
me tn at She did not want me to 40. 1t
was evidently her idea, this bringing
us all into use once again. All! How
changed the house, the furniture, the
people event
Suddenly in the hall l heard the
sweet old verses Dorothy used so often
to sing. Yes, There was no miStaIling
the song; and through the open door,
raising the porticro, in she came. She,
at least, was unchanged; the same
bronze eyes and dilating pupils, the
same charming mouth with It's dimple
on one side only, the samc-no, not the
same gown; and they called her Dora
now.
Her robe was no longer SOFT artistic,
clinging gown, but tight, though not
unbecoming, dress, which, however,
seemed filled with queer wire hoops at
the back of tho skirt. And in place of
the cheerful spinning-whecl by the lat
,,h<l{I