Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1889-10-31
BACKYARD STUDIES.
Aunt Matilda's Observations from
Her Back Window.

ing all sorts OF pretty nothings TO
heautify the guest-chamber for her
occupancy. We had not seen Aunt
Matilda for ten years In that time
Matte and | had grown from little
girls to young ladies in our teens and
members of the high school The
principal things | could remember
about Aunt Matilda were her pretty
gray curls and gold-rimmed glasses,
and that when she visited us always
had on fresh. white pinafore, ana she
would say to me:
Come here. my dear, and let me
wipe my glasses on your clean apron.
Very proudly would comply with
her request, for we considered 1t
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. | hope you are a
good girl at school and always mind
your teacher
And would answer: Eyes, ma am"
very timidly and go back to my seat
on high. hair-covered chair, where l
would make desperate effort to sit
straight and keep from sliding of.
Father had moved West-away out
| to Colorado-and as l said, we had
not seen Aunt Matilda for ten years
when we received the welcome news
that she was coming to pay us a visit,
and we all resolved not to let her go
away from us again If we could help
| it. Perhaps this was the reason we
had taken such extra pains with the
guest chamber. know, when it was
all finished, Matte and | surveyed it
with what we hoped was pardon
| able pride We had coaxed from
papa new bedroom suit of polished
oak which, with its broad mirror of
plate glass, shone grandly in the sun
light which streamed in through the
curtains of the yellow china silk. The
big, plush-cushioned patent rocker
was respondent in draperies of hand
painted silk, while the wicker chairs
| displayed their fine linen and satin
ribbons, and even the ottoman was
fine in silk embroidery. As for the
bed-well, it was simply lovely!
Shams were not out of date then. and
| ours were marvels Of fine lace and the
Chinese laundry art-and the pref
/ test yellow satin bows in corner of
each! The lace spread over quilt of
yellow silesia, and the scarf Of crazy
work in silk and velvet completed the
ravishing picture.
When Aunt Matilda came Matte
and had the honor of escorting her
to this chamber of state and, you may
be sure, we watched furtively to see
how it impressed her.
Perhaps we were the more anxious
because we knew she had opposed
fathers coming West, and we wanted
| to impress her with the financial sue
cess of the move. and to show her that
truly aesthetic taste dwelt even as far
west as Colorado.
A<Cb iAiO tofNC VA ONAA Hot aAthbA1s
said Matte, setting her little handbag
on the floor by the dresser, and going
up to Aunt Matilda. who stood looking
about in a hesitating manner.
"Wait minute. my dear-let me
tell you something you won't mind
if your old auntie is frank with you, l
know. I've lived over sixty years, my
dear, and I've found that in the end
it always pays to be frank with your
best friends. Nov, know you want
me to feel perfectly at home mere, and
this room is very bcautiful-yes very
beautiful indeed-but 1t is too large
and fine for simple old lady like me.
Don't you see l couldn't really sit
against any of these handsome
draperies-it would be sure to muss
them-and- | shouldn't feel the
least bit at home here. I've lived
very plain, quiet life, you know. Now,
girls, If you've little coy back room
somewhere, with just plain furniture,
so that wouldn't teel that | was muss-
ing any thing, | should enjoy 1t so
much"
In vain we protested that nothing
was too nice for her to use, and that
we had no other room good enough
for her. She silenccd as with grace
ful, girlish wave of the hand, and,
shaking the gray curls said:
Now. my dears. you can not fool
me that way, if | am an old woman
am tirst-aste at game OF hide-and-
seek and shall just find room fos
myself. In this large house ! know
there is u corner for me somewhere.
And sure enough she stepped
briskly across the hall, and paused bo-
fore the door of back chamber.
"Does any one occupy this?"
Matte shook her head, and cast
despairing glance at me, as she said:
But it will never do at all, auntic.
1t is just little box of a room, fur
nished up with odds and ends. We
put Miss Belts in there when she
comes to sew for us, and sometimes
Hetty and | sleep there when we have
extra company and have TO give up
our room"
Aunt Matilda opened the door, how
ever, and stepped in.
"The very thing" she cried, de-
lightedly. "A rag carpet. too! SO
homelike! And this nice splint-rockerl
tell you, girls, for real comfort
there's nothing like a splint-rocler.
She stepped to the enc window in
the room and put back the plain white
muslin curtain.
Better aad better!' she cried, clap
ping her hands in almost childish
glee. ''Such a row of nice back
yards! You see. girls. I'm an inquisi-
tive old lady, and | dearly love to
watch peoples back yards. ! get ac-
! quainted with them so. You can go
in at peoples front doors for years
and not know single thing about
them; but you can get good idea of
what they are in q week from the
rear.
So Aunt Matilda had her way.
There's just one thing | would like
from the front room, girls" she said,
land that is the vase Of yellow mari
Colds saw on the mantel. They
smell so like home.
Matte fetched them, and having
/ dana trbnf mo oO,,Id ~ ,not-a .Ia ,.o.n,,,