Huntsville gazette., 1889-05-25
father was q blacksmith and her

father was blacksmith and her
mother was a seamstress!"
| "And your mother was washer
woman. and grandfather was a coop
er!' said Hannah, unconcernedly-
with her finger in her mouth, and her
eyes fixed on the face of her parent.
| The latter rose in all the majesty OF
offended dignity.
"Child'' she exclaimed, 'repeat
those words and disown your
Hannah subsided; and Angelina
shocked and overcome, retired to the
sofa with fan and the last word
while Mrs. Parkman set about devils
ing ways and means to give the ex-
pected guest a reception which should
do honor to the gentility Of the
family.
Katie Glenn, the pretty little brown
eyed orphan girl, whom Mrs. Parkman
had charitably (?) adopted. was called
to the council, and if there was any
thing specially tasteful in the arrange
ment of the guests chamber, it was
due to Katie.
The spare chamber was over the
kitchen-an arrangement which Mrs.
Parkman was never weary of regret
ting, and the floor was broken through
in one place by the wear and tear of
forty years constant use, for the
| P&rkman mansion had once been a
dry goods store, and the spare cham
| ber had been rented as 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 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
riage driving down the road and ran
to acquaint her daughters of their
cousins arrival.
NOW, girls, remember to receive
him cordially, but genteely-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 we'll for you to bring out
a little of your French occasionally
French words are SO distingey!n
And Mrs. Parkman, having delivered
her admonition. shook out the founces
of her black silk dress and, followed
by her daughters, went out to welcome
Mr. Eastford.
Charlie was a tall, fne-lookirg
young man of eight and twenty. with
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 carefullym
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-
clously accord forgiveness.
Dinner was excruciatingly genteel;
it was postponed until five, and in the
meantime Charlie had vivid ideas of
how q death by starvation affects one;
and when, at last, he was invited to
the board. every thing was on so gen.
teel a scale that he absolutely feared
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 glut-
1
ton; he was only a very hungry gen
| tleman 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 iove! the very thing! I'll get a
letter from somebody at the point of
death, without delay!" cried Charlie,
| and, elated with the brilliancy Of the
thought, he sprang up, struck his feet
together, and came down on the very
spot in that floor where the clapboards
were doing duty under the carpet.