The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1890-01-03

DSIly anu sioSp IlASTo WHICH, "O AeA'O
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, tool So
homelikei And this nice splint-rockeri
1 tell you, girls. for real comfort
there's nothing like splint-rocker-"
She stepped to the one window in
the room and put back the plain white
muslin curtain
Better and betterr' she cried, clap
! ping her hands in almost childish
| glee Such 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 60
/ in at peoples front doors for years
/ and not know single thing about
them; but you can get a good idea of
/ what they are in a 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 l saw on the mantel. They
smell so like home"
Matte fetched them, and having
done what we could TO make the room
! convenient for her. we left her to the
enjoyment of her splint-rocker. her
rag carpet and marigolds. and won't
! downstairs TO confide our disappoint-
! ment to mother
The back yards, which interested
/ our aunt so much. belonged to a row
| of tenement cottages just across the
! alley from our house The latter be-
| ing built IN the middle of the lot and
| running back q good way. was quite
/ close to the alley. 50 that a good
| chance was afforded Aunt Matilda to
| pursue her back-door studies. for
which she professed such a penchant
Our town was an invalid resort, and
the population in consequence a very
fiuctuating one. We had, therefore,
fallen into the habit OF paying little or
no attention to the families who came
/ and went in the Row. But now we
were destined TO learn many things
I from Aunt Matilda about our back
q door neighbors What impressed US
more than any thing else was the kind
( illness Of the comments she made upon
/ her unknown friends Considering
/ that she openly ayOwed herself "a bit
/ OF 8 gossip this seemed to US all the
/ more remarkable, as all the gossips
[ We had known showed a remarkable
( penetration in discovering the weak
/ nesses and sins OF the subjects which
they diSsected
There is a new family moving into
b the red house this morning." an
nounced Aunt Matilda at dinner one
/ day. Tho woman is q nice. tidy
/ little body, and looks full of energy
/ but you can see she is not we'll She
! has bad cough and looks so worn and
tired that L feel sorry for her. Hsr
/ husband is a tall, manipulating fell
low. but he, too, has a discouraged
. look, and the little boy-there seems
TO be but one child, about ten years
old, should judge-looks as though
life had been any thing but joy to
him / shall like to find out what
/ their trouble is"
! Father held up his hands with we'll
/ feigned horror. Matilda" he said
you are without doubt the most in
/ quisitive person alive. You embody
all the necessary qualifications Of a
whole detective force"
Never mind" replied the little
lady, laughing, 80 long as l injure
no one by it you ought not to grudge
a lonely old woman her only dissipa-
ton"
al should think" said mamma,
/ hot ha ladt Il.
consumptive. OF course. if she coughs
so bad-you might see in that sufficient
cause for the family unhappiness
Perhaps, after all, they are only tired
from long journey and not really
unhappy"
Aunt Matilda shook her head.
mo. Martha, temporary WEAKNESS
does not mark such lines in the face
Neither Is the illness of one member
sufficient to permanently destroy the
family peace. Why, some of the hap
piest families l know have inmates who
! are hopeless invalids, and all the other
members seem to make point Of be-
ing bright and CHEEKY for their sakes-
No, there is something more than this
trouble over there Never mind. i
shall find out by and by"
A few days later she called to me as
was passing through the hall
'Come here, my dear. Come and
look out of my window"
81 am on the right track now. ]
told you 1 should find out Do you
see?'
Il do not understand you, auntie, :"
said.
'Why, just look at the clothes on
the line. back of the red house See
that petticoat- Ithas yards and yards
OF knitted thread-lace on it-actuaIly
/ hand-knitted. child. just think of it,
every stitch of the millions OF them
requiring four motions of the handl
More than that see that knitted coun-
terpane."
1T is lovely, auntie," / could not
help saying.
'Lovelyi Yes. II one did not think of
the woman's nfe-blood that went into
it, and Of the child's happiness that
went into it. of the widower and
orphan soon to be made by it Why.
think. Hetty, what a costly quilt it isl
Likely they had to break up coy
home at the East. and sacrifice prop
erty and business interests there TO
come here for her health And you
can buy a beautiful Marseilles quilt
for ten dollarsl Yes, very good one
for five. Five paltry dollars-and
think what went into thati / walked
past the front Of the house yesterday,
and there were fine hand-knitted cur
! tains at the windows. Why. even
} those check gingham kitchen aprons
hanging there have cross-stitch en-
! broidery three or four inches deep.
/ And the rugs that she hangs out on
/ Il. 81 hnr,A