The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-07-05
OUT TO GRASS.
Howard Fielding Tells Of the Joys
OF Summer in tho
Country.
He Experienced In Find
ing n Rustic Retreat THAI
M Suited.
How tho Fates Docreed That He Should
Move In On Friday, Which He
Did.


Written for The SUNDAY INDEPENDENTLY
II OCCURRED TO ME. STANDING
IN opposite the Regent Flats. and looking
4 up at my pnrlor windows, sixty feet
above tho curbstone, that this tall box Of
a house is like the big rack of %pigeon-holes
on my desk Mt the office. In each compnrt-
ment a family is slowed away, with tho
leaves of the sweet story of home 30 darkly
folded that they will never be read Alright.
The hand of trade plucks n man out in the
morning and files him away at night,
handling him rather roughly, as a rule, 80
that he wears out before long, and thus
gets into the eternal waste-basket. 1t ia
not Il proper life for a white man.
i might have spun ont these melancholy
thoughts, l don't know how long. if the
%janitor of the flats hadn't strolled across
the street to keep me company.
"There'll be a fiat vacant On tho third
floor west next month" said he. II thought
perhaps you might want to see it,"
"There'W be another fiat vacant on the
piled, with emphasis, 'and / never want to
see it again"
You don't say 80! Going into the coun-
try for the summer"
"No," said l, "forever."
Now this was a bluff. The question of
moving to the country had never been dis
cussed in our family. The idea had long
been in my mind, but l had lacked the
courage to present it properly in our coun-
ellis. am only a small minority of us two,
and am always voted down on a division of
the house. But the occasion was auspi-
cious. We had agreed to devote that even
ing to a discussion of the summer question,
and ] knew that along towards 10 O'Clock,
when Maude began to get tired of talking, ]
should have a chance to introduce a sug-
gestion. So, as l sat at dinner devouring
the evidences of the butchers dishonesty
and the cooks incapacity, 1 revolved the
question in my mind and prepared my ar
guments.
Their success was beyound my most san
guine anticipations. Maude no sooner
caught the idea than she declared that it
had been hers all along; that it had origi-
mated in her mind; that it was altogether
too good to Iaye originated iA1lline; that II
! had taken her advice we should have zone
to the country long ago; Il that she was
glad that l had at last come around to her
way of thinking. WhenI saw Maude up
RAoP NY la hAlA atAullClllS
and trying to convince me that / had been
un~reasonably opposing that which l had
long stood ready to defend, ] knew tina the
days of our years in the city were numbered.
A woman never accepts a suggestion; she
steals it.
As to our future place of residence we
had but one mind. Maude had fully made
this mind n long time ago, she told me: and
it was no use for me to sit there and pro-
pose all sorts of silly. imprncticable things
because this WAS a serious question which
required a calm. unbiased decision; and she
had made it.
As a matter of fact l had offered no sug-
gestiQn on this point. 1t didn't much mat
ter to me where we went, SO long MS it was a
place where l could breathe the pure coun-
try air, and get away from this diabolical
French bread. and this beef that is butch
cred by a horse railroad company. So |
told Maude that Gainesville. up in Oswego
county. suited me exactly, and if the little
place we saw last summer Outing our vaca-
ton was still for sale. l would buy it. pro-
vided that the present owner was not in too
much of n hurry for his money.
l will omit the details of this purchase.
There is no reason why an honest country
mans coniding nature should subject him