Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-05-20

| ps1s11rnce Eauaed an the MnfteF aulBhg the neighbors Mrs Whitcu1nb had an- ticipated. Ladies stopped each other in the street and talked more than usual over gates. A little throb of antieipatory excitement was abroad. The Tuckers, who appeared to live in the dark, were 1 just as much shut up in their house as ever, but the Woods were even more noisy, lifting up loud and derisive laugh ter that flew through open windows and pervaded the tennis ground. Mrs. Whit cumb heard them as she seeded raisins, and sliced citron and beat eggs, and a pe- culiar smile curled her lips. She knew their hearts were ranking with hatred and malice.
 Ann was touched by the unwonted spirit of company bustle, and her gray pebble eyes caught little gleam of warmth as she sat rubbing the silver cof feepot and sugar bowl with silicate. Something of the cheerful stir, with vague puffs of perfume, the delicious odors of baking cakes, must have comeup to Miss Mayhew, secluded in her cham Der. It was on Thursday, the day of the tea party, that Ann heard the tinkling of her mistress bell in the middle of the forenoon. When she went up to her she found Miss Mayhew sitting in the chintz covered easy chair near the window that looked out on Captain Bigh's garden. There was feverish spot on her pale cheek and her eyes were eager and un- usually bright.
 'Ann," she said, with little shade of hesitation in her tone, 'tPve been think ing if could go down to the company for few minutes just to show myself and to tell them how welcome they all are."
 Ann's mouth pursed and her look stiff ened into strong aspect Of disapproval.
 "Pve lived in my old double gowns and wrappers so long," she went on, fal- tering, and yet with the pathetic eager ness in her eyes, "I haven't anything to appear in. But there are the dresses l had before mother died all laid away in the press. I wish you would bring some of them out, Ann, and let me look at them"
 Ann saw the huttering, feeble hands and the excited look in the glassy, sunk en eyes. She moved toward the press with reluctance, as if her joints had sud- denly grown stiff, but she did move, and presently came back with some anti quated gowns hung over her arm. There was 8 blue merir' made for 8 hoop, faded in streaks and wrinkled, and a pink lawn with wide, old fashioned sleeves and low neck to be worn with lace cape.
 Miss Mayhew took the pink lawn in her trembling fingers and held it up be. side her faded, sallow face and whiten ing hair, where she could see herself in the bureau glass. It was ghastly re- hinder of her lost girlhood. An odol of dead summers and withered roses seemed to steal out of the old lawn. Il touched the poor woman's memories and she let fall the pink folds from her pale fingers, feebly pushing the gown away
 with her foot as it lay on the carpet and
 broke into weak, hysterical sobs.
 "Put me to bed, Ann," she moaned
 sinking down like flower touched by
 the frost, ''1 am cold as ice."
 l The heart seemed to break through tho strong barriers of Ann's bosom. She put
 Miss Mayhew's head down on her bonJ
 breast and smoothed her hair with hel
 knotted brown fingers. ''There, dearie
 there, dearie," she crooned; ''don't grievt
 so; wish 8 cramp had ketched Mis-
 Whitcumb afore ever she come to thii
 house."
 Ann put her mistress to bed, tuckinl
 her up warm under blankets with hot
 water bags.
 "Dear me-" said Mrs. Whitcumb, whe1
 Ann returned to the kitchen, ''I do hop,
 she isn't going to have one of her wors
 kind of spells. It might interfere witt
 the tea, and with them cards all out,
 shouldn't know what to do."
 "That's Marthy Marier Whitcumb al
 over," muttered Ann, as she retired t, the woodshed to give vent to her feelings The tea party came off that evening without anything to mar the pleasure o the occasion. It was all that had beel :, anticipated in the way of culinary ex
 cellence. Deacon Folsom, a nervou , dyspeptic, ate far more than was goo, for him, and his wife was up nearly al night applying mustard plasters to sen , sitive parts of his body. There wer several old ladies who feasted as the seldom did except at Thanksgiving , They laughed and joked softly togethe at the amount they had eaten, though had slightly stupefied their brains. Tn three Miss Slows, who were genteell
 poor, and starved themselves habitua1l 3 on bread and weak tea to keep up aI pearances, only wished their capacit I for salad and ice cream had prove 3 I greater, and that the food might abid l with them for days to come. Tn r clergyman even, though bound to set a a example, made noble inroads on tn !. | viands before him.
 r The high tea had been so delicious, sue r conspicuous example of good cooker g that the guests were loath to leave tn t table. Mrs. Whitcumb scintillated i
 her black silk with bead trimmings. 8 was one of the proudest moments of he a life. Her religious convictions we1 :. elastic and easily accommodated then t selves in all companies. Had she bee s at home in Bath among her own set sh