The Irish standard., 1892-12-03
very wen Chat the golden rule has no
practical application to the art Of enter

very wen CHAT the golden rule has no
practical application to the art Of enter
tanning.
The cards dropped into the Littlefeld
postofice caused all the futter among
the neighbors Mrs Whitcumb had an
icipated. Ladies stopped each other in
the street and talked more than usual
over gates. A little throb of anticipatory
excitement was abroad. The fuckers,
who appeared to live in the dark, were
just as much shut up in their house as
ever, but che Woods were even more
noisy, fling 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 Pc
culiar smile curled her lips. She knew
their hearts were ranking with hatred
and malice.
Ann was touched by the unwonted
spirit of company hustle, and her gray
pebble eyes caught little CLEAN of
warmth as she sat rubbing the silver cof
feepot and sugar bowl with silicate.
Something of the cheerful stir, with
vague putfs of perfume, the delicious
odors of baking cakes must have come up
to Miss Mayhem, 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 Mayhem sitting in the chintz
covered easy chair near the window that
looked out on Captain Bligh's garden.
There was feverish spot on her pale
cheek and her eyes were eager and un-
usually bright.
"Ann," she said, with a little shade Of
hesitation in her tone, ''I'ye 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"
AIMS mouth pursed and her look stiff
ened into a strong aspect of disapproval.
GIVE lived in my old double gowns
and wrappers so long," she went on, fall
tering, and yet with the pathetic eager
ness in her eyes, II haven't anything to
appear in. But there are the dresses
had before mother died all laid away in
the press. wish you would bring some
of them out, Ann. and let me look at
them"
Ann saw the futtering, feeble hands
and the excited look in the CLASSY. 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 blue merino made for a hoop,
faded in streaks and wrinkled. and
pink lawn with wide, old fashioned
sleeves and low neck to be worn with
a lace cape.
Miss Mayhem 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. 1t was CHASTITY re-
hinder Of her lost girlhood. An odor
of dead summers and withered roses
seemed to steal out Of the old lawn. It
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.
'sPut me to bed, Ann she moaned,
sinking down like flower touched by
the frost. II am cold as ice"
The heart seemed to break through the
strong barriers of AIMS bosom. She put
Miss Mayhew's head down on her bony
breast and smoothed her hair with her
knotted brown fingers. ''There, dearie;
there, dearie she crooned; ''don't grieve
so; | wish cranp had ketched Mis-
Whitcumb afore ever she come to this
house."
Ann put her mistress to bed, tucking
her up warm under blankets with hot
water bags.
'Dear me- said Mrs. Whitcumb, when
Ann returned to the kitchen, II do hope
she isn't going to have one of her worst
kind of spells. It might interfere with
the tea, and with them cards all out, /
shouldn't know what to do"
''That's Marthy Marier Whitcumb all
over" muttered Ann. as she retired to
the woodshed to give vent to her feelings.
The tea party came off that evening
without anything to mar the pleasure of
the occasion It was all that had been
anticipated in the way of culinary ex-
cellence Deacon Folsom, a nervous
dyspeptic, ate far more than was good
for him, and his wife was up nearly all
night applying mustard plasters to SEN
sitive parts of his body. There were
several old ladies who Toasted as they
seldom did except at Thanksgiving.
They laughed and joked softly together
at the amount they had eaten, though it
had slightly stupefed their brains. The
three Miss Slows, who were genteely
poor, and starved themselves habitually
on bread and weak tea to keep up ap-
pearances, only wished their capacity
for salad and ice cream had proved
! greater, and that the food might abide
with them for days to come. The
clergyman even, though bound to set an
example, made noble inroads on the
viands before him.
The high tea had been so delicious, such
conspicuous example of good cookery
4