The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-08-18
TALES OF TEN TRAVELLERS.
AUNT MIRANDY.
BY EDGAR L. wAKEMES.

dy, a maiden lady Of exceeding vigor and eccentric character. was the repres- sion which circumstances had placed upon her natural powers. This was in- tensified by her possession of what might be properly termed large and permanent dormant means.
 Mir. Trigtidy. who was In the manu- facturing line. and who was also Aunt Mirandy's brother had often remarked to his good wife:
 ,"Clara Trigtidy. if Aunt Mirandy was a man she would make the wheels of affairs go around with hum."
 "Triplebob Trigtidy. wish she was: for then she wouldn't be here and all over every room In the house the same minute:" that lady would respond with such a show of feeling that her hus- band was stirred into temporizing apol- ogy and defense.
 You must admit she's a remarkable woman?"
 Remarkable"
 with tremendous powers?"
 Tremendous"
 And keen and penetrating insight into things?"
 Keen and penetrating"
 "With extraordinary activity"
 Extraordinary"
 "A great factor in the church?'
 Great"
 "A most original thinker?"
 Always"
 "And she's got lots of money?"
 "Oh, suppose so." {
 (Which we'll get?"
 "When" .-, # q
 ''Why. when Aunt Mirandy's through with it."
 "When'll that be-"
 Clara, she's past sixty"
 And we're only just past forty, but really older than she?"
 "Tut, tutH'
 While she has already ruled this house for twenty years; ever since year after we were married, Triple bob%
 "My, my"
 And brought our children into the world, and took 'em out of it?"
 Gracious, Clara"
 And worried those that lived until we had to send them away?" ,....... Don't put it that way, wifer,... ....-,. And engaged our servants, and se- lected our clothing and decided on our food and chosen our friends and made our enemies?" f,
 Dear, dear!-not so bad as that"
 "And owned this house and made me slave instead of wife, and you grovelingr instead of a man-all for a few paltry dollars you hope to some time get?'
 Dear, dear, dear!"
 "Oh, Triplebob Trigtidy. isn't a real home for those you love, while you and they are yet living. more than possi- ble inheritance when every thing. dear is gone and the grave is all there is left to long for?''
 MT. Trigtidy was astonished and con- fused. His good wife had never rose up to this height of protest until this mo- ment, when, as he was about to leave for his office at a late hour of the morn- ing, the unfortunate subject of Aunt Mirandy had again been preached.
 Like most men of affairs he had talk en only the business view of his cratic elder sister. Give me home, Triple bob," she had said in her curt, direct way, land when I'm gone TlIleave you a rnillion!' ~.~--..@~. It had seemed an easy way, good and filial way, to become rich and pow erful. He had only thought of that; and, like so many other we'll meaning men, had never comprehended or had always ignored the first sacred duty of the husband to preserve the home in- tact from whimsical and offensive in- fluences, which the wife and the chil- dren almost solely suffer, from ire sponsible or tyrannical relatives.
 They were coming up from the break fast room together.
 There she is, now-berating the clergyman" whispered Mrs. Trigtidy, as she brushed a few hopeless tears from her cheek; and the two heard shrill voice advancing from the recep- tion room into the hallway with bland, protestive tones and irregular footballs preceding it.
 MT. Trigtidy peered through the ban isters .apprehensively. He saw the gaunt but erect form of Aunt Mirandy advancing upon the backing, pursy fig ure of the clergyman of their own church. Her eyes flashed, her arms whirled wildly as her hands came to- gether in resounding whacks in empha- sis of her words, and her grizzled locks, disarranged from the violence of her in- dignant head shakings, whipped threat eningly about her scrawny neck and head. "Huh!' snorted Aunt Mirandy. You'll not get a pennyw But my dear Miss Trigtidy," gasped the astonished clergyman, lodging the newelpost cleverly. Don't but me, sir! I won't have 1t. Church Extension Funds? Huh! Why don't you stop extendin'? Why don't | you stop tryin' to outdo other churches? | Why, don't you stop your everlastin' beggin'?" l Remember your means, your years" pleaded the clergyman, executing a | dextrous right-about-face. during | which he recovered his hat and umbrel- | Ia