The Washington times., 1894-10-24
K6r HUqUSfUS Spoke.

the county fair.
Augustus is not public speaker. though
! he has often read papers before scientific as
sociations.
1t seems singular that he was chosen. OF
course | consider him great man. but no
one would suspect him of a leaning toward
either agriculture or horticulture. Our lawn
and garden present the worst appearance of
any in town.
could not help saying to him that it would
be well to advise the farmers TO improve their
dooryards. but he quite ignored the remark.
inquired several times how he was getting
on with his addr ess, and invariably learned
that there was time enough; he always wrote
| better when there was something to spur him
on, and so the Saturday before the fair week
came around Augustus informed me at break
/ fast he was going into his study TO plunge
/ head and ears into his address, and on no
| account must he be interrupted. So | was
surprised to have him come INTO the kitchen
about 10 and tell me that he wanted luncheon
put up-he was going to Fernwood with Prof.
Rogers.
ITO Fernwoodr' 1 repeated. "Why, Au-
/ gustus Dempster it is your duty to stay at
! home and write on that address, l should
! think you would be wild over it!'
You do not understand Maria" he
/ answered. rather loftily, what day in the
I open air means to a man who works con-
stantly with his brain. L can do twice the
! execution after it. >"
The next week there were unusual de-
mands upon Augustus, and such as could not
! be set aside. He grew moody and irritable.
! / thought wisest TO say nothing, though l
/ was consumed by anxiety.
! Thursday was the day Of the address
! Wednesday night | was very tired. / had
! been making Jelly. and had just finished seal
/ ing the glasses when, at $50. he came down
to the kitchen and inquired if there was hot
water.
Il have raging headache he said, land
that pesky address isn't half done. l was a
! fool 10 take it.
The fire was out, but fastened to relight
/ it, and carried the boiling water to the study.
! Augustus treatment of headache IS pecul-
! lar. He puts his feet into hot water and a
/ hot water compress on his head, and at such
! times he is not exactly a subject for painter.
/ j changed the steaming towels every few min
utes and went down after water five times.
I burned his feet more than once, and ejac-
! ulations were not complimentary. / suppose
! If. before | was married, / had believed 1t
| possible that Augustus would ever speak to
! me like that l should have lain down and
! died. | had other business now.
In the intervals of my hydrOpathic treat
ment looked up several classical stories to
which he wished to allude, and found some
| poetical quotations.
/ At midnight he was red as a lobster; the
/ great veins on his forehead sWelled almost to
bursting. his hands trembled.
Augustus, said /, this won't do. You
! must stop and sleep or you will never finish.
! You rest till l O'Clock and l will copy what
! you have written He fumed awhile, but
! finally got him of in his nightcap of towels.
1f,,lI.- nfva
! him. Ho came in looking sleepy, but de-
clared his headache better and began looking
over the manuscript on which l had been
/ busy.
How iliegibly you have written thisn' he
said. Il shall blunder fearfully in reading It. !"
why" returned I, bristling up with
wounded vanity. you used to say that my
handwriting was as plain as type"
IF | ever said that, he answered, you
certainly have grown slack now
lay down for an hour or two with a sore
heart. | ought to have known that Augustus
was hardly responsible for what he said.
When / called Augustus TO breakfast he was
| feeling comparatively cheerful. for he had
/ finished the address. l sat down to copy be-
fore / washed my dishes. while he went into
/ the attic to rehearse to the rafters, schoolboy
fashion.
carriage was to be sent for him at 1890.
/ / was determined to hear the address, and
was hurrying away for dear life at my toilet;
/ stood before the mirror with my hair IN my
/ hand when Augustus knocked.
Maria" asked he, will you put in my
/ sleeve buttons? / can't do it, and fear the
carriage will come before | am ready
20, nonsenser' l cried, ''it won't be here
! for half an hour
''WeII. 4" he said. Il am about used up;
/ don't know how L shall ever get through this
| thing"
Dear me!' 1 thought, 'if the man can't
dress himself, what will happen"
l dropped my hair, washed my hands, adj
justed the buttons, tied his necktie and ran
down to make a strong cup OF coffee He had
! just swallowed it when the carriage rolled up.
reached the fair ground just as the exer-
cises were commencing. The seats were all
| filled, but a gentleman brought chair, either
| from courtesy or In consideration of the re-
! lation | sustain to Augustus.
When the speaker of the day was announced
my heart beat so / feared it would attract no.
tice. l expected he would falter or faint, or
do some other dreadful thing.
There he stood, calm and majestic as the
eternal hills. and not even my penmanship
could make him trip on a single syllable.
thought of the frantic, iorid individual
upon whom | danced attention the previous
night. and was glad his audience did not
know he had any other aspect than the one
he now presented
cess. and Augustus grew so genial in the at
mosphere of appreciation that he beamed on
me when he came home, almost like lover.
But woman who has been married ten
years knows that displays OF affection should
be turned to practical use-a little domestic
hay made while the sun shines; so when he
said:
Maria, you behaved like an angle last
night, and | treated you like brute, l re-
piled. 20, don't mention it; was so glad to
help you. But Augustus can't you manage
to put the yard in trim this fall-it mortifles
me sop
His countenance fell, but he was ashamed
to refuse.
''Yes, he replied. .'I'll do it next Saturday"
and he did not even yielding to the blandish-
ments of Prof. Rogers, his evil genius.
1t isn't every man with the intellect of
Augustus who will get down and dig dande-
lions, and l lauded him that night as would
man who had spent day in the stocks for
cons science sake.
All the women of my acquaintance seem to
| have become sensible of my great privilege in
being linked to so good and gifted a creature
as Augustus.
"Oh, Mrs. Dempster,'' they say, 81 think
Mr.. Dempster's address was just beautiful.
That passage about men nhaving,consideration
for their wives, and not selfshly putting their
own burdens on their weak shoulders, was
what husbands needed to hear.
But, though the town regards him as pub
lie benefactor. and our lawn has not looked
so well in years, trust it will be long before
he is again invited to make the annual ad-
dress at the county fair.-Outing.
Fake About The Russian Council OF State
Prince Cantacuzene, the Russian minister.
authorizes the Associated Press to deny as
canard sensational publication in the Post