Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-04-11

and that's my little Thomaslna over
there by the bookcase. ="
Poor Flushington ducEed blindly in
the direction of each and then to them
all collectively. He had not presence OF
anything and besides there was not
nearly enough of anything for all Of
them.
Meanwhile his aunt hal spread her
self comfortably ? out in his armchair and
was untyirg her bonnet strings and
beaming 1t lin until he was ready to
expire with e1y rusion 81 do think, 7"
she observed asst, that Wien an old
aunt all tn, from Australia takes
the trouble .e and see you like this
you might S, her just one kissP'
Flushing ed not refuse. He tot
tered up ani Il her somewhere about
the face, al, hich he did not know
which way TO look, he was so terribly
afraid that he might have to go through
the same ceremony with the cousins,
which he simply could not have sur
vived.
Happily for him, they did not appear
to expect it, and he balanced a chair on
its hind legs, and resting one knee upon
it waited patiently for them to begin a
conversation. He could not have uttered
a single word.
The aunt came to his rescue. ''You
don't ask after your Uncle Samuel, who
used to send you the beetles?' she said
reprovingly.
"No," said Flushington, who had
forgotten Uncle Samuel and his beetles
too. "No, how is Uncle Samuel? Quite
well, hope
"Only tolerably so thank you, Fred.
You see, he never got over his great
loss.'
NO." said Flushington desperately,
''of course not. 1t was IA large sum
of money to lose all at once
81 was not referring to money!" said
she, with slight touch of stoniness in
her manner II was alluding to the
death of your Cousin John. -
Flushington had felt himself getting
on rather well just before that, but this
awkward mistake-for he could not rec
ollect having heard of Cousin John be-
fore-threw him off his balance again.
He collapsed into silence once more, in
wardly resolving to be lured into no
more questions concerning relatives.
His ignorance seemed to have aroused
pathetic sentiments in his aunt. 81
ought to have known" she said, shak-
ing her head, they'd soon forget US in
the old country. Here's my own sisters
son, and he doesn't remember his cous-
in's death! Well, well, now we're here
we must see if we can't know one an
other little better. Fred, you must
take the girls and me everywhere and
show us everything, like good nephew,
you know
Flushington had a horrible mental
vision of himself careering about all
Cambridge, followed by long process
sion of female relatives-a fearful pos
sibility to SO shy man. "Shall you be
here long?" he aTked.
''Only a week or so. We're at the
Bull-very near you, you see, and I'm
afraid you think us very bold beggars,
Fred, but we're going to ask you to give
us something to eat. I've set my heart,
SO have the girls-haven't you, dears?-
on lunching once with a college student
in his own room.
"There's nothing so extraordinary in
1t, I assure you," protested Flushing
ton, "and-and Pm afraid there's very
little for you to eat. The kitchen and
buttery are clCsed''-he said this at a
venture, as he felt absolutely unequal to
facing the college cook and ordering
lunch from that tremendous parsonage
-he would rather order it from his tu-
tor even-''but if you don It mind potted
ham there's little at the bottom Of this
tin, and there's some bread and an inch
of butter and niarmalade and few
biscuits And there was some sherry this
morning"
The girls all professed themselves
very hungry and contented with any
thing, so they sat round the table, and
poor Flushington served out meager ra-
tions of all the provisions he could find,
even to his figs and French plulns, but
there was not nearly enough to go round,
and they lunched with evident disillu-
sionment, thinking that the college lux
ury of which they had heard SO much
had been greatly exaggerated
During luncheon the aunt began to
study Flushington's features attentive
ly. "There's q strong look of poor dear
Simon about him when he smiles," she
said, looking at him through her gold
double glasses ''Therel Did you catch
it, girls? Just his mothers profile
turn your face leetle more toward the
window, so as to get the light on your
nose. Don't you see the likeness to your
aunt's portrait, girls?"
And Flushington had to sit still with
all the girls charming eyes fixed crit
ically upon his crimson countenance.
He longed to be able to slide down under
the table and ovade them, but Of course
he was obliged to remain above.
He's got dear Caroline's noser' the
aunt went Oh triumphantly, and the
cousins agreed that he certainly had
Caroline's nose, which made Flushing
ton feel vaguely that he ought at least
to offer to return it.
Presently one OF the girls Whispered
to her mother, who laughed indulgent-
ly. What do you think this silly child
wants me to ask you now, Fred?'' she
said. ''She says she would so like to see
what you look like with your college
cap and gown on Will you put them
on, just to please her?"
So Flushington had to put them on
and walk slowly up and down the room
in them, feeling all the time what a
dismal spectacle hew making Of him
self, while the girls were plainly disap-
pointed and remarked that somehow
they had thought the acadenical cos
tune more becoming.
Then began hotly maintained cate
chism upon his studies, his amusements,
his friends and his mode of life general
ly, which he met with uneasy shiftings
and short timid answers that they did
not appear to think altogether satisfac-
tory.
Indeed the aunt, who by this time
felt the potted ham beginning to disagree
with her, asked him, with something Of
severity in her tone, whether he went to
church regularly, and he said that he
didn't go to church, but was always
regular at chapel.
On this she observed coldly that she
was sorry tO hear her nenheyV was a dis