Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1894-10-26


the cream rose to the top, and the
finest thing of the whole was den
in the garnet, in the shape of tiny
tower, with fifteen tiny square win
dows. The furnishing of this den,
where she meant to draw and paint,
write sonnets, compose music, loll and
read and gossip, became frenzy with
the optimist She herself regarded it
as ''den," but it was known to the
family as the went" In it were
gathered now >all those bewildering
which the optimist had
previously insisted on lavishing in
every room below stairs, to, the distress
of family we'll 'up" in modern
esthetics, and approving of the sever
ity and genuiueness of few really
good" things. The optimist never
cared whether thing was really"
good, or expensive, or choice, if only
it were pretty and effective. And now
she had one place where the mere pref
tiness, SO offensive to the rest of the
family, could be stored in one spot;
and it must be confessed, in spite of
the incongruities and lack of respect
for dramatic unity that the "den" ex-
hibited, it became a very attractive
place. She became jealous for it to
possess the choicest of everything,
and when the family, who in this were
certainly inconsistent, objected that
the parlor was beginning to look very
bare, she reminded them:
you have always laughed at people
who bring things out of the garnet into
the parlor. spinning wheels, and old
candlesticks and broken furniture;
very well, 1 am doing just the oppo-
site, and carrying things out of the
parlor into the garnet. You are Ger.
tainly very hard to please"
1t was soon discovered that the opti-
mist would permit no illusions to the
locality Of their former abode which
characterized it as ''home." This is
home," she would say, severely; and
when Tom remarked: But, mamma,
you are tickle, you used to be very fond
of the other place" she replied con-
vincingly: ut is very much better to
be tickle than to be homesick." There
after Tom amused himself with trying
to find out exactly how much indiffer-
ence to the old home she would toler-
ate. He found that she drew the line at
the 'old house," they could call it "the
other house," she exclaimed as grace
full compromise between faithfulness
to the old and appreciation of the new
But they thought that, in the language
of the day, they chad" her, when
she was twice overheard giving her
name to the butcher and grocer as
"Mrs. A. B. Murray, 10 Vest be-
fore shout of amusement reminded
her that she no longer dwelt in street
and number, but in a den full of
things without number
And again they thought they had
her." when she was found papering
the den with remnants of wall papers
they had had in the city. "Oh, NAM
ma! how did you happen to bring
those from-the other house, if it was
not for old associations"
why, thought it was pity to
waste them" she explained.
"But there are lots of remnants here
of these wall papers, remarked the
unflinching Amy.
''Oh, those belong to the landlord
replied mamma.
And yet, when her husband found
she had deigned to use one very pretty
remnant of wall paper, In tiles
around an amateur mantel, and won
dered whether she ought not to have
consulted the landlord on using up the
very last of it, she explained, without
blush:
u didn't ask him, because l was
afraid if / did he woul dn't let me-
And she added, after pause: BE
sides, there was just enough of it..
This convincing proof that Provi
dence smiled at perfect availability
clinched the argument. Her husband
had long ago become accustomed t.
those startling episodes in feminine
ethics which are naturally as sur
prising to the masculine mind as are
many points in the masculine code o.
honor to the feminine soul.
But there did come a day when thu
last bit of bric-a-brac had been de
posted in the den, and when tn,
optimist, putting on her hat ant
drawing on an old pair of gloves, an
nounced: ut is all done That is, al
except the cleaning. The decorating
is done, and the cleaning can wait
I'm going out now to make the beds.
Don't you think, my dear" said he
husband, gently, but firmly, that il
we eat, and talk, and walk, and ad
mire, out of doors, we might at leas
sleep indoors, especially as winter i
approachingP"
81 refer to the chrysanthemum beds
Henry" she remarked, as she took tn
hoe and descended upon the lawn.
And then came golden days of sun
shine, and changing naples, ant
golden rod, and asters, and brillian
sunsets, and crimson sumac, and rip,
nuts, and open fires 1t was no won
der that the optimist proved {
prophesier of the truth, and that be
fore two months were over, whel
their friends inquired if they were no
going to move back, the unanimou
and invariable reply was: "Certainl,
not; we have at last found plac
where we can live, and not move, bu
have our being. IN. Y. Independent
THEY ARE MEN AT TEN.
! no Hov luf EhiIdhnrA IL