Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1896-10-17
COUSIN LINN.

young ladies, this is your cousin
Linn, said our father, coming in to
dinner one day and presenting tall
young man.
Helen and 1 giggled. Cousin Linn
was tall, as I said, and he did not know
what to do with his tallness. His en-
barrassment at sight of two grown and,
l may say, handsome young ladies was
plain.
"What gawk!" we thought.
Dinner did not much improve our
opinion of our relative, and it was with
dismay that we heard, as we left the
dining room:
"Girls, leave your cousin Linn to
your devices this afternoon. I have no
doubt you can entertain him." Then
father strobe out Of the door and back
to business.
The wretch-1 mean our new relative,
of course. That very afternoon we We're
to have paid a number of neglected calls
that could not longer be put off.
Entertain him! Oh, yes, we would
entertain him. And we did.
"Just wait, "said my sister Helen be-
tween set teeth. "He shall show us how
himself. -
So when Cousin Linn had finished his
cigar-he seemed to linger over it an
unreasonably long time-and entered
the parlor, his rather sheepish gaze met
batting Of four light brown eyes,
whose owners were prepared to make
out whatever mischief he invited.
The first few moments passed tamely
enough. Cousin Linn was twig of a
branch of the family tree that fourished
in a neighboring state, too far away for
US to know more than that we there
boasted also an Aunt Lucy and a Cousin
Kate. We put Cousin Linn down as an
ordinary farmer boy, with little more
than his share of the farm and of the
boy about him.
Just as we expected, Cousin Linn
himself gave us the first hint of how he
was best to be held up to the proper
ridicule and scorn. In despair at our
brief replies to his we'll meant conversa-
tional efforts, his eye fell upon the
piano, and he, in gratitude of spirit,
fell upon it's neck. He asked us to play.
Poor man!
Sister Helen began. Now, if there
was one thing we girls prided ourselves
upon, it was our musical talent and ed
ucation, or, rather, we were proud of
the talents and father of the education,
which he had paid for with mingled
feelings of satisfied duty and outraged
pocket But that day Sister Helen ap-
peared possessed. She played nothing
but the simplest tunes, jigs and reels
and even had the audacity to pick out
several good old hymns with one hand
1 followed her lead, and our poor old
piano was made to bring forth sounds
that no self respecting COW would have
died to.
Cant you play, Cousin I4inn!" asked
Sister Helen. Law, that girls smile
was as innocent as baby's, but it
meant mischief for our cousin. That in
dividual, who had applauded us loudly,
looked at his shoes and said yes, he
could play little. He would try, even
after our brilliant performance.
Cousin Linn's musical education had
evidently been on the lines laid down in
our programme. He reeled off country
dances with the ease of COW walking
a railroad trestle. If our selections were
rum-te-tumty, Cousin Linn's were rum
te-tumtier. And to watch him picking
out the tune, using one, two OF three
finunrc of nao1 hand hi lonfv hai hoh
bing about his ears as he ducked his
head at every note, set us in a fit of 81.
lent laughter.
Let's take him with u.s." whispered
Helen as he neared the end of mum
ber.' And Of course jumped at the
idea of more fun with Cousin Linn.
'Im agreeable" said that young
man when we asked him.
He spake better than he knew.
So off we set. To every girl of our ac-
quaintance we paid visit and at every
house we made new sport of Cousin
Linn and his piano playing.
First, we would play when asked,
and always the same rum -te-tum tunes.
Of course, the girls took the cue from a
wink and did the same, while Cousin
Linn sat there, his great eyes staring at
his shoes, and saying never a word ex-
cept "Yes'm" and ''No'm."
Then, cousin Linn can play" one
Of us would demurely say, and Cousin
Linn always toed the mark and the
pedals.
So it went ON. We left one household
after another in commissions of laughter,
until we came to Miss Matilda Craig's.
1t happened that Miss Craig played first