The midland journal., 1896-02-14
AN ODD COUPLE.

Usually every community has a few
individuals that can be called originals,
and by their originality attain a classic
al fame, and among several such char
acters remember old Fla Maord and
the provincial letter carrier, Johannes
Isaksson.
Fla Maord had her little history and
her proud recollections in spite of her
humble station in life. Ever since she
was child, and long after she had at
tanned the gracefulness i'll figure of a
barrel, she had been in the service of
the barons of Svanaholm, and when the
old baron departed this life, like all
other barons, and his son, the young
honorable, succeeded his father, feeling
his aesthetic mind suffer from daily
beholding old Fia's corpulence, Fla
was pensioned off and given little cot
tage on the estate and enough pasture
ground to support in comfort the female
of the bull-in other words, COW Of
the regulation pattern and size. Old
Fla had it most comfortable in her old
age. Not party, wedding, christening
or funeral took place for miles around
but that old Fla must be there and
cook, and as Fla was not by any means
bashful, her larder was constantly pro-
vided with the choicest Of eatables and
drinkables.
Old Fla was certainly not a beauty.
She sported a pair Of mustaches that
were the envy Of the young men in the
village. Her form partook more of the
resemblance Ct a Dutch cheese than
sylph, and to behold Fla sailing down
the village street, like q galley under
full sail, was q sight for the gods. OF
course Fla was not to blame for her ap-
pearance-that was accepted as freak
of the Creatc---but Fla was of such ex-
tremely neral temperament that as soon
as she discovered that any young man
and woman ia keg peighborhood were
spooning, or al engagement reported,
Fla did her best to break or hinder it,
claiming it was all frivolity and the
work of the evil one. Of course Fla
claimed to be prompted only by the
best intentions, but this little streak of
virtue in old Fla was not appreciated
by the young people, and Fla was con-
sidered good. lawful subject for all
the pranks that the deprased minds Of
the young village people were capable Of.
and young peoples minds in our mod
ern times are very elastic.
Imagine, then, the glorious rumor that
spread that old Fla herself had been
,.,od. -1,;oo+ for tho IaOco IF tho aui1
one and that the object Of her tender,
maidenly love was the old letter carrier,
Johannes. And to think of tho conse-
quences of letting love loose in such a
big body as Fla s The result might we'll
be considered serious, and the villagers
were Oh the tiptoe Of expectation.
Old Johannes had, early in life, been
steward on big estate and associateq
with city people, and even met foreign
ers, and acquired high toned language
and manner which, all combined, had
conquered old Fia's maiden reserve.
One day Johannes had called at Fia's
cottage to deliver letter, and as this
was something so extraordinary, an event
in Fia's life, Johannes must perforce
remain and read the communication. 1t
turned out to be notification that Fla
had inherited the respectable sum of
200 rix dollars from a member Of the
noble family of Svanaholm, and Fla
had, therefore, the attraction Of an heir
ess for Johannes.
Fla, on her part, considered Johannes
as great man. Was not his language
like what she sometimes had heard at
Svanaholmf And did he not represent
his majesty tho kings postoffice depart
mentf The best of everything from Fia's
larder was placed before Johannes, and
he was feasted like king The satisfac-
tion was mutual, for as Johannes said
one day "Mamselle Fla, it is SO pleas
urable to visit here, when one has as
suetuded with edificated persons, and
again converse with an equivoke and
cynic female.
Old Fla just sat there, the picture of
establishment at the big words, Of which
she did not understand the meaning, but
it charmed the old girl, and Johannes
learning was rewarded with pancakes
and frequent glasses of something Fla
claimed kept rheumatism out of the
bones.
Johannes would have been made of
stone if such attention had not touched
his heart or his stomach. Whether Fla OF
Johannes first made the proposition to
visit the village pastor and request that
the banns be published between them
will forever remain a mystery. (Ip
Sweden it is the custom for the pastor to
read the names from the pulpit after
service on Sunday of those that intend to
marry, and this is done for three Sun
| days in succession.)
Both Fla and Johannes knew that If
their intention became known to the vii
layers they would be exposed to much
Rppleasantness from the young people,
and they decided on a plan that they
thought was very clever. This was for
Johannes and Fla to start, dressed in
their ordinary everyday dress, by sepa-