Delaware gazette and state journal., 1896-07-23

| cunHtances must You be natural.
| Besides our own party, there was n
| wiuow lndy who was introduced as
I Mis Tomiinson. Nobody really called
her anything but Mis-" yet she was
a matron. She was not person who
could have been called cheerful. Her
toilette though dingy was distinctly
fanernai and Mrs. Jim Johnson told
me that she was "of very good fam
| lily though her means is slight and she
mas been unfortunate in her husbands,
having buried three. y then saw
that che wore three wedding rings of
different widths Still, il not cheer.
| ful, hor conversation was original. She
| gave us "a full history of the sickness
| and death of Frederick, who she spoke
of as her "first;' she talked of the
business ability and kind thought of
| Abner, who was hor second Abner had
insured his life for se00), and while
she was charitable. she did not gloss
over the fact that John Tomlipsop, who
was her third, inclined to drink.
About u O'Clock the clergyman arrived.
We all sat up straighter. and looked
more uncomfortable than before. Uncle
| Timothy and Jim johnson also came
on the scene, and after little CONVEX
sation with jim johnson, l disco vered
| that IL ho had weakness, it was, by
his own confession, tobacco, but that
she. and when he said ''she" he pro-
nounced 1t with solemnity and knew
he meant Mrs. jim, would not allow
that man should be given up to
small vices. Then we went in to tea.
l acknowledged that | objected. TO
! tho long ,grace said by the minister.
The Sally bunn was gotting cold and
the tea was not improving by waiting.
The children were all at little table.
Nov, there was one funny thing
about this hospitablo board to the eyes
of the city folks With plenty of beau-
tiful, ripe raspberries in her garden,
with backbcrries such as gold could
| not purchase. and with melons sweeter
THAN any have ever tasted at her COM
mand, Mrs. i'm offered us IL different
kinds of preserves and no fresh fruit!
There was fried chicken at one end.
and. as Mrs Jim alphabetically said,
oeefsteak cause the gentlemen liked
it,, at tho other. The country idea of
beefsteak is different from that which
obtains in the city. The country
| butcher cuts IL thin and the country
cook does il brown and hard. But
beef always has special prestige in
small places. Then there was hot
Sally Lunn, hot tea biscuit buttered
toast and whito bread offered to us.
There was jelly cake, chocolate cake,
angel food, pound cake, and cookies,
and hot tea and iced tea. The
preserves were served in small glass
dishes, and Mrs. Tomlinson considered
herself great swell because she held
her dish up in very gonteel manner
and ate from it apologetically with a
determination to spill nothing and
leave nothing ate Sally Lunn until
expected to turn into one. But Mrs.
Jim smiled and seemed gratitied, and
said she was glad l liked "thelr poor
vittels. 1t is the fashion in tho
country to underrate whatever you
serve. j thought when we had finished
eating cake that this constituted the
tea, but l was mistaken. The table
was cleared, and we were served with
ice cream, really made Of cream and
we'll worth eating, and those little
thin wufer-like cakes that in England
they fcall Shrewsburys Whom these
arrived was sorry had eaten so much
Sally Lunn, but still | had sufficient
physical backbone to do my duty to
the remaining dishes and not cause
Mrs. Jim johnson TO feel that turned
my nose up. Tho average country
hostess walks aboutssvith chip on her
shoulder as far as city people are con-
cerned, and she calls hcr good things by
badsnames so that she may have the
advantage of you.
y After tea we all went out on the
plaza and talked, politely, again. l
wandered in tho garden with the chill
dren to look at soiuo wonderful little
pigs, and while | was admiring the
pigs heard Mrs. Jim Johnson say to
her oldest daughter, Now, get some
of that ice cream in the glass dish and
send it right off to old Mis- Terry, for
it will be coolin' to her parched lips.
They have way of hiding their good
deeds in the country and doing kind
ness in the most matter-of- fact manner,
and exactly as If it were something to
be ashamed OF. At9o'clock the wagon
appeared. And then we started to
say good night. We told Mrs. Jim
how much we had enjoyed our
selves. and she looked pleased and an
nounced that ''Haying few folks to
tea amt no trouble, and yet we knew,
and she knew that we knew, that she
had troubled herself for four days be-
fore our arrival. But it isn't coun-
try fashion to tell this.
The children had eaten so much they
were sleepy. Nanny was missing, but,
after she had been called two or three
times, she appeared, and young Jim
johnson was just beside her. She had
bouquet of flowers in her hand and
abe was very eager to tell me that she
had picked them herself, but my eyos
are very good, and l am certain that
after he had helped her in tho wagon,
young Jim johnson managed to find
her little hand and in tho darkness his
lips rested upon it Just for minute.
Well, it was summer, and they we're
young and the roses were blooming,
and why shouldn't they love each
other? Nanny was very gentle with
the baby that night, and whom she
kissed me she said she had had such
good time. l don't think she was
entertained by Mis- Tomlinson, and
she was in the habit of seeing all the
rest of the peonle every day. had
thought that young Jim was awkward
and foolish looking, but there must be
something attractive about him. 1t is
the old combination, pretty girl and
her sweetheart. 1t is good combina-
tion, too. Know it? or course | do, for
it has not been SO many days or years,
which is itY since there was sweet
heart even for Bah.
E1-G0YERNOR STOCRLEF B0LTS.