The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1897-09-23
HER FIRsH LESSON.

chahgeahse as tie Hssxsns.
The small, ANN 4nan who
was keeping tho boarsIing house
suspected that ,ic was 4 crank the
moment she saw him. What Rrst,
excited her suspicion was the fact
that, although he was very Din. he
habitually wore froek coat There
is something about a thin man in a
Prince Albert coat that Invariably.
excites the distrust of his fellow
men. She was not surprised when
this boarder came, to her with the
announcement thatAb e wasagoing to
leave.
" IN very sorry, khe answered.
IT have done my best to make it.
comfortable.
You have indeed bar hs
profoundly impressed by VI
itude for my we'll being, an
sure you that as I journey
through life, perhaps never @
counter this boarding house agaS
it will be sweetly refEesS1ng ~ re.
call that some timeand sonewhsfe
! have known lahllady who gave
a thought to her9 boarders other
than to keep tab on when the) rent
came due"
The landlady heaved a little sigh
and blushed.
IF you feel that way about il, =
she said, Il don't see why yoH are
going to leave u.s.. +"
! can't stand suspense, wassshe3
answer Present discomfort Isl
better. than complete ease conblaed
with future that bristles with the
terrors of uncertainty. I am be-
coming attached to this place. 4
would rather move now and break
the ties while they are still slenAe31
than linger till the frost comes aga
and be obliged to have m5y frapa
carried around town while heeek
other lodgings in cold weather!
but I don't see why youl will
have to move at all. ~
"You are not experienced ih,rpn-
ming boarding house. -"
It's true that 7 have been en-
gagged in this business only a short
time, but l don't see how you
found it out Thought was pro-
viding exceedingly. good accommo-
dations." ~
Yes. The excellence of the es-
Establishment in all its branches was
what first excited my suspicion.
Then l resolved to put you to the
test. l knew that | could determine
with absolute accuracy whether you
were novice and all this care and
to detail merely the re-
suits of early enthusiasm. You will
remember that this morning l said
something at breakfast about the
coffee being rather slow to settle"
Yes. 1t seemed a little heartless
OF you to call attention to it before
folks, and gave the cook good
talking to about it. l am sure it
will not occur again.
The thin boarder looked down up
on her and smiled indulgently.
1t is too bad," he commented,
"that this solicitude, which does you
so much credit, should have been the
of my detecting your secret.
Had you been old in the business
when you heard me say that it took
the coffee a long time to settle you
would have cast an icy look around
the table and said that it reminded
you of some people. That is form
of repartee that was invented short
ly after Adam and Eve left the gar
den of Eden to look for other accom-
modatiOns, and no one but begin
ner would have let the opening pass.
l am sorry, but prefer the peace of
mind that comes from a settled pol
icy to basking in the sunshine of
luxury only to see it day by day OBJ
scured by the shadow of a mercenary
economy. This evening l will pay
you the 81. so that l owe you, and
then we will part"
A long, hard line that had never
been there before came into the
face of the little landlady. She had
taken her first lesson in the eternal
truth that the more one tries to
please people the less one is likely
to succeed.-Detroit Free Press.