Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1900-02-15
A TEMPORARY EXCHANGE.

Ing in February, when Mr.. and Mrs
Stone drove out Of the farmyard and
took the road northwad. The crisp
snow of the highway, packed and
polished by weeks Of good sleighing,
creaked under the runners of theil
cutter and the sun was shining glo
riously over the wooded hills to the
eastward.
The Stones were going to spend
Sunday with cousin Maria" Stones
second cousin, and the object of Mrs,
Stones admiration and envy. She de-
clared that there was no house like
Cousin Mara's and no domestic con-
veniences and advantages like those
she enjoyed; that nobody wore such
beautiful clothes, or had such resour,
ces to do with" as Cousin Maria. In
short, Mrs. Amasa Stone, who had
not been q great while married, and
who had one of the incest little farm
houses in the country, as well as one
of the best and most devoted hus.
bands in the world, was somehow q
victim Of the most disagreeable and
distressing malady, envious discon'
tent; and the immediate occasion Of
it WISCONSIN Maria. If she could
only exchange places perhaps moi
husbands, but everything else) with
Cousin Maria, how happy she would
be!
Curously enough-by what strange
irony of fate which we often see crop
ping out in human life-Cousin Maria
felt the same way toward Mrs. Stone
She secretly but sincerely enyied thu
little woman with the big, devoted
lover-like husband and the model
farm house overlooking one of thu
most beautiful and productive valley
farms in New England. IF l could
only keep house like Cousin Ella!
she would sometimes say to her hus
band, and then she would add to her
self: perhaps | might If had thu
nice house and the things to do with
that she has"
Sincere and cordial envy does moi
make people dislike each other, by
any means; and it was natura
enough that Mrs. Stone and her cou'
sin, Mrs. Holmes, ould enjoy visit
ing each other and thereby adding
fresh fuel to their mutual admira'
ton. They travelled back and forth
on these social exchanges good
deal. and their husbands, who liked
each other land each others fare by
the way, were never averse to "drlv'
ing over for days outing. The
two farms lay some twenty miles
apart, in different townships, ana
about midway between them was u
village, where the Stones and the
Holmes each had special friend,
with whom it was convenient and
pleasant to stop for dinner while
going a-ysiting.
The sleigh bells rang cheerily and
the miles rapidly fell away behind
the Stones cutter this February
morning as they drove along toward
uydeyillc, the halfway village.
II hope nothing will happen to the
stock or the hens over Sunday said
Mr.. Stone.
"Oh, don't worry about that" ex'
claimed his wife. you spoke ia
Leonard, as usual, didn't you"
"Yes, asked him to fodder once
day and attend to the milking. But
he lives quite little piece away, and
II it should come on to storm
"Storm Look at the sky,' eX'
claimed Mrs. Stone, with II scorniu
laugh. 81 declare if you aren't the
greatest man to worry over nothing
II was still gloriousIy pleasant
when they rea,s-1 Hydevillc at Il
o'clock, and they stopped there full
two hours, AS they again took the
road at o'cocs they noticed that
the sky had become slightly tilmy
but as it frequently does cloud over
thus toward the close of fine win
ter day they, were neither surprised
nor disturbed. At o'clock, however
the wind began to rise, the sky grew
more overcast, and before long was
splitting sharply out of the north
east
"What do you think about storm