The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-12-19

THE PEOPLE ON THE GROUND FLOOR.
ment in town and spend a winter here.
At the last moment it was decided that
my sister should come also.
l rented such an apartment as our
means permitted, and the three ladies
arrived in due course. So there was
/, erstwhile an irresponsible bachelor,
but now a man of family with many
cares.
My mother was unfamiliar with
great cities, and never before had she
dwelt in an apartment house. One of
the very first things she said to me
was this: You must tell me all about
the other people who live here"
stared at her in surprise and asked
why.
They'll call on us, of course" said
She
BLESS your heart, no they won'tv'
said /. 1--WE shall never know them.
We don't want to-
She looked at me with alarm.
'Oh, they're all right" | FASTENED
to say. Il had a pretty serious talk
with the agent, He knows we'll
enough that | would break every bone
In his body
This closed the colloquy, and for the
next few days my mother waited with
serene patience for some sort of social
attention from the two floors above u.s.
We began almost Immediately to hope
that none would come from below. The
people ON the ground floor whom we
judged to be man and his wife and
her sister, were not attractive. The
man looked like a crossgrained dys-
peptic and the women like two old
maids who had put on mourning in
their youth and had forgotten to take
1t off. We are not gloomy folks our
selves. and we never encourage an I'M
due austerity. So we We're inclined to
shun our neighbors below, the more es-
pecially because they owned an old
fashioned parlor organ, upon which
they played mournful hymns. There
were small, somber gatherings in their
apartments on Wednesday. Saturday
and Sunday evenings. and the music
was something atrocious.
1t is very singular circumstance
that we all agreed upon one family as
the most attractive in that region. Our
number upon the street was IL, and
theirs was 13, across the way. They
had the apartment upon the ground
floor, and there was about their doings
certain air of elegance and refinement
combined with flavor of home such
as one notes for its rarity in the city.
The man of the family was remarka-
bly, handsome, dreamy, studious look
ing fellow of commanding stature and
very gentle bearing. | saw him fire.
quently by the front window reading,
and the books he used seemed always
to be in fine bindings. There was a
pretty little girl baby in their house,
and she had an airing daily during the
tine weather of the Indian summer in
dainty cart, with the most tasteful
robes to cover its small passenger The
lady of the family usually propelled
this vehicle. but quite often it was the
man, and | wish to record the fact
here that he was the only one of his
sex ever saw who could combine ten
derness with dignity in the manage
ment of baby carriage. | have seen
men who could do this with dignity
enough, as IL 1t were a solemn rite. the
better for their souls because so NOR
tifying to the flesh, and I have seen
others who did not fail in tenderness,
treating the vehicle as If it held an IN
stable pyramid of eggs. But John Bar
rett pushed the carriage as IL only a
certain high grade OF human beings
were ever allowed to do such a thing.