The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-05-08
MRS. JONES' BOARDERS.
ry M. A. MAITLAND.


BY Anthony i mean Mr.
Jones. of course; and II your name
good reader, happens to be Jones, LEI
me say he was no relation OF yours
nor yet of the Jones round the cor
ner; nor of the Jones at the foot OF the
hill, whose wife has just had twins
for the third time, and all living; but
another Jones altogether.
Now, just mention this by the way,
and not with any intention OF giving
an account Of my dead husbands an
tecedents; for, II there is one thing
I dislike above another, II Is tracing
back ones pedigree.
Not but what / think Mr.. Jones
might have had an alderman. or even
q judge, among his great uncles or
-great-grandfathers; but / mar
ried him for what he was, and not for
what any of his relations were. And
I hope that none of my friends who
are Giving OH the reputation OF ,heir
deceased relatives" will think that i
am limiting at them; for / am not.
As / said before, il is just fourteen
years since i was left widow with
one child. n girl Of eight. We had laid
three beneath the willows, over the
hill; so you may be sure / clung to this
one with fOurfold affection.
When the funeral was over 0t was
quite n respectable funeral; there were
twenty-nlne carriages, besides two men
OH horseback, Deacon Wilson was
called In to look over my husbands
papers. Mr.. Jones had asked him TO do
this before lie died. and as / knew the
deacon TO be an honest and trust
worthy man, was sure they would he
safe In his hands, and that he would do
the right thing by me and my father
less child.
After all debts were paid, there re-
mained just $4O0. OF course. the house
and lot were my own; had the deed,
and saw 1t registered myself; but $l00
was a very small sum. and my heart
sank when the deacon handed 1t to
me with the remark:
"I've done the best could, Mrs.
Jones, but I'm afraid it won't go far.
last night, and we thought II would not
be bad plan for you to start n small
grocery. The village is growing. and
this new factory will bring good deal
of trade here. Then there are my own
hands at the mill; think l could send
little your way through them. If this
partition were taken down, you would
have plenty of room for the shop, with
your kitchen back of il, which would
be real handy" ] thanked him for his
advice and promised to think II over.
The partition pulled down! Well
well, and my beautiful little parlor
turned into filthy grocery The pretty
green carpet and the nice canc-seated
chairs. that did not look n bit the worse
for ten years wear, put up, perhaps,
under the auctioneer's hammer! No.
no, not this; anything but this; mt least,
not yet! What would poor. dear An
thony have thought of pulling the
house to pieces; the house that he had
taken such pride in, too? / looked
over at his big armchair, almost ex-
pecting to see him frown Indignantly
at the very thought of such thing;
but. there IL stood in its old place,
and il was empty.
Then / thought of Hetty's rosy
cheeks, and of the money in my hand
How long would il last? Even with
the strictest economy. one year would
make big hole in il. These things
passed rapidly through my mind, and 1t
became evident that something would
have to be done, and that very soon
The deacon's proposition came up
again. anG | thought OF Tomkins little
grocery with its atmosphere of smoke
and its carpet of tobacco juice: with
Its daily loafers and its evening
ioungers; with its unceasing clatter of
cowhide. and its great outlaws.
mo, non l said aloud; lit can never
be"' For to use the words of Charles
Lamb, "the more thought of it, the
less thought of It,"
Weeks passed py and had come 10
no decision about my plans for the
future, when one day Mrs. Porter. n
neighbOr who had proven "a friend.
indeed many n time, suggested that
1t would be a good thing for me to take
I'm few boarders; | would not feel
so lonesome like, she said-with deli.
cacy that | could not but admire.
Now, strange to say, l had not
Thought of this before. and the idea
rather pleased me. as / prided myself
On my houSaL paninr anb boJ plont,.
OF room to accommodate three or four
persons-the house being two-story
frame; SO / set about furnishing the
two upstairs rooms. which had never
been used, and at the end of three
months after my dear Anthony's death.
was ready for my first boarder.
/ had said nothing to Deacon Wilson
of my intentions, but somehow his
folks got wind of IL. and he called one
day to testify his approval of the step
which was about TO take, and kindly
offered me his two apprentices to start
with.
"Janc and Liza were going back TO
school for a spell" he said land Mrs.
Wilson had too much TO see after
alone"
They were not exactly the kind OF
boarders l would have chosen-great
rough-hewn lads. with battered hats
and greasy iackets-but then the
pocket-book in the middle bureau
drawer was growing thinner and
lighter every day; and Hetty. precious
Hetty! For myself. l could have borne
and suffered great deal. but pride
and prejudice gave way before a moth.