Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1905-12-12


"Now, Elsie-I hope you don't mine
my calm you Elsie, but I've beel
chums with your grandpa so lon;
seems II you must be sort Of relation
of mine-Elsie, you amt goin' to nj
hotel-that is, unless you're real set ol
1t. Your grandpa's here. and were
here, and there's room enough. Idon'
want to say too much, but I'd like t
have you b'lieve that me and Pere:
and Jerry want you to stay right II
this house Jest as longs you stop ir
Orham. Now you will, won't you"
And 80 it was settled, and Captain
Perez harnessed Daniel and went to
the station for the trunk.
That evening just before going to
bed the captains stood by the door OF
the sickroom watching Elsie and the
lady from Nantucket as they sat be-
side John Baxter's bed. Mrs. Snow
was knitting and Elsie was reading.
Later as Captain Fri peered out of the
/ dining room window to take final
look ut the sky in order to get line
on the weather he said slowly:
"Fellers, do you know what l was
thinkin' when see them two women
In there with John? ! was thinkin' that
1t must be mighty pleasant thing to
know that II you're took sick somebody
like that'll take care Of you"
Perez nodded. II think so, too," he
said.
But If this was meant to influence
the betrothed one 1t didn't succeed, ap-
parently, for all Captain Jerry said
was:
"Humph! 'TwOuld take more than
that to make me banker after a stroke
Of palsy"
And with the coming of Elsie Preston
and Mrs Snow life in the little house
by the shore took on a decided change.
The Nantucket lady, having satisfied
herself that john BaXter's illness was
likely to be long one, wrote several
letters to persons in her native town.
which letters, although she-did not say
so, were supposed by the captains to
deal with the care of her property
while she was away. Having apparent
ly relieved her mind by this method
and evidently considering the marriage
question postponed for the present, she
settled down to nurse the sick man aIl
to keep house as in her opinion house
should be kept. The captains knew
nothing of her past history beyond
what they had gathered from stray bits
of her conversation. She evidently did
not consider 1t necessary to tell any
thing further. and, on the other hand,
asked 10 questions.
In her care of Baxter she was more
like sister than hired nurse. No
wife could have been more tender III
her min;trations or more devotcdly
anxious for the patients welfare.
In her care of the house she was
neatness itself. She secured and swept
and washed until the rooms We're liter
ally spotless. Order was heavens first
law, in her opinion. and she expected
every one else to keep up to the stand
ard. Captain Perez and Captain Fri
soon got used to the change and glOried
in ii, but to Captain Jerry it was not
altogether welcome.
"Oh. cats footw he exclaimed one
day after hunting everywhere for his
Sunday tie and ut length finding it in
his bureau drawer. Il can't git used to
this everlastin' spruced up bus mess.
Way it used to be, this neclitie was
likely to be most anywheres round,
and IL | looked out in the kitchen or
under the sofy was jest as likely to
find 1t. But now everything's got Il
place and is in it,
"Well, that's the way II ought to be-,
amt it, said Fri. Then all you've
got to do is look in the place"
"Yes, and that's jest ii. Tm always
forgittin' the place. My shoes IS sech Il
place, my hankerchers is sech place.
my pipe is sech Il place, my tcrbacAer
is another place. When l want my pipe
l go and look where my shoes IS. and
when ! want my shoes - AMI look
where found my pipe. How feler'i
goin' to keep run of 'em Is what l can't
see."
"You was the one that did most OF
the growIin' when things was the ole
way"
"Yes, but jest cause man don't
want to live in a pigpen 1t amt no sign
he warts to be put under a glass case
Elsie's influence upon the house and
its inmates had become almost as
marked as Mrs. Shows. The young
lady was Of an artistic bent. and the
stiff ornaments in the shut up parlor
and the wonderful oil paintings Jared
upon her. Strange to say, even the wax
dipped wreath that hung in its circular
black frame over the whatnot did not
appeal to her. The captains considered
that wreath-it had been the principal
floral Offering ut the funeral of Captain
PereZ's sister, and there was lock OF
her hair framed with 1.-THE gem of the
establishment. They could understand
to a certain degree why Miss Preston
objected to the prominence given the
spatter work God Bless Our Home
motto. but her failure to enthuse over
the wreath was ineXplicable.
But by degrees they became used to
seeing the blinds open ut the parlor
windows the week through. and inno-
yatiOns like curtains and vases filled
with late wild flowers came to be at
first tolerated and then liked. "Elsie's
notions" the captains called them
lro m ooNTMuxD.l