The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1907-11-12
LAZINESS WORKS.
But Aunt Sally Says Dora's
Husband Doesn't Tell All.

yOuAS MrS. blllngS-dnu Inc TACT
that she stopped rocking to say it was
a sign of its Importance there's a
question I've been saving to ask you
as soon as you came, and it was all /
could do to keep from writing it.
Do you remember Lazy Dora?'"
do remember herr" The active
looking, black-eyed woman sat erect
Gould | forget her? OF all the shift
less, good for nothing girls l ever saw
and I've seen somel
Sakes aliye!" she added, turning
to the neighbor from the floor below,
who had run in with her mending.
You'd need to see her to believe she
was true. My niece and gave her
that name. just between ourselves,
and it fitted. We knew her in Idaho,
when my husband was doing bit of
engineering out there, and we were
boarding with her mother-a sensi-
Bile, industrious woman as ever was.
There was plenty for Lazy Dora
to do, but no-she'd lie abed until
time to dress for dinner-that was at
noon-and then she'd appear and
talk to the men-young engineers,
you know. After that she lop down
and read novels or sleep until even
ing, when the men were home again.
Theh she'd come to life in earnest.
My, how she'd sparkle! l used to
blink couldn't believe my own eyes,
she was SO different from the daytime
Dora
And, auntie," Mrs. Billings
wedged in, do you remember the
young engineer who was so crazy
over herr"
DO 1? Rufus Chandler was hi;
name. Poor man! Squandering his
money on horses and carriages to
take her out Sundays and talking
with her evenings, and never dream
ing what she was like from morning
until night! 1t makes me sick now
to think of his blindness
Mrs. Billings laughed softly "You
see, auntie had an eye on him for
me, she explained to the neighbor
from the floor below
She didn't know at the time that
already had my eye on Jack Bill
lings, and it went hard with her to
see this other splendid young man
throwing himself away. She was al
ways cornering him and telling him
what good pies I could make and
how | had kept house for my father
since l was fourteen, but it was no
use. Rufus would slip away at the
first sound of Dora's slippers on the
stairs. And Aunt Sally would shake
her head at me in private and say:
Just wait till they're married. He'll
find out his mistake. Just you
waltz
Il was perfectly right, too" Aunt
Sally persisted "If he ever married
her-which 1 hope for his sake he
didn't-he's regretting it,"
Aunt Sally announced Mrs. Bill
lings impressively, she did marry her,
and they're living in this building
now, in the fat right over u.s."
You don't say Poor fellowi"
and he's blissfully happy"
"Then maybe he's made enough
money to keep her in idle luxury"
mo; he's hard up. He's told Jack
about his financial troubles, but he
says Dora is the bright star of his
life They can't even keep SER
want"
you don't mean to say that she
does her own work?"
"No; he does her own work. He
makes the beds and gets breakfast
and washes the dishes before he
leaves, and he always brings home the
provisions he's going to cook at night.
Yes, and he's rugged up wire frame
to hold her book, so that she can read
without getting too tired"
"Eunice Billings!"
"It's all true. Sometimes she mus
ters energy to meet him down on the
front steps, and then he puts down
his parcels and carries her up two
flights of stairs and comes running
down again after his meat and veg
etables looking as if she'd given him
a kingdom
@Yes. indeed" the neighbor said,
"I've seen that often"
is she sick?" Aunt Sally shifted.
"No more than she was when we
knew her, auntie. She's just too
choice and rare to be allowed to exert
herself. She did have touch of
rheumatism in her shoulder a few
months ago, and since then he has
dressed her in the morning and done
up her hair. That's fact. She told
me herself And one Saturday after
noon Jack went up there to see Mr..
Chandler on a business matter, and
he couldn't make any one hear when
he raped. The sewing machine was
going, and it made such noise
needed oiling, of course-and at last
Jack pushed open the door, and there
was Rufus Chandler down on the
floor, working the treadle of that ma
chine with his hands, while Lazy
Dora stitched seam"
For the lands sake! What did
Rufus Chandler say to Jack?"
"He came in the hall to talk bust
ness, so that Dora wouldn't be wor-
ried, and before he went back, he
said: Billings, if ever man was
privileged to live with an angel, am
that man
swell, neyer!1 calculated Aunt
Sally, dropping back into her chair.
what I'm getting at. Aunt Sally, I"
Mrs. Billings went on. is simply this