Newark post., 1911-05-24
OLD SHIPTON
CHAPTER 1.-THE BOarderS
"A chlcId's Amsng you takin' notes.
Burns

tuSal OF her house, and then 10 NltN-
draw it from the market; it was al
ways for sale, but never to be sold.
Pans, which seemed inexorab.e when
she made them, would, i'll al proba-
bilty, never be heard of again. Her
decisions, which were always unex-
pected were usually acted Upon by
everybody but herself, and the amount
OF agitation which she thus needlessiy
caused during her lifetime, must
stand aw,ully to her account. Her
husband failing to find in her woman
hood what her girhood had promised,
sank into his grave, thankful to es-
cape multiplicity Of appointments.
She provided an excellent table. Her
Charoutes and cranberry tarts were
delicious, her ometets dainty. her roasr
ducks and capons tender from neck to-
joint. She was. moreover, lavish IN
the quantity supp led and mourned,
periodically and truthful'y, that she was
ALWAYS out of pocket This liberal
ity on rhe part Of Mrs. Caves came, it
must be tod, from the exalted egotlsm
which invariably governed her She
would give no room .or unfavorabe
comment upon anything pertaining ~
the most independent housekeeper IN
Old Shipron. Il am sure | would far
rather she would give us much less,
and keep something i'll her pocket
Marian said, on one occasion, when
that empty receptacle had maintained
more than usually wearisome promi-
nence throughout a long conversation.
Out of the wreck of her married nfc
there remained one son, known among
men as GEORGE; and he. too, had
been near going down with other and
better things: for this widow son had
been sick of fever. and was now, at
the age 0, five and thirty, an interest
ing figure of flial dependence. To
him Mrs. Caves boarders looked lor
every slice of flesh and fow! they ate;
that is to say. he carved and distribur-
ed-always lowing generous portion
for himself-what his mother had pre-
vious,y earned and paid for. Between
these two existed wealth of goodwill
and affection. 1t was George VINO
bade her the first good d-morning;
George who went with her to her
room and made her comfortable for
the night; George who proved the sup
eriority of her pudding by eating it
wit hthe least restraint. For a man
who, had passed his youth III Ioafing
his conversation was credltable, and
the hours which he now spent in ais
mothers society had pastora. SIM
plicity cur!ously in contrast with the
man. He was indefatigable in his at
rentions to her, in return for which
she shaved for and supported him.
Through the hard routine of her daily
life his smi'e cheered her, his laconic
Wei, Nom, how yo' maxim ou,.
affected her with the magic influence Of
an elixir. Enough. 1t matters not
what George Caves was to the resi- Of
the word.
He was ,at, handsome man, with a
dark eye that had seen, and wou' d
continue to see as long as he lived, a
great deal. He was commonly attn eu
in striped coat of seersucker ging-
ham, and pair OF loose fitting brown
trousers In his hand or on some
fence that had attracted him and stay
ed his steps. you won have seen a
thick walking stick depending by its
crook. With the aid Of this stick, there
were few thresholds in Old Shipton
that George had nor crossed hundred
times. His peregrinations were daily.
and bore fruit He could CLEAN as
much from the man upon whom his
eye rested in passing, as he could from
the man with whom he had talked lor
an hour. What George had not seen
or experienced between Baltimore and
Phi adelphla, was not worth the tell
ing. TAX about yer wind b.owin'
he would say contemptuous.y to a visi-
tor from Minnesota, why, down yere
on GunpoWder river, I've saw it blow
the water clean out the channel, SO :.
duck had to stand on his head to git
drink. That he was still an inva ia
seemed to be recognized fact in the
family, although there were those who
tal.ed to discover wherein his feeble
ness lay. The walking stick, it is true,
was symbol of weakness, and served
to remind the stony hearted rf.at
George was Incapable of toll.
At the far end or Mrs. Caves table,
in the corner that was warmest in win
ter and coolest in summer, sat a per-
son whom the Devines came to regard
for time as leading LADY, OF the
part. Her gray HAIR fast merging in
~ "liltS, was lIOIIl ueT IOIc-
head in what is known as a pompadour
roll; her lips were still brilliant, her
complexion fair and brighr, her eyes
cleaning with observation and inquiry.
She dressed well, but without neatness,
was stout as became a woman of sixty,
and retained the vigor OF twenty-five.
Her step was firm, heavy, and to the
purpose. When she entered a room,
an earthquake in miniature took place;
the floor shook, The window panes rat
tied, the lamps suspended from The
ceiling jtngled in their chains. At her
approach, chairs turned over without
any obvious cause. and books fe! n
showers from the tables at which she
she ensconced herself. When she left
her seat, which was ways with pre.,i-
pitarion. tides and cushions traled af-
ter her, thus adding to the already
strong lmDreSSiOn which one had re-