Year: 1878


loveliest early summer days the world
ever beheld--a cloudless sky golden
bright sunshine, soft fragrant air, and
songs of birds, faint musical murmurs
of brooks and FLASHING Of fountains, deli
cately green grass, lingering violets, and
budding roses.


On the lawn in front Of the elegant
mansion Of Leon Fishback, Esq, party
of young people are playing "Follow-fol-
low-follow-me"-a game somewhat re-
sembling $50 their mothers and grand
mothers tell them) an old game called
"Puss in the Corner" played quarter
of century ago, only in "Follow-fol-
low" the players, instead Of beckoning to
each other, beckon to u group of metallic
balls, around. which they stand in a
circle, and he Or she who proves to have
the most magnetic force the balls will
follow with rush, while the players
rush as wildly in their efforts to secure
the place left vacant by the flying one.


At this moment the balls are rolling
pell-mell, helter-skelter, knocking against
each other with pleasant ringing
sound, after pretty, fair haired maiden,
whose little feet, clad in slippers all
cleaning with silver and gold, flash in
the sunshine beneath her blue satin
Turkish trowserlets as she springs lightly
over the green sward amid the exquisitely
modulated laughter no one shouts
loudly in this refined twentieth century
of her merry companions.


In the back garden, on green clover
sweet grass plat, stands broad, deep
basket of newly washed, snowy white
linen, and hanging out machine,
planted firmly in the middle of the plat,
is industrio lsly raising and lowering its
wooden arms, grasping the various pieces
in its wonderfully constructed hands,
/ and hanging them upon the stout no
clothes pin line, which is slowly revolving
around it, and to which they adhere
without further trouble.


In the dairy the rosy checked dairy
maid is reading love poem, while the
automatic mixer is milking the beauti-
full white COW that stands just outside
the door; in the kitchen the cook is in
dolently rocking to and fro in low
rocking chair, watching the "magic roll
ing pin" roll out the paste for her pies,
ready to stop its pendulum like move
ment the moment the crust is smooth
and thin enough; and small servant
boy with his hands in his pockets,
lounges against the wall in one corner
near tall stool, whistling softly to him
self as he waits until the pair of shoes
the electric backing brush is polishing
thereon attain the proper degree of bril-
liancy and mirrorlikeness


This is a prosperous place this domain
Of Leon Fishbock, Esq, and Leon Fish
back himself is tall, handsome, ener-
getic, positive man Of one and thirty--a
bachelor, who gives home to his wild
owed sister, and her four half orphaned
children, and in return is taken care OF
by her, with the assistance OF the old
houskeeper--to tell the truth with a
great deal of assistance from the old
housekeeper--as well as any brother was
ever taken care of by any sister.


Still, people, as people will--especially
people with grown up single daughters
wondered that he had never married. 1t
was not for want of opportunity he had
not done so-oh, no, indeed--for dozen
lovely girls, half dozen more or less
charming widows and several ladies OF
neither class, had since his coming into
the property of his uncle and godfather,
Leon Fishback, Sen. (whose ashes IN
solid gold casket stood in sort OF
shrine, made of hundred rare woods,
in the south drawing room), intimated
to him in every way that the shrinking
sensitiveness Of womanhood would allow
their perfect willingness-nay, anxiety
to assume the role of mistress of the
Fishback mansion.


But Leon had walked calmly among
them, dispensing hospitality, kind words
and gracious smiles with the strictest
impartiality, Distinguishing none by the
slightest preference until few weeks
before this beautiful June day, when his
young guests merrily called "Follow-fol-
iow-follow me- TO their highly polished
admirers on the closely shaven lawn


Then came TO visit his sister an old
friend, Laura Beardsley by name, who
had been residing in a far distant State,
but with whom the sister had kept up a
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