Year: 1877

When Marcia came home from Europe.
she brought her pretty trifies for every
body-corals for these, and canoes for
those, and cairngornIs for the others: and
she brought me n silk umbrella. | had
halt hoped for picture, a bit of bronze
(belng a house-hOlder), majolica plat
ter. What in the world do you suppose
Marcia brought me n silk umbrella for?


No shabby one, either, let me tell you
The silk OF the thickest, the stees of the
stOutest, and the handle a wonder of sculp-
tured ivory. To useP | should as soon
have thought OF going out in the rain with
my new silk hat as with my new silk um-
brella.


\ silk umbrella for man who had new
er aspired to an alpaca one, and who had
always held fifty cent cotton one, that
could be left and forgotten, lost and stolen
with impunity and nobody grievously
wronged thereby, as the king of all um-
brellas, and who never carried an umbrel-
la any way. but in rainy weather wore q
mackintosh


Still, as umbrellas go, it was beauty
1t would give an air OF distinction to ones
appearance, armed cap-a-pie. iaultlessly
dressed even to the umbrella. Being AN
amateur farmer in small way, Il became
me to he seen well dressed when lei,
home. Then it would look finely on the
rack in the hall. 1t would be nice
thing to lend lady going from
the house in shower-a nice
thing for her to forget to return, too
That reminded me; | shouldn't like to
lose it, after all; | must have it marked
that was only proper respect to Marcia.
\ neat little silver plate, the ieweler said
(nickle would hardly suit so fine an art-
cle), engraved with my name and place
only two dollars. Already the price of
four umbrellas.


When the silk umbrella came home, |
hung it in its case. on the rack but one
of several irresponsible single ladies,
who take more or less interest in my al
fairs, assured me that to keep it hung up
in its case would occasion it to split in the
folds. | took it down and spread it wide
open on the floor of the dark cloak closet.
when another of the irresponsihles-and
don't know how under heavens she knew
it was there-assured me that my umbrella
would become a one-sded cripple il ] lett
it spread wide open on the floor. | be-
gan to wish had never had an umbrella.
| took off the case, shook loose the folds.
and hung it up unmoiested by the others.
The next result OF my possession of a silk
umbrella. was that conscious of my re-
sources, | lent my macintosh, and the
person to whom | lent it was drowned in
it; and | had previously given away and
recklessly lost all my fifty cent umbrellas
When, then, in drizzling weather wished
to tramp through field and visit the out
lying dependencies of my pig sites, it
seemed altogether too incongruous and
unbecoming to hang over the pig-sties
under silk umbrella with carved ivory
handle aud engraved silver plate, and con
sequently went in the rain, caught cold,
had the pneumonia and a doctor and
receipted doctors bill for fifty dollars, and
no strength to speak of for six months.
wished Marcia had brought me no pres
ent at all.


! had been looking forward, for some
time after my complete recovery, to Mar
ca's wedding and my journey to Water
way. Marcia was not only the sole mil
lionare OF the name, but she was my IA
vorte cousin, engaged to marry my dear
est friend, and the ceremony was to be
performed in great state by DIR. Wilder,
OF Brenttord, an old clergyman. the dear
est friend of her dead father and OF mine
OF course lwas to make my best appear
ance, and of course my old heusekeeper
insisted that then | should take my UNI
brela. | demurred; for it was very
much in my way, with my portmanteau,
my rugs and my wraps, and the box hold
ing my wedding present. But she carried
the day and took it.


As soon as was in the cars that day |
comfortably disposed of my personal
property in various barriers around me,
aud enjoyed the morning paper, till sud
denly the junction was called, and start
ed up in q hurry to make my connection.
Satisfying myself when the change was
made that | was in the right car, began
again to dispose of my membranes,
when-where was my umbrella? had
left it behind me. ! was not going 10 give
that silk umbrella TO the porter OF anv
train on EARTH l had just time to spring
off one train and back upon the other,
when away they both shot in opposite di-
rections. and and my umbrella were on
one train. and my valise, my wraps and
rugs and wedding present, were on the
other. Did | bless Jonas Hanway aud
his great original umbrella? Aud the
price OF how many kings of all umbrellas
was there in the ticket | was obliged to
buy for place to which didn't want to
20, to say nothing OF the kilograms at the
first station concerning the disposal OF my
traps?


fastening to the station and setting
down the umbrella, | had written the mes-
sage and lust paying for it, thinking the
while with regret OF the scenery We were
to pass through, since tue only way to save
my umbrella was to keep my eye fixed on
that, when the cry came, "All aboard - |
threw down the change and ran.


"IOur umbrella, sir" cried a flute-like
voice.


Hang the umbrella ~


stepped back for it, one seconds delay.
In that second there was Just enough of
steam on to whirl the train out of The sta
iion, past hope of overtaklng. Strongly
inclined to pitch it into the middle of the
track, | tucked my umbrella under my
arm savagely and wheeled about, only to
tear off with its ferrule the top OF basket
that the owner of the tiute-ike voice was
carefully carrying behind me, and away
fled two white doves in the air, and van
ished in The blue.