Under the Country Sky

bby the house was till I'd read J

the house itself, Georgiana was not in the least ashamed. She knew that it possessed a certain charm of aspect, from the fanlight over the entrance door to the big quaint kitchen with its uneven floor dark with time. It was when one came to details that the charm sordidly vanished-at least to the critical vision of the young housewife. Like the worn white paint upon its exterior, the walls and floors wit

ut had a patch upon it, hardly a towel but had been cut down and rehemmed, that it might last as long as possible. There was, to be sure, one small tier of towels, handed down from Georgiana's grandmother and carefully preserved against muc

els for her," Georgiana reflected re

e used as occasion demanded. The blue-and-white crockery which must serve a part of the time w

his armchair is a benediction to any meal, and Mr. Jefferson can talk as few guests can who sit at the Crofton table, I'll wager. I'll not be apologetic, even in my mind, no

ven to her cousin, and fell to work with a will, for this w

ewly scrubbed paint on the woodwork. There was a luxuriously cushioned, high-backed chair-would Jeannette, by any possibility, recognize the blue silk of those cushion covers? Georgiana wondered. Jeannette, who never wore a frock long enough really to become familiar with its pattern, would only know that the cushions were soft to her comfort-accustomed body. The woven rag rugs of blue and white upon the floor were of Georgiana's own making. An ancient desk, which had belonged to Mr. Warne's mother, was carefully fitted with all the small articles one could desire

on for the coming supper, and in that pleasant order which the kitchen of the good housewife shows at four in the afternoon. In the woodshed beyond she gathered a great armful of wood, not to bother with the basket,

te, please,

aught up with Georgiana at the foot of the stairs, just as one big

realized, but she had not meant to be caught upon the front stairs

iana now found her arms unburdened of their heavy incumbrance without

ike this when you hav

She followed Mr. Jefferson, as he strode up the stairs with the wood. S

e box, and then stooping to rearrange it. "Would y

that he was supposed to be a literary light,

ere some people," she observed with gravity. "You are expected to complain

u intending to

question around the pleasant room in its fresh and expecta

ed. "There's quite eno

, I suppose, beyond the kitchen, after the fashion of

don't

tairs, through dining-room and kitchen to the woodshed. As he passe

ack to my boyhood. My mother used just such a kitch

ade to shine brilliantly every utensil which had in it possibilities of shining. It was impossible not to feel a ho

Georgiana's late attempt to the blush, assured her that he felt personally competent to attend to th

could not possibly remember when he had discovered the opportunity to do the deed without her knowledge. And from this time forth, during the remainder of his sta

onveyed by motor from the large city, sixty miles away, which was her home. Georgiana, therefore, with mem

ccustomed to it and would miss it more than she could miss any other one thing. But she's to have only the plainest of t

ering," said he, "is the atmosphere of this house. Jeannette cannot escape it. I am pampered beyond belief every day of m

s she glanced down at the soft gray-blue of the

last 'Semi-Annual.' I coloured it myself-as usual. It really came out pretty well, but it gives me a

The tone was that

flung a look at the slim man in the big chair, which said that sh

e is willing to accept. There was never any stigma attached to wearing the discarded garments of another, provided they w

nd Georgiana dropped a kiss upon the top of the head

ietly did the great, shining motor roll down the macadamized road which ran through the main street of the little tow

ch men's daughters at college and had found close friends among them, but no one of them had ever suggested such a background of luxury as did this slim and graceful girl, as she set her pretty foot upon the old box-bordered gravel pa