John Smith was Branton Hills' famous church organist; and, at a small,
dainty lunch, Kathlyn told of this troth. In a day or two about all
Branton Hills' young girlhood had, on rushing in, told Kathlyn what a
grand chap John was; and all that town's young manhood had told John
similar things about Kathlyn. So, as this is a jumpy sort of a story,
anyway, why not skip months of happy ardor, and find how this tying of
an additional knot in our Mayor's family will turn out? You know that
Kathlyn don't think much of pomp or show, and such a big church ritual
as Nancy had is all right if you want it, but Kathlyn had fond thoughts
of just a small, parlor affair, with only a group of old chums; and
_no_ throwing of old boots, and "sharp food-grains," which work
downward, to scratch your back, or stick in your hair as stubbornly as
burrs.
"Such crazy doings," said Kathlyn, "always look foolish. It's odd how
anybody can follow up such antiquarian customs."
As Kathlyn's big night was drawing nigh, Lady Gadsby and Nancy had
constantly thought of a word synonymous with "woman", and that word is
"scrub." Which is saying that Gadsby's mansion was about to submit to
a gigantic scrubbing, painting, dusting, and so forth, so that Kathlyn
should start out on that ship of matrimony from a spic-span wharf. Just
why a woman thinks that a grain of dust in a totally inconspicuous spot
is such a catastrophic abnormality is hard to say; but if you simply
broach a thought that a grain of it _might_ lurk in back of a piano, or
up back of an oil painting, a flood of soap-suds will instantly burst
forth; and any man who can find any of his things for four days is a
clairvoyant, or a magician!
As Gadsby sat watching all this his thoughts took this form:--
"Isn't it surprising what an array of things a woman can drag forth,
burrowing into attics, rooms and nooks! Things long out of mind; an
_old_ thing; a worn-out thing; but it has lain in that room, nook or
bag until just such a riot of soap and scrubbing brush brings it out.
And, as I think of it, a human mind could, and should go through just
such a ransacking, occasionally; for you don't know _half_ of what an
accumulation of rubbish is kicking about, in its dark, musty corridors.
Old fashions in thoughts; bigotry; vanity; all lying stagnant. So why
not drag out and sort all that stuff, discarding all which is of no
valuation? About half of us will find, in our minds, a room, having on
its door a card, saying: "It Was Not So In My Day." Go _at_ that room,
right off. That "My Day" is long past. "Today" is boss, now. If that
"My Day" could crawl up on "Today," what a mix-up in World affairs
would occur! Ox cart against aircraft; oil lamps against arc lights!
Slow, mail information against radio! But, as all this stuff is laid
out, what will you do with it? Nobody wants it. So I say, burn it, and
tomorrow morning, how happy you will find that musty old mind!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account