Kenosha tribune & telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1856-1859, 1857-06-11
From Graham's Magazin
MY Experience in the Country.

] was born and bred in city. / was the on,
ly daughter eff one of the wealthiest importers oil
my native place, and had received every advan,
| tage that money could procure. My mother's
health was feeble and we had always within my
recollection, kept housekecper
| had been reading, one day, an essay on the
education Of woman, and in the closing sentences
there occurred this paragraph No woman
education can be complete unless she be thor
oughly acquainted with the art of housewifery.
Now you may be assured this opinion, coming
as did from so important person as the author
of book, foil with great weight upon my mind
and set me to thinking / glanced around the
room. My eye fell on n splendid piano, a taste
full guitar, paintings which my pencil had execu-
TED, and embroideries which my Skill had wrought
| l laid my hand upon q gorgeously bound boos
| its gided leaves Enclosed, and the glowing
| thoughts of Dante metmy gaze. And possess
ed the power to unlock its mysteries-to read III
the language which the great poet loved Ger
man and French were familiar to me as my own
! language, and had fairly studied through the
illinitable concentration of Latin verbs and
supines. Blu. what of that? AL! these qualifi-
cations We're valuelessl / had never looked at
! the subject in this light before | glanced in
ward at myself What did know about house
wiferys | smiled as / asked the question. Nor
titled enough, Twas obliged to confess that did
not know a turkey from a chicken, and had not
the remotest idea of the manner in which the de-
iicious apple was lodged in the very heart of an
apple dumping!
was astoundedl What an admirable wife
should make! Surprising | should fall in love
with poor man, as they usually do i'll novels
elope with him, expressing at the same time,
q preferences for him with an humble cottage,
to a palace without him, and surprising that he
was unable 70 supply the kitchen Of said cottage
with that important appendage-an Irish maid
en-well, what then? Aye, sure enough, what
them absolutely shud9ered as I thought OF
it, Cross words black frowns and blacker coffee
| at breakfast-singed steak and mysterious pud.
ding for dinner-burnt bread and smoke-havor-
ed tea at supper-and, oh! dear, dear! could
hardly repress my tears as l thought of it.
Justas was about deciding TO go to my room
for regular schoolgirl cry Aunt Hatty and
my mother came in from an extensive shopping
expedition. Aunt Hatty, good soul! looked all
the surprise she felt, as she said, peering at me
curiously though her spectacles, "Law sake!
child! what upon airth is the matterl Does
your tooth achei If it does, jist get piece OF
cotton as big as a hazel nut with Davis Pain
Killer, and put it in the bivity of the TOOTH and
it won't be long, tell you, before you'll feel an
ainazin sight better
BY way Of explanation, Aunt Hatty was my
fathers sitter, good old fashioned body, having
great faith III home medicine practice. In early
life she had married George Carroll, wealthy
farmer, and now lived on farm about ten miles
from the city
'Oh, Aunt faltered forth, L don't know any
thing! me- not one thing! and bowed my head
Oh the arm Of the sofa and sobbed.
Aunt Hat'y laughed outright, and my mother
smiled as she inquired how long l had been so
ignorant
l explained all to them, and throwing myself
on their mercy, begged them to tell me what was
to be done. Aunt Hatty consulted with my
mo N tx-ls1
the sofa, and the res ult ofthe whole matter was
that which | most wished / was to go with
Aunt Hatty to Pine Glen Uncle CAROLS farm
and under her guardianship, become acquainted
with cooking, washing, churning, ironng-in
short, with house-worb
Papa's consent was readily obtained, and that
.@s..Gsn sss Ses ssT a - st VIII h Cue s
lichttul, and was in fine spirits. Aunt feared
would be lonely bat when saw the long, low,
brown cottage peeping shyly out from its cover
ing of vines and roses I laughed at the idea of
loneliness in such paradise
Uncle George and cousin Charles werereioiced
to see meat least they said so--and ! saw no
| reason to doubt their declaration.
My lady readers will like a description Of
cousin Charles, know, so III e en- crafty them
lie was fine specimen of the New England
farmer, twentythree years Of age, six feet high;
brown, curling hair; broad white forehead deep,
/
did set Of whiskers
Uncle and aunt Carroll, cousin Charles, and
BetSey. maiden sister of my uncle, composed
/ the family at Pine Glen. There were, besides
! the family circle, several work folks and a
/ smart little girl, who assisted about the house
| work.
Aunt said that work never was plentier, and
! there was ample opportunity to bl e forth my
! latent energies
| slept soundly that night in the great spare
I chambey-the state-rOom of Pine Glen, with its
cean, white floor and snowy window hangngs
I The song Of dear little bird close by the win
dow, in tall pine, awoke me quite early; and
/ determined not to be thought INDECENT, sprang
up, and making hasty toilet, | consulted my
watch anG found it was only halfpast seven
! Firmly convinced that not a soul in the house
was up, l stole noiselessly down strairs, to
avoid disturbing them, and entered the dining.
room. The morning meal had evidently been
on the table, and the family had, to all appear
ances, partaken Mortified enough went into
the kitchen to find Aunt Hatty The good lady
laughed as she saw my CONSERVATION, and beg
4 ged me TO take my breakfast as soon as possible
tor she wished to clean up. The mornings ex.
pcrionce taught me that seven o'clock is no. con
sidcred early in the country.
As it was baking day. prepared to receive
my first lesson in bread making Dressed il
I one Of Aunt's striped bingham dresses and with
Miss Besty ; best tow and linen, apron, l com
merce0 operations in right good earnest.
First, there were the tins to be buttcred.
i showed my consumate skill by merely buttorng
the outside, and leaving the inside clean. Aunt
! Hatty laughed until the fears fell from under hen
spectacles, at this inversion Of household laws
| 70 my credit be it said, did not despair, but
1 set cOuragc0usly to work to remedy the rnishap
/ took off my rings and laid them away. rolled
). my sleeves above my elbows, and put my hand.
fha hot
Il the tins clean. Then followed drying them
after which, performed the oiling process II
aunts entire satisfaction. The bread was tC
be mixed with hot water, and the yeast had
been put in the night before, consequently,
Miss Betty said, st was big enough to knead
kneading was 4 tenn l did not exactly un
derstaud, 50 applied TO Aunt Hatty for an ex
PLANTATION
'Lah Marian don't you know how to knead
bread? Why, shall begin to think you don
know much, after all your boarding schools ani
pianner lessons; why, child, put your hand,
right in the midst Of Il, and mix togetbe,
till there amt a single speck Of dry meal TO be
seen.
1 followed directions implicitly, and al the enc
Of half an hour the mass before NE had not
changed the least particle so I concluded tba
Il must be kneaded enough. and / took it to Mis-:
Betsey for examination. That venerable woman
looked at the bread in embryo full a minute viii
! the greatest amaZement.
Would you believe it, Harriet she exclaim
ed; The poor child's been kneading that dry
meal in tie IiOur-bucket more n half an hour
j Dear dear. l am thankful l want born in ths
7 city
My feelings may be better imagined than de
scribed, for sure enough, the bread pan sat &c
y murely on a shelf above the stove withits con
tents undisturbed, while ! had been labo1ins
away on the contents of the flour bucket
ool.d have cried with vexation. Aunt HIATT,
consoled me by telling me that seine great pee
! had said, Everybody mast have their larnin'
etry in the assertion-iR fact, was prsetica
illustration Of the pToverb, After another hal
hours work the rreal snonlh lnaEes were safal1