Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1859-07-05
III Mlsttllanp.
7 Il i R Amy DAY.
By MRS. MARY vAUCmAN.

1--WE MUST lay by something for rainy
day." said my father, as the habitual lrown
upon his square, stern forehead deepened,
aud lie pushed back his char from the Ia
bic, aud leaving his almost untasted break
fast, went back to his store.
We had been disappointed in the ex-
pected arrival of some guess from the
city, the previous evening, and some unu-
sual luxures. provided for item, had been
placed upon cur brcakfast-lable My father
WAS soIeIy displeased thereat, and SO de-
parted i'll anger to his daily business. My
moth, sighed wearily, as she rose from
her place behind the coffee urn, and com
mcnced removing The dishes.
1--WE can make Il hash of this for din
ncr," she said; "iL will all be eaten, and
father need not have baon disturbed about
it,"
She neve, said "angry," or "cross," or
"irrilabe," g." or unreasonable" No, how
ever harsh or stern might be the reproofs
bestowed upon her by my father, she only
meekly spoke of him as disturbed. -
Dear, gentle mother! how thy meek, weary
face rises up before me as l write
Her whole life was given to labor and
saving. She had brought my father nice
li1tle fortune, as I had always understood,
but dat had by no means exempted her,
in his opinion, from the necessity of cease
less toll and piuching economy. He prac-
ticed what he preached, however, rs many
men, and women, too, have not the con
sistency to do
In such sordid home my youth was
passed. Morning, noon and night, saw
the frown upon my fathers brow, heard
the harsh reproof of anything his scrupu-
lous idea of economy could make waste,
saw my mother often IN tears, yet meek
and gentle, and aIway5 toIling, calculating,
planning to save, to lay aside for that
rainy day" of which my father was con-
tinuaily talking.
l saw that the chief burden of this life
lay upon my mother. My father was
strong, porily, voiced, active. He
was very close in his expenses in business,
in the store, and in all matters that came
exclusively under his management; he
wore his garments until they were rusty
and uncouth of fashion, but still he made
fewer sacrifices, and lived much less la
boriousIy Iy than he expected the woman to
do who had brought him the nucleus Of
his lapidlyin ;reasiug wealth.
My mother had been, was often told,
a plump, rosy girl, rural beauty, whose
bright eyes and dimpled cheeks had at
tracted as many admirers as her little for
tune. But | never saw her other than a
lean, wan, spectral-looking creature, her
mild blue eyes looking preternaturally
large as they cleaned among the shrunken
muscles of her pale face; her hands, that
had beer so pretty and dimpled, mere bony
claws, dis6gured by hard and menial
drudgery; the whole expression of her
bowed and wasted figure and gentle coun
tenance one of anxious and eager watch
fulness.
There was no repoee to our life. Ny
father was won't to come in, a storm of
hustle and noise, my mother moved about
silently but swiftly, urging her maid Of
all work to greater exertion, hurrying to
accomplish some heavy task, and painfully
of the miHutest economies of the |
household. ......s. .e....
was the only child of this pair. And
was the only object, or creature, with
whom they were in daily contact, left ut
terly unmatched. My father was always
at his store, OF riding over his farms, ex-
cept at the hours devoted to meals and |
sleep. He seldom noticed me, unless l
ate too much, or was dressed too expen-
sIvely. My mother, absorbed in her
household cares, found no time to do more
for me than to provide my clothing and to
ensure my attendance at table. L was an
observer in the household, but not, as it
seemed to me, an actual partaker of its
interests.
Everything about my home was dis
asteful to me from my earliest childhood.
contrasted it with the homes OF nv play
mates. The little girl with whom PLAYED