The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-12-01

was poor and hOpelessly rheumatic, an
most of the daughters hard earning
went to exc out the scanty subsistence a
home. Aunt Judith, the sister of John
mother, looked after" the household al
fairs of her hrOther-in law, by coming owe
once week and helping Huldah darn ant
mend and make, and by giving Huldal
such advice as her ineXperience was sup
posed to require. But now Deacon
HarlOw's daughter had left her hus
band to eat his turkey alone il
Boston, and had brought her two children
home to receive the paternal blessing. No
that Mrs. Amanda Holmes had the paterna
blessing chiefly in view in her trip. She haC
brought with her very dear friend, Mis-
Janet Dunton, the accomplished teacher il
the IT. Parnassus Female Seminary. Why
NJ Ianet Dunton came to the countr,
v her friend. she could hardly
have told Not word had Mrs
Holmes spoken TO her on the subject of the
matrimonial scheme. She would have
| She would have repealed any in
that marriage was desirable under
any conceivable circumstances. 1t is way
we have of teaching girls 10 lie. W.
super-added accomplishment is put on with
| the distinct understanding that its sole use
is to make the goods more marketable.
We get up parties, we go to watering
places, we buy dresses, we reft,rnish our
houses, to help our girls to good match.
And then we teach them to abhor the
awful wickednesss of ever contessing
the great desire that nature and
education have combined to make the chief
longing of their hearts. We train them to
lie to us, their trainers: we train them to
lie TO themselves; to be false with every
body on this subject to say mo" when
they mean yes" to deny an engagement
when they are dying to boast of it. 1t is
one of the refinements of Christian civiliza-
ton which we pray the Wcmau's Mission
airy Society not to communicate to poor
ignorant heathcns who know no better
than to tell the truth about these things
But, before | depressed into that line of
remark, | was saying that Miss Janet Dun
ton would have resented the most remote
suggestion of marriage. She often declared,
sentimentally that she was welded to her
books, and loved her leisure, and was de-
termined to be an old maid And all the
time this sincere Christian girl was dying
to confer herself upon some worthy man of
congenial tastes (which meant, in her case,
just what it did in John Harlow s-sOme
one who could admire her attainments
But, sensitive as she was to any imputa-
ton of desire to marry, she and Mrs.
Holmes understood one another distinctly.
There is frecmasonry of women, and
these two had made signs. They had
talked about in this wise:
Mrs Holmes-M dear Janet, you'll find
my brother bear in manners, [ fear. |
wish he would marry. l hope you won't
break his heart, for | know you wouldn't
have him.
Mss Dunton-You know my view. on
that subject, my dear | love books, and
shall marry nobody Besides, your broth
er's great legal and literary attainmcnts
would frighten such a poor little mouse as
/ am
And in SAYING those words they had
managed to say that John Harlow was an
unsophisticated student, and that they
would run him down between them.
Mrs Holmes and her friend had arrived
twenty four hours ahead of John, and the
daughter of the house had already in
stalled herself Is temporary mistress by
thoughtlessly upsetting, reversing, and
turning inside out all the good Huldah's
most cherished arrangements. All the
plans for the annual festival that wise and
practical Iuldah had entertained were
vetoed, without thought that this young
girl had been for Il year and a half
in actual authority in the house. and might
have some feeling of wrong in having
guest of "a week Overturn her plans for the
next month. But Mrs Holmes was not
one of the Kind to think of that Huldah
was hired and paid, and she never dreamed
that hired people could have any interest
in their work or their home other than
their pay and their food But Huldah was
patient, though she confessed that she had
a feeling that she had been rudely
"trampled all over" 1 suspect she had "A
good cry at the end of the first day. can
not affirm it, except from general knOwl-
edge of women.
When John drove up in the buggy that
the boys had taken to the depot for him,
his first care was to shake hands with the
deacon, who was glad to see him, but
could not forbear expressing hope that
he would SHAVE the hair off his upper
lip" Then John greeted his sister cor
daily, and was presented to Miss Dunton.
Instead of sitting down, he pushed right on
into the kitchen, where lIuldah, in a calico
frock and clean white apron, was baking
biscuit for tea She had been a school
mate of his, and he took her hand cordial
" as size stood there, with the bright west
ern sun half-glorifying her head and face.
"Why, Hulhah, how you've grown"
was his first word of greeting. He meant
more than he said, for though she was not
handsome, she had grown exceedingly
comedy as she developed into woman.
at Il,
she returned to the sittingroom.
dered What had he done that was undig-
nified? And Amanda Holmes saw well
enough that it would not do to tell him
that speaking to Hudah Manners was not
consistent with dignity She saw that her
remark had been mistake, and she got
out of il as best she could by turning the
conversation. Several times during the
supper John addressed his conversation TO
Uuldah, who sat at the table with the
family, for in the country in those days it
rage to make "help" wait for the second
table. John would turn from the liter
airy conversation to inquire of Huldah
about his old playmates, some of whom
had gone to the West, some OF
whom had died, and some of whom were
settling into the same fixed adherence To
their native rocks that lhad characterized
their ancestors.
The next day the ladies could get no
good out of John Harlow. He got w
early and MIXED the COW. He cut wood
and carried it in for IIuldah. lie rode old
| Bob to the brook for water He did
everything that ne had been accustomed
to do when hey, findingas much pleasure
in forgetting that he was a man, as he had
once found in hoping to be a man. The
two boys enjoyed his society greatly, and
his father was delighted to- see that he had
retained his interest in the farm life, though
/ the deacon evidently felt an unconquerabl,
hostility to what he called "that scrub
brush on the upper-lip." | think if Johr
had known how strong his fathers feeling
was against this much cherished produc
he would have moved the crop and grazeC
the field closely until he got back to TIT
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