Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1870-10-20
ty, but assured himself meekly that he
had no right to be disappointed. ie


into his kitchen one rainy morning, drag.
| ging couple of old harness after him
| GI always like to be where the folks are, =
4 he continued, settling himself to the work
of mending and oiling at one end of the
j wide stone hearth, while st the other end
Mrs. Wha1en pours q dipper of boiling
water into the churn she was washing. !.
"She Ia smartl See how. she steps y
said Mr.. Means to himself, watShdng her
from under his palm-leaf hat-brim, with
serene satisfaction. "What you got COOK
4 ing here ~ A soup for dinner, heyp he
A pursued aloud, lifting the lid of great
iron pot on the stove, and letting out q
fragrant steaming cloud into the room
| "Cslista was . great hand for 'em- She
used to make the best soups with the
least meat of any woman ever saWIRsS
L Calista was the late Mrs Meansi sud i
her husband had praised her in life as he
did in death, she must have been blessed
among women. 10 i'aR .-ls;igss
81 always like plenty to do with when
j I cook, J" returned The Widow Whalen,
| Whirling the churn- handle with energy
| enough to start the Great Eastern.
| A, shadow rippled over Mr.. Means
but she wasalwaysa q very SGOSng woman,
Then he sprang up so briakly that he
oyerset his kkillet of grease.
: ''SWhat There there / that's too bad,
nowi I'd no idea that plaguy skillet
handle was turned round right in my way
But I just happened to remember there's
quite good sized junk Of pork-rind SET
sway on thetop ahelf OF the cheese safe
Il has been overlooked till it's Almost
reaay to take hurt. I'll reach it down
for you while you're cleaning up, the
grease. lCalista thought there was moth.
ing like pork for giving q flavor" -.
| There was o toss of Mrs. Whalen's cap
strings, but she said nothing as the phi
laundering old diplomat brought to light q
leathery square of pork: :rind. "Time to
%What' o'clock"
eTa get thedinner, Mr.. Means, If it's
| Al the same u yoas said the widow,
waving her dish cloth as if it had been a
scepter. -
"6ho, no8fi 760mefhinE,s= gone wrong
with her" thonght Mr. Means, in surprise.
Wonder if Rhsbe,s been aggravating
herr If she hss, won't put up with it.
Mrs Whalen shaan't come tony house to
be aggravated ~
You've got an excellent soup, Mrs.
Whalen, ma'am. Idon't know al 0a1ista
ever beat il said Mr.. Means, turning
about the sSRofy fragments with the IA
die. "Whk, where's the pork, left out
for your user Idon,s find it,,
al threw it into the soap 7greasst~ was
the defiant answer; for Mrs. Whalen,
with all her ambition and all her
bear Watching any moro than a boiling
Young Amos Means muttered "Jollyi I"
under his breath. Mr.. Means looked mp
ID You don't say sOap-grease, ma'am,' ;.
There was an awkward pause.
Luckily : haven't offered myself yet," /"
mating 0Ss 0-U1s with paHg of renuncia-
ton. She's q spry, capable piece, but
don't understand saving"
At the same time Mrs. Whalen gazed
ruefully at the genuine silver fork near
her plate, and said to herself: a.
The house and furniture are Just to
my mind; but there, it's of no use, can't
stand i'll OF all men, preserve me from a
Bettyi" 81 sai .e5..,.,.
The willy host observed that she frewned
into his cup as she passed 1t, and forgot to
put the sugar in !; SO with an ingratiating
smile, which was meant to be broad and
deep enough to drown all memory of
pork -rinds, he remarked:
You do make prime bread, Mrs. Wha-
len. most wish I hadn't let my daugh-
ter 60 visiting this vacation, it would have
done her 70 much good to take lessons of
YOU % T. fs4fi-t .f@ts Sfsy .-;sIf .,.tss,
Mrs. Whalen passed the sugar with
renewed sweetness. -as1 s3Fsi f9d9et ~
"But," added Mr.Means, relapsing into
Efrugaiity, /" You needn't be afraid to seton
the small pieces for me. Pity they should
60 TO the hens" ztslf .s,5r7lc.I =, 81,
This Wasb a crumb too, much, Mrs,
Whalen choked. just as she. was clear
ing herhthroat for q spirited reply the
door opened, and Moses Pitcher walked
b"Thought you might be wanting your
mai, !" said he, producing letter some
what the worse for splash of mud. g.
The widow took it, glanced at the su-
prescription with some surprise, blushed,
rose from the table, and absently passed
her folded napkin through the handle oi
the teapot. ,ssffe1 70 7rf .110v
Handwriting rather agitates herr ex.
planned young Pitcher, as she hurriedly
left the room, and was heard to go up
stairs. .-' slta!ssiu at. 49, IT
aWhose handwriting ." demanded Mr..
Means, fiercely. "What do you know
about IL tf"is Fa1w sdii 5 .fi3 Inc 49,.
ia Postmaster said 'twassq ssquireLinton,s,' =
replied Master Paul Pry. Why, how
nice you l0okahere. Unele Meansl L al
ways said Mrs: WhAlen was Just the
woman for you. a
l. =" 80 ene Is T. LnOugnG MI. modne, WIN
an. inward groan. so she is. And eco
nomical enough. Railways thought Calista
was little grain too saving" :" .Tof5s 81 - I
"But II what I hear Is true, you won't
keep her long, uncle. The squire is on
VOur track mo fI-sIs>,'4 no fz,fr,-,..-.
"You hear a great many things,
Moses" retorted Unce Means, snappishly,
"and talk. altogether too much for q
SoeAssOo1' - =! al. <EI
Moses retreated, looking back longing
" at the gooseberry-t tart his cousin Amos
was eating with such Q preternaturally
grave face. While Mrs. Whalen, seated
In the sacred solitude of her own chamber,
with the door locked and her back turned
upon it, opened her letter, It was very
brief-only four lines-yet Mrs. Whalen
had not finished reading it In half an
hour. -'7sl
"Dear Mrs. Whalen," !" it said, " business
takes me to Mslburg next week on Thurs
day and II not an Intrusion, I wish to
call upon you. Please drop me q line
this will not be agreeable to you, or, you
are permanently engaged 49, p"
NexCoweek on ThursdayP. Why, to-
day wss Thursdayl The letter was dated
q week ago, and had Ebeen mellowing in
al fbia firna 81 "A