Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-06-10
NO. 1873.

Suc httu OutllNeu Her usefulness. IL WOuiu
have been cruel and thoughtless, and
would have given her fatal wound. She
had seen a great deal of trouble and
brought up large family, who were mar
ried and living in homes of their own.
Death had taken from her two lovely
babes, who were just beginning to prattle;
and one son, young man, had met an
awful death by being dragged more than
mile over a new road, with his foot in
the stirrup. Her husband had been secur-
ity for neighbor in the first years of her
welded life, and had the debt to pay.
Half of the sum she had paid little by little
with butter and cheese and dried fruit, and
berries that she gathered, with her nursing
baby lying in the shade near her.
Often while toiling thus, the dishonest
rascal whose debts she was sacrificing her
soft handed, and stately and proud, in
his glittering carriage.
Oh, could, | an interloper, come into her
home and mark out new lines and new
duties, and crowd against the wall this
crowned old heroine? God helping me, I
said in my heart, will be daughter unto
you.
could see that my music was something
new that she did not like-that her lip
would curl a little when she would touch
my magazine, and books of poetry; so
most heartily did l sing the old church
music, and when l placed the books on
the table, / would lay Pilgrims Progress,
or volume of sermons, good, old, well
read books, on mine, rs though intimating
preference. 1t was little thing, but
mother understood it, and her eyes would
follow me in a questioning look, as much
as to say, Il wonder if you love me, Char
ity? She always called me Charity, sound
ing the very distinctly.
She wore old fashioned lace caps, with
full border or frill all around the face.
All the pride she had seemed to center in
her fanltlessly neat but old time caps.
Her hair was abundant, and quite brown
and pretty, but it was always covered out
of sight.
My friends, when they would visit me,
would say, If were you, I'D soon have
those great scary looking, boozy caps in
the stove, they are so abominably old
fashioned
My thoughts would fly with electrical
speed away back to the time when that
poor old mother was young and vigorous,
and bravely bearing the trials and sorrows
that had fallen to her lot, when her heart
was wrung with anguish over the death
beds of her beloved children, and the dark
graves closed over the dead faces taken
suddenly away from her bosom, and oh
she would be so dear to me, and | would
be so ready and willing to defend her, that
her very faults almost seemed virtues.
| liked to show mother off to the best
advantage, and sometimes, when my WIS.,
itors would be dressing and redressing
their scant adornment of hair, and resort
ing to deceptive means in making much
hair out of little, | would say, Now sit
down and rest, mother, and let me comb
and brush YOU Then Iwould unroll and
loosen her wealth of brown hair, all down
her back and shoulders, and its waves
and ripples and glossiness, would bring
forth the most envious and enthusiastic
exclamations of delight and wonder from
the admiring visitors.
One morning early a neighbor came in
very angry, saying that our horses had
been in his corn field all night, and if the
like ever happened again, he would shoot
one of them. His anger was contagious,
and mother retorted, Fix your old fences
them
The old man said something in the same
spirit. and she replied in like manner, and
the little fire of anger was blazing up into
a flame. | had not caught the infection at
all, and coming into the kitchen at that
moment, said 'Heigho, good neighbor,
this will never do Poor mother is not
well this morning, and she flashes up like
powder. You have reason to be provoked
at our horses, but now | know you will
never have cause again; and now don't
let little thing like this make you angry
with us; you're too good neighbor to
lose so easily-worth more than all the
horses in town. Don't mind poor mothers
hasty words; you know if you were sick,
or your wife and babies, she'd be in as
much trouble as though it was in her own
family, and come putting over with her
herbs and roots, poultices and
oh, | know it, Chatty, and l know |
have been little too fast; that's so. l
should have waited till was calm. but l
came right here from the field as fast and
as mad as | could come. You mustn't
mind me Mrs. Wheeler, said the man,
with eyes that wanted to cry, as he stood
there so ashamed and embarrassed that
he'd turned his hat inside out half dozen
times, and twisted the rim into all sorts of
shapes.
Why, bless you, Nathan, I'm not bit
mad, said mother, reaching out her hand
but you took me SO by surprise, l just
said the first thing thought of. l take
fire just like dry tow but couldn't hold
spite at ye, if ye shot every critter on the
farm.
just then the man came in from hunting
the horses. and made apologies, and said
he should be well paid for damages, etc. /;
but Nathan went off blushing and saying
he wouldn't take cent of pay; he was
ashamed of himself, and that his wife had
breakfast waiting for him, and away he
ran with his hat crammed down on his
head, with the cotton lining on the out
side
This little incident showed that mother
was kind-hearted woman, and begun
to think my uncle Peter Whitaker, was
himself to blame if he did not find her
good neighbor.
| often had hard work to keep myself
under proper restraint.
GCoNCLUDED IN TO-MoRROw'S PAPER.