Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1871-06-22

woman, as different as possible from
her burly beaming husband, sat at the
white-scoured pine table, Smelling beans
vigorously into pan. Agatha, the
only child, was close to the window, her
pretty profile outlined against the blue
cameo of the sky, intently busted in the
unromantic but useful occupation of
setting a patch on the elbow OF her
fathers brown coat, with quick, agile
fingers, and needle that glanced in and
out like flying shaft of silver.
She was pretty girl, with soft hazel
eyes, abundant brown hair, coiled pic
turesauely around her head, anda COM
plexion which albeit somewhat touched
with the ardent finger of the sun, was
full of delicate reds and whites. Moses
Jefferson and Clarissa, his wife, were,
to use the farmers expression, Gas
homely as hedge fences" without a
graceful line or beautiful feature in
their whole composition; and how
pretty Agatha ever came to be their
daughter was as incomprehensiblea
riddle as it is how the magnificent
cactus blossom, with its leaves of flame
and heart of scarlet fire, should ever
spring from the wrinkled old stick by
courtesy called "plant." But so ma
ture manages her affairs, and as yet we
humans have not been able to improve
on her.
Mother and daughter were earnestly
talking together as the farmer entered,
and he could just catch Agatha's last
words:
81 wouldn't, mother, wouldn't"
Wouldn't what? What is it you're
talking about ~ and Moses Jefferson
looked questioningly from one face to
the other.
"Why," said Agatha, looking up
with flushed cheek, ''mother wants
to sell the pile of old newspapers that
belong to uncle Philemon, up in the
store closet, and 1t doesn't seem hardly
right to me-
The farmer countenance grew grave;
he shifted the bag of seed corn on to
chair, and shook his head.
"Agathas right about it" he said.
81 wouldn't sell 'em if l was you, Cla-
rissy"
"You don't know nothn' about it,
Moses Jefferson said his wife, in a
SuaTD, high pltSicu toiio' Lawn
the best closet III the house all hamper
ed up with mess of old newspapers.
Why there's a thousand on 'em If
theirs one, / do blieve.
"No there amt Clarissy-now you're
exaggeratn'. Uncle Philemon has been
savin' 'em up for ten year, and there
amt over fifty two weeks in year, as
ever | heered on"
"Well, there morn | want lumber
in around anyhow. 1t is all folly and
nonsense. AS long as the old man was
able to 90 poking about with his old
knotted stick, countin 'em and straight
enin' the edges and foldin' down the
crumpled corners, didn't care to touch
'em. But now he's bed-ridden and
Eighty, and won't know nothin' about
it; I'm bound to sell 'em !"
"But, mother" pleaded Agatha,
breathless and eager, " suppose he
were to want them brought up to his
bedsideg 2"
"Oh, he won't: and ii he does we
can put him off with some excuse or
other, I'll venture, easy enough. Allah
Darwin's widow says paper Is four
cents pound, and l calculate l could
get u new set of milk pans with the
money. Besides, Agatha wants the
closet to keep her clothes in, now that
she's home from the factory for good.
81 can get along without it just as
well, mother, and it does seem wrong
to go and sell all of poor uncle Phile-
mons papers when he is too i'll to know
of it. ~
"Now you may just as well hold your
tongue said Mrs. Jefferson, shortly,
and with unmistakable emphasis. I've
made up my mind to sell EN-, and sell
'om | will, if Won and your father kept
on taljng till the day OF judgment.
Mrs Darwin says there's a man comes
round with sort of barrow, and
string of gingling bells once in while,
and gives four cents pound for old
newspapers. So, if any of you see him
stop him.
And Mrs. Jefferson, having said her
say; hounced out Of the room to see if
her pickles We're nearly scalded. Hon
est Moses, whistling a solitary psalm
tune under his breath, unconsciously
thereby producing the effect of high
wind moaning down lugubrious chin
ney, went up to the garnet with his bag
of seed corn, there to deposit it with
other agricultural treasures, and Agatha
put on her little blue-frilled sun bonnet
and gray shawl, and tripped across the
russell fields to tell Hugh Darwin, her
sweetheart, how very shabbily mother
was going to treat uncle Philemon, "
For troubles ceased to be troubles when
Agatha had whispered them into the
sympathetic ear of her true love
/ Now Hugh Darwin and Agatha JEFF
ferson had been engaged for three years
and were likely TO be engaged three
! rnnrn. fnr thnN Mnrn both harl work