Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1871-10-12

spised monitions, exhumed the wooden
box, had it thoroughly cleansed, filled
with roasted coffee and placed upon my
mantelpiece, giving Milly orders to come
to me hereafter, every morning, Tor the
coffee.
Charlie gave mo a grateful little kiss
when he saw the old box in tn: old place
either rs a reward for my amiable en-
dcavor to do things as mother did, or be-
cause he took the old wooden box for an
outward and visible sign Of the inward
and spiritual grace that was to move Milly
to make good coffee.
But somehow or other, in spite of the
unsightly old wooden box on my man
telshelf, the coffee didn't improve in the
least. Maybe the charm failed to work
because Charlie had forgotten which end
of the mantelpiece his mother used
to kerp it on, or used tie wrong spoon
I'm inclined to lay it on the spoon myself
but there's no telling.
The first cotton picking season that
came round after my marriage seemed tc
afford Charlie no end of opportunities fol
riding his hobby at fast and furious pace
1t seemed as If there was no end to things
that mother used to do at that important
season. suppose she really was won
derful woman, and humbly hope that by
the time have lived a. long as she id
and get to loO&ing as she does in her por'
trait, and can wear wonderful looking
cap with the wonderful composure she
wore it with, and have little iron gray
curls hanging round my iron gray visage
may be- only half ss wonderful.
"Wouid l see to the making of the cot
ton sacksr That was one thing mother
always did" Thus Charlie.
OF course would; why should oh.
ject to anything that would forward my
husbands interests! Besides, was &C
tually pining for some healthful occupa-
ton; I was tired of playing at living. l
resolved on brilliant plan. Iwould ont
mother mother, for she only sa'o to the
making Of the sacks; would make them
myself, every one Of them, on my sewing
machine. II couldn't make cotton-sacKs
on it, what was the use of having it,
Charlie had informed me that he would
send me down seven or eight women from
the quarters to make the sacks. informed
him with flourish that should need but
one; should want her to cut the sacks
out Charlie thanked me, and Martha and
l and Wheeler 4 Wilson - made the
sacks.
Was to blame that tho wretchcd things
burst in twenty places at once the first
time they were used! Was to blame that
two women were kept busy mending my
sacks until they ceased to be sacks
Charlie might think 80, but did not
He reported the failure Of my cotton
sack experiment with very unbecominS
levity, as it struck me, accompanying
his report with q somewhat unjust com
ment upon new tangled notions, such
as sewing machines, etc., etc, winding up
with-"Now, when mother was alive "
Il fairly wiDced), the house was not con.
sidered too good for the darkies to sit on
the back gallery with their work and
make tue sacks right under mothers eye
sewing them with good strong thread,
too, that was spun for the purpose. can
remember the old spinning wheel: it used
Like Captain Cutie, "made note of
it" for future use.
I often had occasion to wonder, during
happened that the son Of such an e1cep-
tionally perfect woman as I was COM
PEELED to presume my respected mother.
in-law to have been, should have grown
up with such shockingly disorderly habits
SIS had my Charlie. The wretched
creature would stalk into my ed-room-
which I was particularly dainty about
fresh from shooting or fishing, with pounds
of mud clinging to his boots, bristling all
over with cockleburs, his hands GRIND
with guupowder; and helping himself to
water from my china basin until he had
reduced it's original pure contents into a
compound of mud and ink, and would
wind up by MAX ing finish of my fresh
damask towel, and throwing it on the bed
or = chair instead of returning it to the
rack, as he should have done.
"Charlie," said I one day, saucily in
viting dose of I" what mother did, ''what
did mother used to do when you came in
to her room and turned it into ig-stye.
and then left it for her to clean up again -
She never let me do it," said Charlie
With . laugh. "In tell you how she old.
Shc had tin basin on a shelf on the back
gallery, and one Of those great big rolling
towels that lasted about week and after
her Washstand was fixed up in the morn
ing, we knew better than to upset it, can
tell you"
livery we'll, sir; l intend you shall
know better than to upset mine, I'll show
you."
In fact, things had come to that pass
that had mentally resolved to "show "
Charlie a great many things. I firmly
believed that the secret Of the power that
Charles mother had exercised over her
household, and still exercised over him in
memory, lay in the fact that she made
them all afraid Of her; so I firmly resolv-
ed that they should all be afraid Of mo,
ponr little me-! 1t is true, was but
twenty, and she was fifty; I was but q
pocket edition of a woman, and she was a
Webster Unabridged; had little meek blue
eyes, that dropped to the ground in the
most shamefaced manner ifa body did but
look at me, and she had hard, cold gray
eyes: that not only looked straight at you,
but right through you. Still, I hoped,
notwithstanding these trifing drawbacks
to make myself fvery awe. inspiring by dint
of grand assumption of spirit.
To put it into very plain language,
resolved to bully Charlie off his hobby.
He had thrown his mother at my head
(hguratively speaking, of course) until, if
she had been present in propria persona.
should have been tempted to try Hiawatha's
remarkable feat with his grandmother,
and throw her up against the moon. But
as l could not revenge myself upon her
personally, began to lay deep and subtle
plans for inducing Charlie to leave her to
her repose.
As the veritable bell which, in the days
when mother did it," had acted as sort
of Gabriel's trump, was still extant, minus
clapper and handle, was enabled to pro-
vide myself with its fac simile Armed
with this instrun ent Of retribution, l laid
me down to sleep by Charles side, gloat.
ing in anticipation over my ripening
scheme Of vengeance.
1t was a rare thing for me to wake up
before Charlie, but did manage to do so
on the morning in question, by dint,
think, of powerful mental rek olution to
that effect made the night before. I raised
myself very. softly, so as not to disturb
my husbands gentle slumbers, and, pos.
sessing myself Of my big bell, laid
on with will, raising such a cater
IN the quiet morning air that Charlie
fairly bounded into the middle
of the room before he in the least com.
pretended where it came from.
In the name of Heaven, Lulie, what is
the meaning of that," he exclaimed,
looking at me as if he half doubted nv
sanity.
"That's the way mother did it, Charlie" !"
replied placidly enough, and, replacing
my big bell on the table, settled myself
on my pillow on more, ostensibly to 20
to sleep again-,n reality to have my laugh
out in quiet fashion, for it was enoug III
to have made the very bed posts laugh to
see Charles funny look of astonjshment
and Indignation But of course he couldn't
say word, you know.
For two mornings I clattered my bell
about his nreciOna old head and thon ho