Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1871-05-11

But | do not mean to insinuate
that my husband was prone to fault
finding; on the contrary, he was
very lavish in his praise-and that
praise was 50 sweet that / kept 81
lent, consoling myself with the
thought that it would not be long
before would really merit it: A
day or so after, he brought home a
j.. couple of friends to dinner. As
soon as / could make my escape from
the parlor, ran out to Dorcas, pale
; with CONSERVATION. But Dorcas
was in nowise startled. She went
quietly to work, while l was run
ming to and fro, and giving vent to
all manner of eXtravagant exclama-
tions; adding little here, and a lit
tie there, improving one thing, and
tidying up another, until size got to-
gether as nice dinner as my fas-
tidious young husband could have
desired. He was pleased to the
heart; l knew it by the expression
of his eyes. .1'f-
"Mag,s the girLfor xou.n | over.
heard him saying, as l left the par
lor to 60 through the useless form
of ordering supper. "Tll bet my
head there's not such another wife
in town. She's always as neat as
new pin, yet she cooks like an old
stager. tell you, boys, I did a
good days work when 1 got her."
l never felt meaner in my life;
but again / took refuge in my old
resolution to make myself worthy of
his praise; and in accordance there
with, / trotted after Dorcas for two
or three days, taking note of every
thing she did, to the poor girls evl-
dent detention and annoyance. But
after awhile old habits got the bet
ter of me, and ] fell back into the
beaten track, lounging away the
forenoon in my chamber, doing my
crochet and worsted work, and read
ing the last new novel, infinitely
more pleasing, to my taste, than the
kitchen and the cooking stove. And
after all, what did it matter? Dor
cas- would never leave me, and there
was no nse worrying myself.
But Dorcas did not think just. as
l did; she took it into her head to
get married herself after awhile. 1
looked upon it as an imposition
then, and l do now. If woman
has a genius for cooking, and has it
in her power to make another wo-
mans home pleasant and agreeable,
what right has she to transfer her
good works into an establishment
Of her own? 1t is not loving ones
self, to say the least. And Doras
was so sudden, too. 1t was:
I'm going to be married, Mrs.
Wickliffe, and must leave you this
evening"" and tomorrow morning
she was gone.
Owen did not come home to din
ner; and feeling very pettish at Dor
cas-, resolved upon grand supper
of my own, that would throw all eff
fors of hers into the shade. l had
the day before me, and l began early.
My stove was in full blast, and the
tea-kettle finely under way, when a
little chap maze his appearance with
a string of trout in one hand, and
note from Owen in the other. / read
it eagerly.
My old friend, Wat Seymour, is
in town, Mag. l shall bring him
round to supper, so do your best,
dear. N. B. Fry the trout nicely"
/ went to work zealously. Not
content with hot rolls, determined
on Spanish buns-they were OWENS
peculiar fancy. OF course, 1 could |
make them; the dough had been
rising all day, and must be light. l |
went into it up to my elbows. There
wasIa goodly quantity 1jnexperi-
enced housekeepers are always law
ish-but 1 managed to get it into
form; and then got ON the pan of
trout, and the coffee pot. What a
silly thing l had been to keep Dor
cas- so long, when 1 could cook so
well myself, thought, my heart
bounding with pride and gratifica
ton, as ran up stairs for white SUI
gar to sift over my buns. There
was runaway horse on the street
just below, and paused at the win
dow to see what was going on. Then
a group of gayly dressed girls, some
of my old friends, Haunting out in
new rig, caught my eye. ] forgot
all about supper for several moments,
and stood drumming against the
glass, and humming an opera air to
myself. Just then an awful sound
broke on my ear, q Kissing splutter
from below. l went down three
steps at a bound. The kitchen was
black with smoke. and the odor of
the burning trout almost drove me
back. But, determined to save them,
l seized the pan, dropping it the in
slant after with cry of pain. The
red hot handle had crisped my hand
to the bone; the kissing grease and
burned fish flew in every direction,
spelling my pretty oil cloth, and
soiling my new evening wrapper
beyond all redemption. In the
meantime the coffee was foaming
over, and the rolls were burning to
Goals; and every instant the stove,
which had literally crammed with
wood, was increasing its heat. 1
felt as if l should go mad. Every
attempt l made to rescue my sup
per left it's mark upon my poor
hands; and, to cap the climax, in the
very heat Of the fray there came a
rap at the door. l smoothed my
hair, and hurried out. The conner
was no other than aunt Debbie. If
l gave utterance to anything like
profanity in my heart, l feel sure
that infinite justice will not hold me
accountable; for there are moments
in life, l think, when we sin invOlun-
tarily-sin because our souls are too
weak, TOO sorely tried, to help it.
Aunt Debbie followed me into the
parlor, removed her shawl and bon
net, smoothed down her silk apron,
and took out her roll of kitting.
Il heard Dorcas had left you,"
she said, in her pleasautest, even
voice, @and j Thought I'd drop in
and see if you wanted help. -l-
No, nor' l broke out, passion
ately; 81 can do well enough myself.
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