Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-10-12

@0f Segn-~S L1fse- s1l3 1EAy3e> the
1esa little bit cciily, I" have no desire IN
the world 10 forcs yuu to conform 70 ny
vie US /; GALS told you hog mother oid II
Res3e-. vou knew how I loved Char c,
ard AFTER tia. I cut lsrSed the ARK II early
rising: and although Lhs-lie sn1 Cid liz
lie N re than gspe II each 9Th rs fsc<s
f9- An hour or two, and wish breakfast
wousd come. snd wonder what made them
take so long, be s&s perfectly sGasn c
tbst we were both on me rosd fhst YES 70
make ~ heal aier, Weather and wiser.
Among oahsr points On which my hus-
hand and | were Mutually agreed was q
liking for good s4ro1g cuIoe, and We also
held Il common one decided opinion, snc
tbs; was. thaf cur coffee was gradually
becoming anything but good ard strong.
Charlie brosched the subject first. "Lu.
lie, cur coffee is getting to he perfectly IN
driDkab e" said he one morning, putting
his cup down with face Of disgust.
III is, indeed, Charlie; it's perfectly
villainous Milly ought TO be ashamed Of
herself I shall speak TO her again after
breakfast"
Maybe you don't give out enough cof.
fee y sugge ted Charlie.
II don't know how much hilly takes,
/ replied, innooently.
Takes! Do you mean to say that you
don't know how much coffee goes out OF
your pantry, Lulie, l don't wonder We
never have any it TO drink
Ill had been of an argumeItatise turn, l
would hare asked Charlie TO explain how
giving the cook carte blanche in the mat
ter Of quantity should have such disas.
trous effect in the matter of quality. But
was not Of an argumentGtive tn n, so
tooK no notice Of his queer logic.
Why should / bother about every
spoonful Of coffee, Charley You assured
me, when first came here, that every ser
want you had was as honest as you or l,
and I'm sure Milly knows better than l do
how much coffee she ought TO take"
We'll" sad Charlie, with sigh OF
mock resignation, "that may be the way
they do Kings now a.dsys, but remem-
Der exactly how mother managedt t, have
good coffee" Here the hobby broke into
brisk canter. II recollect she had a
little oval wooden box, that he'd, | sup
pose, about qusrt-or two, mas be-of
roasted coffee, and hat box stood on the
mantelpiece in her room; and every
morning, as soon as her bell rang, Milly
wo1ld come with cup and spoon, and
mother would measure out two table
spoonfuls Of coffee with her own hands
and give it TO the cook, and the cook knew
better than not TO have good coffee, can
tell you"
care you sure it was only two spoon
fuls, Charlies"
81 am sure" responded Charlie, SOL
EMMY.
As good-luck would have it. while rum
maging in the store room day or two
after that coffee talk, came upon little
old oval wooden box, the lid Of which
detached with some difficulty, and as the
scent of the roses hung round it still, had
no difficulty in identifying my treasure
trove with the wooden box that had play
ed such distinguished part in the good
old times when cooks "knew better than
not to have good coffee, can tell you"
Hoping that some relic Of my dead pre-
decessor might prove more awe-inspiring
to contumacious Milly than my own de.
spised monitions, exhumed the wooden
box, had it thoroughly cleansed, filed
with roasted coffee and placed upon my
mantel piece, giving Milly orders to come
to me hereafter, every morning, for the
coffee.
Charlie gave me grateful little kiss
when he saw the old box i'm the old place
either as reward for my amiable en-
deavor 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 keep it on, or used the wrong spoon.
I'm inclined to lay II on the spoon myself,
but there's no telling.
The first cotton picking season that
came round after my marriage seemed to
afford Charlie no end of opportunities for
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. fsuppose she really was won
derful woman, and | humbly hope that by
the time have lived as long as she DID,
and get to looking 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,
l may be only half rs wonderful.
would see to the making of the cot
ton sacks? That was one thing mother
always did" Thus Charlie.
OF course would; why should OBJ
ject to anything that would forward my
husbands interests2 Besides, was &C
tually pining for some healthful occupa-
ton | was tired of playing at living. /
resolved on a brilliant plan. Iwould ont
mother mother, for she only sac to the
making of the sacks; 1 would make them
myself, every one of them, on my sewing
machine. Ii couldn't make cotton sacks
on IL, what was the use of having it9
Charl 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; J should want her 10 cut the sacks
out. Charlie thanked me, and Martha and
/ and wheeler 81 Wilson made the
sacks.
Was TO blame that the wretched things
burst in twenty places at once the first
time they were usedg Was ! 10 blame that
two women were kept busy mending my
sacks until they ceased 70 be SACKS?
Charlie might think so. but ] did rot
He reported the failure of my cotton
sack experiment with very unbecoming
leyity as il struck me- ACCOMMODATING