American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-06-01
Miscellany.
ONE OF MY WHlMS.
BY ROSELLA RICE.

BY RoSELLA RICE.
,"Well, guess I'll have to try my cure
again." said, YEARLY, as l slipped my
half cup of coffee at breakfast, and leaned
on the corner of the table with one elbow
''It's the best and surest cure for low
spirits that know Of"
''What is that?" said Helen, looking up
brightly.
"Why," said /, 'when I become low
spirited and sad, and everything about
home looks common and desolate, l Just
go abroad among my neighbors, and am
sure to come back ready to rejoice that
mine is such pleasant, CHEEKY home,
quiet, and clean, and beautiful.
The family all Joined in laughing at
one of my whims," as they called it,
but indeed it was no within. and if any of
you women readers, who have good
homes, ever get to thinking that the wall
paper in your rooms is decidedly ugly,
the pictures on your walls common, your
books old and uninteresting, nothing good
to eat, your beds too hard, or too soft,
your clothes ill-fitting, your children cross
and illbred, your servant sulky, your
husband morose, 1 do beg of you to try
my cure.
Everything had been going wrong with
me for two or three weeks, and so that
morning 1 was really obliged to try the
cure. The girls combed my hair nicely, but
/ wouldn't let them divide it and put it up,
coil around coil, that would appear stylish,
and would not be half so comfortable as
to wind it up loosely and softly, quite low
down. Then if 1 took notion, while
resting on log out in the woods, to
throw off my bonnet, and shake my head
freely, there would be no elaborate fix
ing to come down, little by little, pin
here and pin there. l don't understand
why, but it has become a habit with
me, if l am out in the woods, nv
first impulse is to let my hair down all in
a heap. loosely and freely, until the first
sitting is over.
Soon concluded to go across the creek,
where lives one of my old nelghbors on
whom wanted to call, Katy Raymond.
Katy used to work for me when She was
girl-she married the young carpenter
who boarded with us at the time. Her
first children were sickly little things, and
her married life was not very pleasant.
One of her little girls had an affection of
the lower limbs and never walked step,
and Just when she had regained her health
and began to be playful and happy, she
had the scarlet fever, and before she re-
covered from it she took a severe cold
which settled in her eyes, and she lost the
use of them.
A sweet, little, blind, fair-haired girl,
who could not walk a step, was a great
and loving charge for the poor, impatient
young mother. The other three children
were puny and fretful with their white
faces.
Katy was very glad 20 see me. She was
one of those women whose home and
family were her world-her all in all.
She was remarkable clearly housekeeper.
The outside walls, beside her door and
windows, were made useful in every
sense of the word.
Beside the window, which was shaded by
morning glory vine, hung her big, iron
frying-pan, spider, griddle, big baking
pan, mop, scrubbing-broom, and all such
kitchen paraphernalia that should have
been out of sight, no matter how clean,
or how honorable they were to the repu
tatiOn of good housekeeper.
"COme in, if you can get in for the
dirt" was Katy's salutatiOn, and l found
her with her dress pinned up, her sleeves
rolled up to the elbows, her hair lifted
clear out of the way onto the top of her
head, busy making bread. She always
or moulded bread as an ordinary woman
would, if she were going to Europe to
stay all summer.
How are you, Katy ?" l said as l sat
down in her cushioned rocking chair.
"Oh, pretty well, but I'm head over
ears in work The baby was teething last
week, and was SO cross and fretful that /
didn't get much done, and that makes
30 much more to do now" and she flew
about so briskly that she made the dishes
rattle in the cupboard. As soon as the
bread was fixed she washed her hands and
said: Come into the parlor, my kitch-
ems not fit to sit down in, it's SO dirty and
dusty" and all the time Katy knew that
there wasn't a speck of dirt in her sweet
smelling. tidy kitchen.
She led the way into the room she dig
nified by the name of parlor.
I should have called it hospital in
stead, for it had three beds in it, draped
in snow-white cOunterpanes and ruffed
pillows; trundle bed, and the baby's
cradle, big bureau, chest, stand, table,
clock, and set of chairs, including the
two easy rocking chairs.
Some people must have parlOrs, though,
because it is the custom. What bur-
1esque on that empty fashion was Katy's
YEARLY, while glance of her keen, sharp
eye swept around the room and over the
floor to see if all were well.
Julie" she said, II see bit of white
yarn ravelling, sticking on the carpet
pick it up and burn it, will you? Dear
me" said she, sits nothing but dirt, dirt;
cannot keep everything nice with these
young un's about all the time,'
"Well, you have none to spare out of
your motherlove," said |, a little nettled
at her useless fretting.
No, not unless I'd give them to the
rag man." she answered, apologetically.
"Oh. I'll be so glad when school begins,
and everything is quiet and clean once
more. Don't come in here on the carpet,
Marier.' she screamed out shril1y to
sad-eyed, yellow faced child, who peeped
in at the door with bunch of flowers in
her hand throw away that truck, and
don't go tracking around where mopped
this morning-oh, dcar,' and she lifted
her eyebrows dolorously.
See what Bessie wants, Marier"
Bessie, the little blind, crippled child,
wanted piece, and Katy told Maria to
split cold biscuit and give her the top
i part, spread with some of the jam that
kXnaEip the little, notched glass dish in
= tom OF he cupboard.
PI be careful, Marier, and don't
SOFTER crumb, and if you break that dish
~ take your head off in Il tricc, now see
if don't"
Maria was busy at the cupboard getting
the piece, and Bessie was saying, ''hurry
oh do hurry, I'm so hungry