Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-03-13
CHOOSING A WIFE.

John Harlow, a young New York law
| yer, told his partner that he wanted to
| &c home for a week He said that he
wanted to see his father and the boys,
and his sister, but that he especially
wanted to ride old Bob to the brock
once more, and to milk Cherry again,
just to see how it felt to be farmers
boy.
'TJohns'' saia 5he old lawyer, "be
eltre you fix up match with one of
those country girls no man is fit for
any thing till he is well married, and
you are now able, with economy, to
support wife. Mind y.o,. st one of
those country girls. The paste and
powder people here aren't fit for a
young man who wants a young wo-
| man. 49, s45 - .-.,aIi
| The next morning John had q letter.
from his sister. Part of i run illus:
" I've. eonelided. old fellow, that if
Z Tctt don't marry, you'll dry up and turn
to parchment. I'm going to bring
home the smartest girl [ know. Of
course she don't know what I'm up to.
but you must prepare to eapita late y
In the old home they w6f6 looking
for the sem Tie family proper con-
sisted Of the father, good Deacon Har-
low, Johns two brothers, ten and
twelve years old, and Huldah, the
help" This last was the dauahter os
neighboring farn,er VITO was a poor
and helpless rheumatic, and most Of
the daughters hard earnings went to
help out the scanty subsistence at
home. Aunt Judith, the sister of
| Johns mother ''looked after" the house.
hold affairs of her brother.in. lew, hv
coming over once week and helping
Huldah darn, and mend, and make,
| and by giving Huldah suc4, advice ep
her inexperience was st,pposed to re.
quire. But, now Deacon HaTIow's
daughter had left her husband to eat
biz turkey alone in Boston, and had
brought her two children home 81 re-
eeive the paternal blessing. Not that
Mrs. Amanda Holmes had the paternal
blessing chiefly in view in her trip.
She had brought with her very dear
friend, Miss Jenet Dunton. the aeeen,-
plish ed teacher in the panhassus Fe-
male Seminary, Why Miss Janet Dun
ton came to the country with her, friend
she could hardly have told. Not word
had Mrs. Holmes spoken to her on the
subject of matrimonial schemes She
would have repelled any insf1uation
that she had ever dreamed that mar
| riage. .wes desirable under any con-
ceivable circumstances. She often de-
clared, sentimentally, that she was
welded to her books, and loved her
leisure, and was determined to be an
old maid. And all the time this sin
cere Christian girl was dying to confer
herself upon some worthy man OF con
genial tastes; which meant, in her case
just what it did IN John Harlow's-
some one who could admire her all
tainments.
I Mrs. Holmes and her friend had ar
rived twenty-f0urs ahead of John. and
and. the daughter of the house had al
ready Installed herself as temporary
mistress, by thoughGlessly upsetting.
reversing, and turning inside out ali
good Huldah's most cherished arrange.
ments. All the plans for the annual
festival that wise and practical Huldah
had entertained were vetoed, without
a thought that this young girl had
been for year and half in actual
authority in the house, and might have
some feeling of wrong in haviDga guest
for week overturn her plans for the
next month. But Mrs. Holmes was not
one of the kind to think of that. HUI
dah was hired and paid, and she never
dreamed that hired people could have
any interest in their work or their home
other than their pay and food. But
Huldah was patient, though she con.
fessed that she had a feeling that she
had been rudely J" "trampled all over"
| suspect. she had cry at the end of
the first day. cannot affirm it, except
from general knowledge of woman.
p When John drove up In the buggy
that the boys had taken to the depot
for him, his first care was to shake
hands with the deacon, who was glad to
see him, but could not forbear express
ing hope that he would "shave that
hair off his upper lip. y Then John
greeted his sister cordially, and was
presented to Miss DuntoD. Instead of
sitting down, he pushed right into the
kitchen, where Huldah, in a calico
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