The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1873-09-19

al used to see q great deal of them at
one time,n she said, "but-"
"Oh! well, you know how they have
had mother-in-law raging round
lately; so have kept away"
$50 have l."
Here followed q laugh of derision.
"a mother-in-law" exclaimed an
other; "that is hard; do pity them in
deed.n
"But I understand she is of now,
luckily"
"Glad to hear it. Have you heard the
new opera ?'
was the mother-in-law on whose ac-
count friends stayed away. i remem-
bered the weary nights in the sick
room; the weary days when, suffering
from the loss of sleep, L struggled to
keep my eyes open that might attend
to the various little household duties.
remembered the nice little dishes, the
nicely arranged rooms, the carefully
tended baby. Which of all this was
''the raging round" which excited the
risible muscles of those young people d?
/ thought of Fanny, of her good looks,
her intelligence, her affectionate nature,
and found myself wondering what her
future was TO be. But here we are.
There she was waiting to meet me, dear
child; but there was some one with her,
most Insignificant looking individual,
with prominent eyes and large whiskers.
Why did my heart sink with q melan-
choly foreboding?
How glad she was to see me againi
She introduced her companion to me as
Mr.. Jenkins; and whereas L was all
anxiety to be alone with her, Mr..
Jenkins, with a great flourish of polite
ness, walked all the way home with us.
Before could unite the strings Of my
bonnet, he had told me that Fanny had
promised to marry himI Twas thunder
struck, having in the annoyance of his
presence forgotten my forebodings of
half an hour before. had read with
much attention, in various highly
lauded books, of the great and impera-
tive duty Of bringing up girl to be a
helpmate for noble man. Was this
my Fanny's noble man, this dapper lit
tie manikin? He seemed amiable, but
so utterly Insignificant. He had unin-
teristing parents, and weak, plain sis
ters, all of whom made a perpetual
amusement Of the engagement. NY
parlor was given up to them-that is, to
dc trOp when entered, Judging by the
silence which followed the animated
talk. My coming was an interruption. /
began to sit up stairs; always walked
alone.
Having avoided all society and all
acquaintaneeship when my children
were young, that / might devote my
whole time to them, l found no con-
geniality in either of the two families
with which my family were connecting
themselves.
After two years they were married;
and after year of boarding, aspired to
the dignity of keeping house. After
looking at many dwellings, one was Sc
lected; one which required great many
repairs, and now my services were in
very great request. / attended to all
the directions Mrs. Jenkins wished
given to wOrkmen; l stayed in the cold,
empty house all day, when there was
nothing to sit on but an empty candle
box. did the necessary quarreling
with the plumbers, and bore the snub-
bingOf the uphOlsterers. put the furni-
ture in the places | thought best by
degrees, and by degrees changed il all to
suit their tastes. i washed all the china
and glass; and sometimes fancied, when
BoI u4Ily uOlllB All THIS, Jnab was
happy. / had so long been accustomed
to work for those / loved, that it was
hard to learn there might be any re-
prOach connected with it. | must do
Fanny the justice to say that she was
very kind and grateful for all this
trouble.
On the last day, after having some
cold tea out of a pitcher on the corner Of
a mantelpieee, overheard Mr.. Jenkins,
who had brought in friend TO admire
his new dwelling, say:
well, the carpets are down, the
furniture is all here, and I think now
when we get our servants and engage n
milkman, and are rid of the mother
in-law, we shall be ready to move in"
Both my children married. | had
my solitary little home 10 myself, and
very solitary it was. / tried TO get up
some spasmOdic friendships with my
but, being hollow, those
forced intimacies fell through. But
ought not to complain; it is the way Of
the world.
l only wonder IL, considering the love
We women have for our children, young
or old, the world is not apt to be a little
hard upon the mOther-in-law.