St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-05-08
Not for Farmers Wives to Read.

country trade find it familiar scene
euough-the farmers wife hesitating
and hoping and fearing over her poor
| little purchases of sugar and calico-ten
| to one the calico is for the baby-while
the farmer stands by grumbling ut her
wants" and doing ont the ploney rs
! if he were giving it to some Slouchy.
| troublesome beggar, who hadn't any
claim upon him. Not being IL country
merchant can't get used to the pain
fulncsS of such Il scene. 1t makes me
not only melancholy but mad. madden
still when / see how meekly the wife
accepts the reluctant pittance. and how
unquestionably she seems TO believe
that the family groceries and provisions
are for her own private consumption.
| presume very many of these farmers
wives must return from shopping eX-
pericncc. feeling like 50 many thieves
and ;IS>lS>imS for having wasted their
husbands substance in riotouS parcels
of brown sugar and unblcached sheet
ing.
I've no doubt they do penancc for it
10y working still harder through har-
vest, and going without some cNtraVa-
gance they have set their hearts on a
pair of shoes, perhaps. or Il swell dress
for the baby. The little woman >aw
to-day looked a> if she had spent the
golden autumn alternately i'll the har
vest field and kitchen. \ kind. SenSi-
bic face. serious with maternal care.
and Drowned by sun and wind. with Il
pair of deep blue eyes that Il few wears
ago must have been sparkling with the
hopes of happy giIlhood that looked
as if they might sparkle still if given
half Il chance.
In fact. they did light up Il good deal
Us She looked in her husbands face To
see how he admired baby in his new
cap. They darkened pilifully enough
when he >;ivagclv called il Il humbug.
and glarcd at both wife and baby a> if
they were Il couple of brute> whom he
ought to kill.
"Iou've spent Il pretty pile of money,
You have :" he added with an audible
growl.
"Why, how much ?" III an alarmed
whisper.
-Four dollars and a-half and Vet
you amt satisfied - If mans tongue
had been Il razoI it couldn't have spoken
more cuttingly. 1t cut the little woman.
Her cheeks Redeemed under their brown,
and felt rather than saw that teaIs
had started to her eyes. and We're trem-
bling ON her criSpy. curling laShes in
spite of her brave efforts to keep them
back.
Il didn't think it WAS So much" she
taltcrcd.
''Of course not. Your arithmetic is
about like the old woman's dictionary
You'd better tackle the multiplication
table when ynu get home
And here. having raised his voice for
the benefit OF the people standing near.
he looked around for applauding smiles.
The wife laughed little. as if to assure
lis that this was nothing but the ten
dcreSt bit of pleasantly i'll the world.
but knew the glory of the new cap
had departed. and that all of the pur-
chaSeS covered by that mighty four
dollars and a-half would smack of the
gall of bitterness.
| took Il look ut this nobleSt work of
God. He WAS quite in keeping with
his conduct-a small. thin wirv. smoke
dried specimen of humanity. with an
aggressive heak of Il nose. and narrow
shoulders. rs if from creeping through
small places. The sort of man who
wouldn't he seen knocking his wife
down and dancing Highland fling on
her stomach hut hat aim DSt worse man,
| WAS about /" say. VIII" day after day
emhitterS and makes life hateful to her
with just such small. unceaSing. legal
mcanneSseS as this which he exhibited
to-day. y mau careful to his horses
because new horse costs money: and
careful how he cheats his tllowmen-
for fear of being found out and not 1T
all careful of being IL mean wretch i'll
every other relation of life.
And yet 50 well satisfied. so uncon-
scious of being anything but the most
upright and kindly sort of Il creature
lord of the soil" and all that. ii oTa
Paper.