Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1874-01-30
A Farmers Wife.

we WOuIO IAN nope tnaL the IOl'
lowing sketch which we clip from
an exchange is pure effort of the
imagination. If not fancy sketch,
its counterparts are not confined to
farmers.
/ guess merchants who catch the
country trade find it familiar scene
enough-the farmers wife hesita-
ting and hoping and fearing over
her poor little purchases of sugar
and calico-ten to one the calico is
for the baby-whilc the farmer
stands by grumbling at her wants"
and doing out the money as if he
were giving it to some slouchy,
troublesome beggar, who hadn't
really any claims upon him.
Not being a country merchant l
cannot get used to the painfulness
of such a scene. It makes me not
only melancholy, but mad, and mad
der still when / observe how meek
ly the wife accepts the reluctant
pittance, and unquestionably she
seems to believe that the family gro
ceries and provisions are for her
own private consumption. l pre-
sumo very many of these farmers
wives must return from such shop
ing experiences feeling decidedly
like so many thieves and assassins
for having wasted their husbands
substance in riotous parcels of un-
bleached muslin and brown sugar.
I've no doubt they do penance
for it by working still harder dur
ing harvest, and going without
some extravaganza they have set
their hearts upon-a pair of shoes,
perhaps, or swell-drcss for the ba-
by. The little woman saw to-day
looked as if she had spent the gold
EN- autumn alternately in the har-
vest field and in the kitchen. A
kind sensible face, serious with ma
ternal cares, and Drowned by sun and
wind, with pair of deep, blue eyes
that . few years ago must have
sparkled with the hopes of happy
girlhood-that look as if they might
sparkle again if given half a chance.
In fact, they. did light up a little
as she looked into her husbands
face to see how he admired the ba-
by in his new cap. They darkened
enough when he savagely
called it humbug, and glared at
both wife and baby as if they were
a couple OF brutes whom he ought
to kill.
"You've spent pretty pile of
money, you have"' he said in an
growl.
>"Why, how much?" in an alarm
cd whisper.
"Four dollars and a half!-and
yet you amt satisfied"
II the mans tongue had been a
razor it couldn't have spoken more
cuttingly. 1t cut the little woman.
Her cheeks REDEEMED under their
brown, and I: felt rather than saw
that tears had started to her eyes,
and were trembling under the crisp
curling lashes, in spite of her brave
efforts to wink them back.
Il didn't think it was so much,"
she faltered.
"Of course not! Your Arithme-
tic is about like the old woman's |
dictionary You'd better tackle the
table when you get
home"
And here, having raised his voice
for the benefit of the people, he
looked around for applauding smiles.
The wife smiled little, as if to as
sure us that this was nothing but
the tenderest bit ofpleasantry in the
world; but / knew the glory of the
new cap had departed, and that all
Of the purchases covered by that
mighty four dollars and q half
would smack of the gall Of bitter
ness. 81.
l took look at this noblest work
IF God. He was in keeping with
his conducts small, thin, wiry,
smoke-dried specimen of humanity,
AZ - -