The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1874-12-04

Oanus was stricken down with typhoid
ever, and for long, weary weeks he lay
between life and death. His
was very slow, and his confine-
ment lrksomei no prison walls could
have BEEN gioomier than were the
home-walls that held him a prisoner.
Day after day the ceaseless patter of his /
wife's patient little feet fell upon his |
ear; he could hear them upstairs and 1
down, now here, now there, her voice |
always kind and tender, her hand ever |
ready to minister to her dear ones, her I
words full of consolation, and love, and
cheer.
John Jones was not wholly unim-
pressible; slowly the scales fell from his
eyes, the light came, and he was as one
born into higher and better life. He
drew his bony hand across his eyes,
often the sobs made him catch his
breath suspicously, and he marvelled
much that he had walked beside this
little woman for years and not known
that he was mated with an "angel una
ware" His voice grew softer, tenderer,
his great talony hands touched her fore
head and her hair lovingly, as would a
woman's-touehed her as though he
was afraid she would fade away into a
white mist.
Weeks afterward, when he was able
to ride out, the old whimsical buggy
that had done good service in the days
of his church-going parents, was made
comfortable by q soft wooden blanket
and an armful of sweet-smelling oat
straw. John didn't tell where he was
going, but he looked wise, and his
mouth had perky look about the cor
ners that seemed TO say, "Just let me
alone; / know what Pm about"
1t was evening when he came home.
He was still wise as when he went
away. His cup of hot tea was waiting,
and his toast, and the tender little pull
let fried nice and brown. He seemed
really happy-jolly. He trotted the
baby on his foot that night, and he
called his wife Jenny" as in the days
when he won her, and he let Johnny
play horse with his boots, and there
WAS such a contented, rich man express
sion on his face that his wife couldn't
help wondering what had made such a
change in him.
The next morning the crazy old rig
was called out again, and the soft
blanket spread in it, and John Jones
took the lines In his emaeiated hands
and drove off in the same direction as he
did the day before.
| w uc IcluIutuf lie WIS dGCOil-
panied by a broad-shouldered, good
looking German girl, whom he intro
duced to his wife as "our girl"
She looked with amaZement upon
'tOur girl" and then started at John.
He soon explained things to her satis-
faction.
1.-THE upshot o. the matter is, Jane,
that I've ibused you long enough; the
Lord helpin' me, Pll never see you make
drudge o. yourself ag'in. It's a burn
in shame for any great lout like me to
expect frail little body like you to be
man, an boy, an dog, an wife, an
mother, an Niger, an me a-savin' an
a-hoardin' sp money and means to leave
10 the Lord only knows who. | beg
your pardin, Jane and now you'll tell
this girl, Barbara GroetZ, how you want
things done, an let her take your place
an work in your stid, an you'll live
hereafter like a humans wife ort tor
By the time his speech was made, the
poor weak fellow was blubbering like a
whale.
Poor little surprised wife She flew to
his neck and laid her head on his bosom
and cried like baby, as she said "John
Jones you old darling r'
"No, not a bit of a darlin'; Just an old
bear, a reg'lar old heather, to sacrifice
the best little woman under the sun, inch
by inch, this way that's been a-goin' on
for years an years." snufiied he, as be
fumbled over her face i'm an aimless, Low.
ing way.
Then "our girl" Barbara, went into
Jane Jones harness, and it fitted her tC
fraction.
''Now we've turned over q new leaf
go and dress up, Jenny, bless you ~ said
the new convert.
So, with the memory of lang syne
|! warming her heart, Jane unearthed heI
wedding dress in the afternoon, and put
it on with pretty old-fashioned collar
and brushed out her nut-brown hair thai
once upon time curled beautifully
Perhaps she felt foolish and girlish and
out of her sphere, but she looked sweet
enough to make up for all discrepancies
. She sat sewing, putting a new band on
Ruby's white skirt, when the children
came home from school. Her back was
toward the door. Tom came to a dead
halt as he stepped on the sill, and then
. ran round to the lean-to to find his
mother. No mother there, but the
smiling, pinky-faced German girl, who
was pairing potatoes to bake for supper
Tom bawled out 'Is mother dead Z
Oh, l want my mother v' and circled
round the house and peeped in shyly
: with wet eyes.
Was that lady in a soft gray merino
dress, wearing an embroidered collar
and gold ear-drops, his mother? That
pretty woman! Surely il was, fol-
Nettie was feeling of her face, and was
sparkling all over and saying: "Is this
you, mother? Why, where have you
been ?'
"Oh, ma ~ said Tom, holding her
round the neck as though he thought
she might fit away the next minute
"why, where did you go, and when did
you come back ?"
Poor little ones, how proud they were
of the household drudge in her new and
beautiful transformation
But this is not all. Before the first
cold blast of winter came, steps were
taken TO save and tighten the labors OF
! the feminine portion of the farmers
household. An addition was built TO
the house, new siding was put on and
painted white. New windows were
added, and green blinds, and spouting,
and big cistern close to the kitchen
door, and a wide, long, roomy porch.
Closets were put in all the rooms; the
old verminy bedsteads split up and used
for kindlings; new chairs were bought,
including new rocking and sewing
ehairfor mother; a new sewing machine.
that was love of friend the door
yard was paled in, and the calves and
colts kept where they belonged; and
evergreen trees, and fiowery shrubbery,
and rose-bushes, made beautiful the new
yard. An easy chain pump took the
place of the old moss-covered bucket
| that held as much as a churn. II was
packed off to the barn TO nut clover-sead
! iu, and the heavy windlass was borne