Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1874-05-08
MRS. THOMPSON'S WHITE WARE

4 -
! Mrs. Thompson stood by the kitchen
table, pairing potatoes for dinner. Some
thing was evidently wrong with the little
| lady, for there was an unmistakable air of
"spite" in the way she tossed the potatoes
| into the pan Of cool spring water waiting
to receive them. 1t was asultry July dry
| and through the open window came the
sound of mowers whetting their scythes,
| blended with the call Of the robin and the
faint notes of the cuckoo in the shaded
| wood. But it only irritated Mrs. Thomp
son-indeed everything irritated her that
day. Looking out from the back door one
saw a lovely landscape, with broad reaches
| of mellow land, fringed with graceful belts
| of birch; and softly rounded mountains
| lifting their velvety foreheads to the white,
| fieecy clouds, that went slowly sailing
across the exquisite ether, like huge drifts
of thistle-down. But this, also, irritated
| her everything could be beautiful save
her life, and that was cold and rude and
barren.
But to begin at the beginning, Jane
Lawrence had been an unusually romantic
girl. She had always fancied she would
| marry some famous artist or scholar, who
| would take her to Rome or Venice, where
she would live in a perpetual dream of
beauty. She so loved beautiful things l.
Perhaps all women do, and perhaps that is
| the reason so many barter love for gold. :
But contrary to all her preeonceived no
tions, she married Robert Thompson, "a plain
practical farmer: and instead of Italy, shs
went to live at the old homestead which
had been the abode of the Thompsons for
generations. And instead of lounging in
elegant studios, OF gliding down storied
rivers in picturesque gondolas, she made
butter and cheese, and raised poultry and
cooked dinners in the long, low-ceiled
kitchen for three or four great, brown
| handed, ravenous men. Quite a contrast,
| you will admit.
If she could have had things little diff
| ferent, she wouldn't have minded the work
| SO much. If she could have had soft car
| pets and tasteful furniture, and books and
| pICUulC dtltl lOWCIS. LIZ UC sure Sic Idtt
a little strip under the south windows,
where a sweet-briar grew, and sweet-wil-
liams and marigolds blossomed in their
season. But they were so old-fashioned !;
and she pined for the rare and elegant
plants that she had seen in Conservatives
and public gardens. But Robert Thomp-
son would as soon have thought of buying
the moon ,as such useless things as flowers.
And though his wife earned hers dozen
| times over, it never entered his heart that
liberal thing when he gave her twenty five
dollars fall and spring, to buy clothing,
and wondered vaguely where it all VENT
and if she had not some boarded away
somewhere.
| AS to books, there was the Family Bible.
with the record of all the Thompsons fol
three generations. Then there was Fox's
Book of Martyrs. and Pilgrims Progress.
and an English Reader which Father
Thompson had when a boy and went to
school in the little red school house up on
the ''Pine Barrens.'' Besides, there was
the report of the Board of Education, Laws
and Resolves, Patent Office Report, and 9
pile Of Farmers Alnanacs for twenty five
years, besides any number of documents
the best and most improved breed of cat.
tie, the theory of understanding rotation
of crops, grass and forage culture ETC., etc
What could any reasonable person ask
for more than that !? And for pictures
there was "From the Cradleto the Grave,
an allegorical picture painted in colors
with descriptive couplet attending eacl
particular stage Of the journey; a sample
which his mother had worked at clever
years of age," and very effective scene IL
Illustrative Of "The Lovers Parting,
wherein very red-cheeked damsel in puff
ed sleeves, short waist and very low neck
dissolved in the arms of her parting swain
Certainly Mrs. Robert Thompson mus
have been very hard to please. But tn
: particular matter of grievance on this PAL
ticular day was quite another thing. In
baskerville Sewing Circle and Ladies
| Benevolent Society," was to meet at TIN
farmhouse the next Friday, and Mrs
Thompson had set her heart on new Sc
of white ware for the occasion, and tina
morning had preached the subject to ne
husband. '
whats the matter of these dishes
he asked, pointing to the mulberry an
white plates which Mrs. Thompson wa
washing. }@ ~ 5
''They are all out of date, to begin with
and half of them are cracked OF broken
besides, there sn't no where near enoug
to set the table, .r.4a
''What's become of the china mothe
. used when she had company ?'' l
e cit won't look well ON the table, Robert
with this mulberry, all cracked up as IT is.
81 guess the victuals will taste just
!. well out Of 'em anyway"
4 ''But we really need the dishes, Rober
+ Mere has not been dish bought since
lone here, twelve years ago, and"
Ib"rI,, NLaJ1 do iyst ae wall for twelve veal