Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1874-04-20
A Story for None but scolds.

| toward the school house.
Well, it beats the world she said
aloud here it is quarter past five this
minute, and Henrietta Stebbins not in
sight yet curious to me why girl of
her age can't have a little interest in
things about her own home | tell you
if l hadn't had at her age it would have
been pounded into me, that is one Sure
thing +; here is all the milk to be skim
med, and it is time to build fire for
supper. and out under the big kettle, to
heat the water for the calves mess the
eggs to be gathered in, and there is that
big-yellow hen that makes such good
mother, wants to set, and | was going to
send Henrietta over to Mrs. Crunis' this
very night to get
Ha-ha-ha, he-e-e-e
Mrs. Stebbins cut short her sentence
and whirled around to see her jolly, fat
husband standing in the kitchen door
wiping the sweat from his face, and
laughing, ha-ha-ha !
What are you laughing at, Mr.. Steb-
bins =? if you can tell if it is at me, 1
would advise you to just wait for some
more mirth- provoking occasion.
Don't need any better one, wife, not
bit this is rich enough haven't I
stood ten minutes, and heard you prae-
ticing here all by yourself -?
Practicing what Mr.. Stebbins
On first class scolding which you're
going to give Eft for being late home to-
night, and [ s'pose she's had to wait to
take another from the school Miss, for
being late to school this morning. Nigh.
ty good thing for Eft she takes after her
old father and has got such plump, broad
shoulders, else she couldn't stand so
much as she gets all around mebbe, but
MOTHER (hesitatingly) come now, don't
you believe Eft would do most as we'll
if not leetle better if you don't scold
her quite so much-eh ? Yonder she
comes now, running like a deer-and
this hot night 'nough to kill her.
And farmer Stebbins, dear old soul,
having had his drink for which he came,
and having said volume more than he
often ventured to say, went quickly
back to the garden, not waiting for his
wife to recover from her chagrin and as
tonishment sufficiently to answer him
but saying to himself, No, mothers just
the best woman at heart, and never
means the half she says. I wish she
wouldn't scold so much, it's all she lacks
tho, mebbe, of bein' perfect and ready
for mother world. but it frets the girl
so and don't do no good, not enough tc
pay anyway ; that's how it seems to me,
and Ett's pretty good little gal 'cording
to my reckoning that is.
Henrietta Stebbins' pretty round face
was all aglow with something beside the
running when she reached home thai
Monday night she expected to ''catcl
an awful scolding" for being so late, bu
her mother simply said:
l hope you have had enough schooling
for one day, pointing to the clock.
It's too bad, mother, l know, and yol
so tired with washing 1 didn't thinl
it was so late though you see Miss Mot
was helping me with my arithmetic
something l was too stupid to get thro
my head all day, and some way I coul'
) not see through it for ever so long to
night-but | did at last, it is so plail
now and you don't know how glad am
l do want to 60 into the sixth grad
when l 60 down town to school, an
Miss Mott says she is sure l can if l bu
finish that arithmetic Now what is frs
for me to do ? having rolled up he
sleeves and tied on big checked apro
; while talking.
Unluckily, she had touched the wron
chord by speaking of that most cherish
ed of all precious plans going to sohoo
which her father had promised she migf
do in September, and which her mothe
persisted in calling 1.-The greatest piec
of foolishness
: Do ? do what has got to be done,
course. enough to be done, and l shoul
think a girl of your age might see
without waiting to be told every ident
r cal thing. Here is milk to be skimmec
o supper to be got ready, calves feed
. be made, eggs to be hunted. clothes
A be taken down and sprinkled, and the
! you stand as unconeerned, asking VIII;
~ shall | do ? You can do just what yo
please. Eli not tell you mortal thin
. and Mrs. Stebbins drew on dolefu
p most-abused look, wrinkiing up her for
II head and setting her lips firmly on h
, teeth.
v Poor Eta She thought her moth
b had told her enough to do, she only We
dered what she would rather have dol
n first, and knew she would have to be e
st tremely careful or she would bring up'
rt herself storm of words she could 5
s were only gathering against the prov
,r cation came but she fell to work bray
(; ly, carefully and quickly doing tho
K, things her mother had named as s