Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-04-12

/ ID lie sees nary spring,
Catches tuberculosis
In attempting to sing.
Caiarrh and Bronchitis.
Rheumatics and chilis,
And acute laryngitis.
Complete hjs sad iiis.
lie elesltates lingers. Se5
Weeps, shpdders and sighs, =
Blows his nose on his fingers, fs
Kaals oyer, and dies.
A GOLDEN HARVEST.
From the Portland Transcript.
The country Conference was being
held at the Corner. Father was sick
with the rheumatism, and we were
SO full OF company that we were well
nigh Distracted. 1t was splendid
Summer weathar--late in July. The
seaside meadows looked like green
velvet. The wheat field rnstled in
the breeze,the birds sang in the trees,
and you never saw anything so hand
some In all your life as my bed Of
pinks and geraninms under tho south
windows. The East Greenfield min
lister said il was like little slice out
of the Garden of Eden. But / had
not a moment Of time to enjoy all this
lOvelinesa. There was never any
help to be had for love or money in
Conference time, for the girls waited
to go to the meeting themselves, as
well as anybody, and their folks had
company then with oil the rest. We
don't have any Irish trash for hired
girls in Plumfeld as yon do in cities
you know, but real neat sensible bod
les, whose fathers are kind Of shiftlesl
and let their farms run out or have
poor luck In fishing; 80 they are
obliged to do something for thom-
selves II they want anything decent
to wear, or to save mp anything
against they get married. Mother
was poorly !; she never enjoyed good
healfh--and that year the Spring bit
ters didn't work as well as usual, and
she was all run down before haying
time was half through, so all she
could do was to tend TO father, and ]
had the whole of the house on my
shoulders. Dear me, and isn't 1t hard
work to cook for ministers? Mother
was so 'fraid that they wouldn't have
everything just SO nice, and made me
put three eggs into every one of the
custards, and frost every bit of the
sponge cake. The ministerial appe.
tite is something amazing. Why il
should require SO much more food to
support piety than sin can't imag.
inc, but | was obliged to provide, GER
tainly, three times the quantity fnI
those reverend gentlemen as for thase
good-for-nothing, dance going, swear.
ing hired men of ours. There was
one widower among them, as woe.
begone as he was hearty, aud mother
was delighted because folks said he
took a great liking to me aud was
\ going to ask md to take tho place oi
the departed. But though minis.
Eter's wife may hold a very high sta.
ton IN life, and Tom Babson was only
second mate of the schooner Mary
Ann, I'd rather have had Tom than q
half dozen solemn faces like Parsot
Hibbard, though was very sorry II
disappoint mother and the rest of ms
folks who groaned because | wai
dreadfully wanting in ambition. Blu
was willing to do my best in thu
way ofproviding for the poor soul
who was as thin as a rail and broilet
chickens, and cream biscuits, and cuj
crstards seemed Ia be tho only ligli
in the middle OF his attlictioli.
"Ionr pie crust is heavy" re
marked mother, dolefally, one brigh
morning, when | was as usual bakins
for dear life.
well, I can't help 1t, If II is,ns re
piled, energetically. ~ do wish faith
er wasn't a deacon, so that we needn'
keep ministerial boarding house
I'm so tired of devoting my life i
ministers. What q hanpy Wolld
! would be if there wasn't q ministe
d in it. Then there wouldn't be nm
' conference or meetings, either.n
Mothers mind was diverted frnr
!, the condition of the pastry to my in
piety, and she held up both hands |
:, horror. She doubted II either y,
4 pentance or prayers, or good work
n could save me after uttering sllcl
hercsy as this. And to tell the trutl
| was little frightened myself. bu
: then Iwas so tired, and ii was Yer
I hard for . yonng girl like me to b
8 shut up In the Kitchen while ever,
= body else was having q good tim
y Tom BabsOn, my lover, was going
G sail again tomorrow, too, and ha
\ found no time to get any more than
9 glimpse of him while he had been O
!, shore. But last night he had d
) tanned me little while on the doc
u steps, though Mrs. Deacon Layns W;
r in the window listening to ever
u word that was said, and he gave me
e beautiful ring with stone In
e which shifted its colors like the raj
/ bow, and was wonderfully brillian
q He bought it across the seas Of son
= Jewish trader. he said, and whispert
n i'm my ear that if / would wear it
q the social tomorrow evening,
'e should take it as a promise TO be b
1; wife. He knew that there was !
e chance of seeing him at any 9th
X time-I was always so busy-and
h told him that should certainly be
'e the social, which was to be held
ID Uncle Ethan's, the next door to o.
ie house. 1t was no wonder that my j
IS crust was heavy, for my heart wasl
l. in my work at all. was thinking
n Tom all the time, and wondering
le we couldn't manage to speak to ca
m other at the social some way, or il
OF couldn't see him early In the mornil
is before he left the village.
"a ''Dear me, the butcher can't be COZ
70 ing to-day, after all, and what in (
ir world shall we do for dinner I q,
ST pose he got out of everything befd
u he got here, there are SO many peol
ia in town to be fed just now," 50
n mother, breaking in on my hap
a. thoughts again. "It is enough to /
er anybody outright to have so mu
Q, company under such circumstance
~ so / have been saying and thin
re ing" said quietly "but then / thi
he we can do well enough for dim
e. Seth can kill some. chickens,and W
y, have them in the pot in less than
u time" s
n, IL don't see how we can spare a
ig more chickens, we have only
lie cropple hens left now, and they're
good for laying. Still, I suppose
nd must, for there is nothing else to
a had, and you can't set a picked.
10. dinner before ministers. But tn
nd isn't a sign. ofa vegetable fit to
ng cooked in the garden. Seth brouI
M in the last cucumber yesterday,
as peas are all too large, the squas
Ills aren't ripe, and those case-knife be
lhe are SO tough that nobody in the wo
fu- can eat them.'
! "Well, perhaps, l can find SO
Tor corn that is large enough; l saw Sc
NJ, in the field that was pretty v
sht grown day before yesterday, an
ne can make some nice sauce out
0 those tomatoes Uncle Ben sent ov
no 1 said, consolingly. "Leayc the
co. ner to me /; TIL manage it some ",
"YOur'c a great comfort, Ru
said mother, with Frightening ia
and she left the kitchen with 5
~! Of relief, and never glanced int
~! again until the dinner was ON
y. vi table. SIS
The After the chickens were in the
,ar ~ and cooking briskiy, / had |
~ ~ moment to rest, and going up stal
~ took that precious ring from its {
rhc and placing it on my first FL
tha watched il sparkle with bliss W