The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-10-19
Mrs. Small Governs Her Temper.

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Mrs. Small Governs Her Temper.
"MANDA," says Ebenezer to me this |
mornin', 81 do wish you'd try and
govern your temper little. You're
gittin' to be an awful scold; home !
would be a sight pleasanter if your
voice wasn't always pitched to the
highest key because somebody's done
somethin', or else because they haint.
That last sentence was pretty well
put in, for Eb. knows that I'm just as
likely to have reason to scold because
somethin' is left undone, as for any
thing else. | told him that l guessed !
if he had as much to contend with as l
did, he wouldn't be bit better than |
was; but for all o'that, after he went
out | began to think there might be
some truth in what he said, and | do
want my children to have pleasant |
recOllections of home, for it's about |
all they'll be likely to get, except what |
our free schools will do for 'em. |
There's six of 'em, and the oldest is
only ten years old, and boy at that,
and so is the next one; so, you see, | |
don / get much help from that source. |
The last two are twins; and the next
to them Amt old enough to dress her.
self So, with the milk to skim and
breakfast to get, I'm pretty tolerable
busy O mornin'S, and I'd like to keep
my house lookin' about as well as any
body's, and when I'm tryin' so hard
to get through with my work, and the
the children are round clinging to my
dress, and gettin' under my feet, and
teasin' for sOmethin' and gettin' into
mischief, | must acknowledge that |
do get worried, and cross and nervous.
Pm ashamed of it, though, after
get two or three of 'em to sleep, and
the rest go off to play, and my nerves
get quoted down enough so | can
think but it dom tseem to keep me from
doing the same way again next time
But l thought I'd try and not say any
thing this mornin' no matter what
bothered me.
| don't like to speak of Ebenezer's
faults as a general thing, but 1 can't
spoil my story for relations sake. He
aint the very best man in the world
about gittin' good wood. | was goin'
to have company this afternoon, Mrs.
Squire Parker and the ministers wife,
and was determined that if hadn't
such nice furniture and the like about
my house as they had, that they should
find what 1 did have clean, at any
rate, and l think that goes a long
way toward maxim up for lack of 9TH
er things.
got up bright and early, made the
fire, put on the tea-kettle, and the po-
tatoeS to cook, and then dressed the
twins, and went to the kitchen again
and the fire had gone clean out.
confess Chat 1 wasn't in a very good
humor about it. for l knew that the
wood was wet and soggy, and Eb. got
it because it was easy to cut.
l kindled it up agin' and by that |
time Samantha was awake and 1 had |
to stop and dress her. When I went |
back every bit O my kindlin' was
burnt up, and the fire just about gone
again. snatched up Eb. S boot-jack
and split that up, and made it burn, |
but the advantage of early risin' was
all gone, for l knew that l couldn't |
have breakfast a bit earlier than COM
mon. My children never will sleep
after [ get up; everybody tells me that
they'll be willin' enough tc be abed as
soon as they get old enough to be of
any help. They want to console me, l
'spose for havin' so much bother with
them now.
Breakfast was over at last and was
carryin' pan of milk into the pantry,
when 'Thaniel threw his shoe and it
struck kerszap right into that pan and
spattered the milk all into my eyes and
over the floor. l was provoked enough,
but I'd commenced dom without
scoldin' and I knew he didn't do it a.
purpose, although he had no business
to throw the shoe, and he looked so
scared, thought wouldn' say much.
l can't always feel as though Eb.
did exactly right; now when Mr.
Smiths folks moved away, they had
bureau what / wanted most dread
fully, and they offered it for ten dol
lars; but Ebenezer couldn't begin to
afford it, but he went and paid ten
dollars for their great, nasty yaller
dog. Now l amt a saint, by any
means, and I've never had any great
love for that dog; he's always snoop-
in round and gettin' into things that
he's no business to, and maxim me an
everlastin' sight O trouble. l had
worked over and stamped
nice churnin' of butter and
set it away in the milk house
with good deal o pride, thinkin'
that 1t was just about as good as any
body in this whole neighborhood could
make. l had some fine clothes out on
the grass, that | had been bleachln'
and rinsed them out and blued them,
and as the clothes line was broke
down, l spread 'em back on the grass
to dry. While l was a wringin' 'em
OutI saw Eb. a comm up from the
milk house, where he had been for a
drink of buttermilk. l thought like
as not he hadn't half shut the door,
and / would go and see as soon as | !.
got the clothes spread out. Sure !,
enough the door was open, and that ;
abominable yaller dog was just swal- ,
erin the last roll O that butter. He
got out O. there about two inches
ahead O. my foot, just as he always c
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