The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1877-01-26
Ralph WallingfOrd's Affinity
BY SUSAN B. LONG.

Ralph Wallingford married Matte
Moore, the little schoOlmistress, and
thought himself very lucky fellow, as
he was. He was the only son of q
widow in good circumstances, whose
daughters were already married and set.
tied i'm life, and who, contrary to the
majority of mothers with only sons, was
well pleased to have him bring a bright
faced, sweet-vOiced, nimble-foOted
young companion iuto the dim old
house, to make light and music, and to
share her labors and her cares. And
now, having asserted that two of the
parties concerned in this match-for
will maintain, notwithstanding the
multitude of witty but unkind remarks
which are continually being made about
that mucb-abused individual, that the
mOther-in-law has really some rights
that ought to be respected, that she
really is a party concerned, especially
when the neIO party is to be a mber
of her own Cusehold-having, l say,
asserted that both mother and son were
well pleased to secure this bright-faced
companion aforesaid, it is no more than
fair to own that Matte herself was not
one whit behind them in feeling salts
fled with her share of the good luck
which had come To them all
Some of Mattie's frieuds-fOr, though
no near relatives, she had made many
firm friends since she came to L Ia
teach the district sehool-some of them
shook their heads little in a knowing
way, and ventured the opinion that she
might do better by waiting a little
longer. Ralph was all well enough,
perhaps; aud he had good home for
her, aud all that; but he was young yet,
too young to know his own mind, they
feared. 1t looked little out of square
for fellow of twenty to marry d woman
two years older; the disparity ought tu
be the other way. They guessed, too,
that Ralph was inclined to be dogmati-
cal and dOmineering; he had the stuff
In him to make him so, they knew-il
was a characteristic of the family
though they couldn't say that he had
manifested those traits as yet. Time
enough for that, though, yet.
Surely those traits never had appeared
in his intercourse with Matte; for had
he not been one of her most attentive,
respectful, and submissive pupils for the
pasttwO winters? And as to the dis
paritytu their ages, no one, seeing them
for the first time, as they stood before
the minister in the village church, lis
tening to the words that were giving
them to each other till death should
part them, he, with his tall form, broad
shoulders and bearded face, and she
with her rounded cheeks, varying color,
bright, laughing eyes and girlish form.
would have hesitated to say that he was,
at the least, five years her senior.
Ten years later, the verdict would
hg hn 90 IL AI.lff isaf f..
during these years, had not in the least
resembled that of the lilies of the field
She had tOiled literally; and if may
use the word ''spun," in a met lphorical
sense, meaning making, mending, wash
ing, and ironing, then | may say that
she had both "tOiled and spun.n But
she had done il all SO bravely and cheer
fully, had sung, and laughed, anC
chatted while she tOiled, that while
many a woman, though possessing hel
perfect physical health, yet less happily
constituted mentally, would have
drOoped and faded, and developed pre-
mature wrinkles and gray hairs, she
was plump, fresh aud rosy still. WheI
complimented for her youthful looks, a.
she often was-for it was a rare thing It
see an American woman of thirty-two
wife of country farmer and mother o.
four children, with a brow aud cheel
unmarked by care, an eye undimmet
by disease, and a laugh like a school
girls-she made answer that she "sup
posed it was all because she was Sc
happy. She didn't know how il was
but she never seemed to have any rea
trouble! She had the best husband anC
the brightest and sweetest children IN
the whole world, and everything pleas
ant and agreeable about her (eXceptiu,
only the prOtracted illness of Ralph
mother; but she was always hoping shr
would be better; and as for work, why
she glOried in it She believed she wa
just calculated for a woman of all Worl
it suited her exactly"
She had, however, one regret-I will
not call it grief-besides the sickues
of the mOther-in-law alluded to, whicl
was, that she found so little time 70
reading and study, of which she wa
naturally passiOnately fond. But, con
trary to the habits of many women, in
stead of making the most of these tw
unhappy circumstances, in order t
compensate for their scarcity, she sci
dom alluded to them, and never dwell
upon them at any length.
But of this | should have spokel
later, for fear l am bestowiDg too mucl
time upon a commonplace little womaI
one without Inspirations" except {
make good bread and butter, and VIII
felt no "lOngings" but to fulfill he
whole duty to her God, and to her fam
lily, and her fellOw-beings at large.
fear, | say, that am taking up to
much time with her, to the exclusion G
one who, if we accept his Judgment i
the matter, was far her superior.
If Matte, at the end of zen year:
showed few signs of the flight of time
the same might also be said of Ralpl
1t is true, also, that he had "toiled an
spun," (the latter metaphOrically, also
OF course), and he, too, to all outwar
appearance, was contented and happy
But he was not; or, he thought he wa
not or, he thought he thought so, whie
amounts to the same thing practically
l suppose. He had "aspirations' an
'longings," aud so he kept a journal
and made that the repository of them
and a good deal besides, of which, b
the way, he came in time to be ashamed
For instance, this: Eight wears @
married life. And they have bee
years not devoid of seasons of bapp
ness; but oh it is sad thing when
man becomes sensible of the fact tha
he has made the one great mistak
which is to cast cloud over his whol
earthly existence. | feel that shoul
not say this. even to my jo0rnal-m
other self 1t seems like ingratitude /