The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1877-04-27
VOLUME VI.

father is a just man. And 1 am sure
MY mother never felt any keen sorrow
till I ran away and left her desolate.
All, me! I thought was abused in my
fathers home! My brothers were
thoughtless and selfish, and sometimes
teased me dreadfully. They never cared
whether I had company, when 1 wanted
to go anywhere, or not, and, being a
girl, I could not go alone"
"Why couldn't your father accom-
pany you ?"
"Oh, he never seemed to want to go
anywhere unless mother went along,
and she couldn't go much because she
always had baby. 1t was fearfully
lonesome for me at home after my
boarding school days were over"
"And so it was for me-" said Edna,
with a bitter laugh. "And yet, when
we got married to escape the home du-
ties, didn't we jump from the frying
pan into the fire, though ?"
"What a pity girls cannot be made to
see the evil consequences of these rash
acts before it becomes irretrievabIy too
late" replied her friend, sadly.
''The trouble is," said Edna, "their
advisers, or the only ones, at least, to
whom they will listen, are girls as silly
as themselves and suitors who are thor
oughly selfish. These last are backed
and urged to take legal advantage of the
verdancy, inexperience, and affections
of girls by smart Alexis around town
who couldn't pay for darkie's break
fast, who are barely out of pinafores
into pantaloons, and who think it cap
ital joke on the old woman to get
somebody who is wholly unable to care
for the daughter, who has always been
shielded and protected in her mothers
home, to spirit away the child according
to law and leave her to repent ever af-
terwards."
"Girls ought to know better =" cried
Sue, with a shrug of impatience.
"The laws of the land ought to be bet
ter, aud the lawmakers ought to know
better than to recognize as valid any
marriage which contains flaw, whether
that flaw be in law or ethics" added
Edna, with spiteful stamp of her tired
foot.
"Who is responsible for law, 1 won
der ?" said Sue, following the interro-
CATION with a far-away look over the
adjacent mountain-tops.
"Men alone are responsible" was the
sad reply. "If women helped to make
the laws there are a thousand ways in
which both men and women could
make them better"
"Well, there's no kind of use in our
longer theorizing here" said Sue. awe
must begin to lay our plans for a sum-
mer campaign. If we could give a cou-
pie of entertainments we could get a
thousand dollars ahead, and then We
might get away from Idaho Flat"
"And where would we go, pray ?'
asked Edna, quickly.
"Back home ~ was the sad reply.
"Back to poverty on ray side and to
disgrace on yours, you'd better say, my
dear"
Poor Sue burst into tears. For the
nonce this fact had failed to intrude,
and now Edna had forgotten to let il
sleep.
"Beg pardon, my poor darling; I did
not mean to wound yOu," said Edna,
soothingly.
mo harm is done, )" replied her friend
"You spoke truly. Strange that did
not remember. But what would you
advise me to do, and what course do you
intend to pursue ?"
al don't see that we can do better
than to remain in Idaho Flat. We are
well acquainted here. The mines hold
outreasonably well. Improvements are
going on around us constantly, and we
can soon hire quite commodious rooms
on the other side of the gulch. We car
work together and grow up with the
town if we will. I cannot go back t.
my mother, much as long to do so, for
though know she is waiting anxiously
to receive me, she is left a widowed
penniless pensioner upon the bounty o
my eldest brother, and her hands arr
tied. I am determined to build mysel
home, and surround it with every
comfort, and bring my mother out t,
live with me-"
"Then what will do?n
"Live with as, of course What els
should you do ?"
"And never see my baby?"
"Poor girl I know it's hard" salt
Eena, feelingIy. "But I do not see how
we are to make things any better
When you get plenty of money you cal
do as you please, you know"
A few weeks later and the two womel
were enseonced in their new and com
parativley commodious quarters, whicl
were furnished after the prevailing from
tier fashion for eating-houses, with lon,
tables in a large dining-room, a mann
moth stove at each end, and few dozel
roughlymade stools as seats. The bed
room furniture overhead was of th
same primitive pattern, and the bed
ding of gray blankets represente
equally primitive civilization. A stou
and stupid MOngolian was placed in th
kitcban as oook anOfhar &C scnIIiou