The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-02-16
"MIS' SMART"

womans name, but Uncle Jakeway
called her so in mild derision; for she
made his life almost miserable by being
too smart in certain ways which much
affected his comfOrt-and hers too.
Punctuality,' say the dictionaries,
is adherence to the exact time of an
appointment (panctuS, Lat, poinD."
Mrs. Jakeway was never punctual
according to the dictionary, for she was
always half an hour, at least, too early.
If she was going away on the seven
O'Clock train she would get up at four
a. m. to prepare breakfast, having made
everything ready the night before, even
to slicing potatoes and chopping meat.
The family had their smoking-hot
meal before five o'clock; on the stroke
of six she started out, and in five min
utes reached the station, there to spend
almost an hour in the pleasant atmos-
phere common to railway stations.
If a stage journey to the little village
where her old mother lived-beyond
the reach of railways-was to be made,
, Mrs. Jakeway sat with all her " things"
on for an uncertain length of time, till
the creaky vehicle appeared, running
to and from the front door so often that
she was tired out before she started.
Sundays beheld her, staid and starched,
arrayed in her very best, bolt upright
in a chair, but fidgeting, as her hus-
band expressed it, 60 like buckwheat on
hot shovel" till she heard the rum
BILE of wheels coming to the door. She
was always first in the Westinghouse,
and had heard all the news of the week
before the minister thought of appear
ing.
This might have explained her eager
desire to be early at church, had that
been the only day in the week that she
showed such eagerness; but longing
for news showed itself in her daily life.
She made her sponge for bread before
dark, when it would have been better
to have left it till nine o'clock; for, as
bread is an imperative substance, she
had to get up before light to knead it;
and then Mr.. Jakeway must be reused
to kindle brisk fire in the oven, lest
the loaves should become sour before
the oven was ready to bake them.
Thanksgiving Day began with her
the week before; and sometimes, within
her husbands painfully excellent men,
DRY, the turkey, so early killed and pre-
pared for that occasion, had been
steiled by sudden "spells of weather. !;
for even November is capricious in this
climate, and will have fine warm days
now and then.
The clothes for Mondays wash were
always put Sin soak" Saturday night
and consequently would sometimes mil
dew, to her disgust and surprise; and
there was never any fresh bread used
in that house-one baking Tapped so far
over on to the other-lest by any chance
the bread might be "out."
Her gowns for spring were always
bought and made in midwinter; her to-
matoes were started in the kitchen so
early in the season that they were two
foot spindlings when she set them out,
and rarely survived their transplanting;
in short, she was almost worse off than
the woman who is always too late, by
being herself always too early.
"You oughter be called Mis- Smart.
Sary," her husband often said. Jake
way don't fit There never was one O.
the name got breakfast over night so S
to be sure ont. Our folks took it easy,
time out O. mind"
at don't make no odds what you
call me, Jehiel; but 'rhaps if the Jake.
ways had been smarter shouldn't ha'
needed to be so smart" his wife an.
swered; and to that answer there was
no rejoinder.
Still, the worthy man felt that his life
would run much smoother on the Jake
way principle, and he could not help
enjoying any mishap which befell "Mis
Smart in consequence of her over-anx
iety and constant hurry.
This good couple were blessed will
one daughter, Florence Amanda, who
was their sole idol. They strained
every nerve, pinched, spared, saved anc
labored, to give her thorough educa
ton that she might become teacher
To "teach SCHOOL, is, in certain
parts of New England, a social distinc
tion which compensates, in many
minds, for the hard work and poor pay
attached to that vocation. 1t woulC
have been infinitely better for Mis-
Florence Amanda to have gone out Il
service in some respectable family
where good wages, proper food, ant
light, wholesome work would havt
made life easy to her.