Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1878-11-13
HAPPILY MARRIED.

strumental music, and the young
professor that had located in Snob-
dom, stopped on the porch as he
withdrew from the parlor, and said
to the mother, as she set darning
stockings:
81 am happy to inform you,
Madame, that your daughters
eyince o decided musical talent,
and 1 consider myself very FORUM
ate in securing such apt pupils"
"Indeed !" exclaimed the widow,
jerking the large darning needle
with double yarn spitefully through
the heel of an old sock; ''indeed |!
well, am most happy to hear you
say so. wish to give my daugh-
tiers every advantage possible. l
want to fit them for some other
position than farmers wives. |
would rather see one of my daugh-
tiers laid in the grave than to see
her marry farmer. No, neither
of my girls must ever marry a
farmer"
"Why, Mrs. White I should
think that with your pleasant sur
roundings you would be so much
in love with farm life that you
would never consent to your
daughters marrying anybody but
farmers" said the Professor, glanc-
ing at the neatly kept yard, and
out over the shrubbery into the
corn field beyond, where two men
were blowing.
"Oh, yes, our surrounding is
pleasant enough-near town as are
but, l tell you, Professor, there
never is any rest for a farmers
wife. It's work, work, drudge,
drudge, day out and day in; and
whenever there's one minute to sit
down there's always patching or
darning to be DONE" and the
widow looked at the stocking
basket Significantly, while the Pro-
lessor smiled gravely as he saw the
ragged heels of several pairs that
must have lined coarse boot in
many days journey behind the
pillow. The smile, however, was
soon superseded by an expression
of sadness as he said:
"But what can be drudgery in a
home like this. There is some
thing to drudge for-here is in
Most of the laboring
people in towns drudge to keep
the breath of life in themselves.
They have no nice homes of their
own as the reward of their druid
gerry. A poor music teacher, for
instance, must go begging to get
up a class, and depend, not unfre-
luently, upon exacting and fault
ending patrons for the means by
which he barely subsists. / say
TO you, Mrs. White, that could
to-day follow the pillow behind
team Of my own, on a farm Of my
own, my lot in life would seem a
heaven compared with what it is at
present. And say this, not be-
cause / do not love and honor the
profession Of music, but because /
hate independence. / should like
to work and be my own driver, but
/ despise begging, even If its for
something to do"
When Mrs. Whites husband !
died he left her the nice homestead
which she occupied. This was IN
der fine state Of cultivation, free
from all encumbrauces, and wholly
at her disposal To each of bis
daughters he left one hundred and
sixty acres Of prairie, uuimproved,
except being fenced and used as
pasturage.
About two years after preceding
conversation between the Professor
and Mrs. White, Isabella White
was offered five thousand six hun
dred dollars for her prairie farm,
and her mother fastened her ac-
ceptance Of this offer by saying:
"Take it, Bell ; II you don't sell
before you are married, the Profess
sor will want to go to farming, and
you'll always be grudge just as l
have been"
Then Bell assented, the papers Of
conveyance we're signed, and widow
White congratulated herself that
she bad saved her daughter from
the "hardships Of farm life"
Very soon after the transfer of
this property the house of widow
White was filed with wedding
guests, and few weeks later, when