The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1880-03-31
MR.. PITKINs' METHOD.
BY MARGARET HOLMES.

Everybody in the neighborhood knew
that Mrs. Pitkins had a bad cough; though
neither she nor any one else knew exactly how
she came by it. 1t might have been caused
by over heating herself in making few inn
provements on that day when Mr.. Pitkins
brought home two friends Unexpectedly.
She might have taken too long walk that
afternoon with the children. but the weather
was so lovely. She remembered, the day
she was out calling, how refreshingly cool
Mrs. Colby's parlor was after she had walk
ed on the sunny side of the street, and how she
was little surprised TO find herself growing
hoarse, and feeling an uncomfortable chilli
ness before reaching home. Then the night
of the storm it was certainly imprudent for
her to go rushing from room to room closing
windows that had been left open for venti-
lation, quieting the frightened childen, and
in various ways experimenting the progress
of the cyclone, clothed only in the fashion
of the hour. But it didn't matter so
much now how she became possessed
of the racking demon. the fact
of possession could not be disputed. She
coughed constantly till exhausted, then
wheezed and gasped and choked till she
could cough again. Her eyes were red and
swollen; her lips blstered and dry; her voice,
when not subdued to q whisper, was hoarse,
fuctuating contralto. All her neigh
bors came to see her, and they
all sympathized with her and comforted her
One told her how her own dear sister had
had Just such cough, at Just the same time
of year, how she had "taken everything"
but died Just as the long hot days came.
Another knew of a parallel case, only the pa
tent lasted a little longer; dying with the
oo~o,rc. f-os4 Another forfrpofa had
fingered, bedridden for years; bankrupting
her husband, and wearing out the strength
and patience of her friends And, as if q
prospect of death by slow torture was not
enough for any mortal woman to bear, each
story had sequel, giving graphic descrip-
tions of neglected children, the second mar
rage of the widower, and the cruel step
mother. Mrs. Pitkins thought she never be-
fore knew the meaning of total depravity.
How much latent wickedness there might
be in the heart ofa woman could not be guess
ed at until she had the care of motherless
children, whose father she had promised to
love, honor and obey. No matter if the mar
rator of some dismal history did sometimes
send little child screaming from the room
with boxed ear; wasn't the child her own
Didn't she know her own business? Our
mothers have certain in-alienable rights,
Their hands areli light. their voices are soft;
it takes dead woman's children 10 devel.
op all undesirable qualities.
1t was of no use for Mrs. Pitkins to as
sure her comforters that this cough of hers
was mere triie, q small matter of irrita-
ton of the throat, slight bronchial affec-
ton, probably, which would pass off in q
few DAYS She was assured that hopeful
ness was a most telling sign of basty con-
sumption. and disbelief in the presence of
the disease a never failing symptom Of the
entire ruin of the lungs. Mrs. Pitkins never
acknowledged, even to herself that she was
the least bit depressed by this sort of com.
fort; at least she never consciously acknowl-
edged it, but when it came to pass after a
fortnight spent in vain endeavors to control
the cough that had grown worse hourly,
when all the remedies that had been brought
her, each one, the best in the world for cough,
and warranted to bring relief if anything
would, had failed utterly, and she found her
selfon Sunday morning too i'll to go to church
she might have been called quietly cheerful,
she was certainly nothing more. She
dressed the children carefully and started
them to sunday school, standing in the door
TO watch them round the first corner. Lit
tie darlingsl was it possibls-she must leave
thsm when they needed her care so con-
stantly7 She sighed as she closed the door,
and no doubt looked and felt melancholy