Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1880-11-20
From Petersoa's Magazine.
HELEN'S THtSRSGIVING DINNER.

v
Il was not to be expected that Old Mr
Applebv, head of the great tirm Of Appleby
& FORSYTH. would consent to the marriage
of his only daughter 10 bis pennilcss clerk,
though the Young man was of excellent
character. Will Thornby, himself, modest
" admitted this But neither he nor Helen
looked for the objections TO come justin the
way they did.
4 Young fellow, who has his way to
make in the world, as you have, SIR SAID
the father, needs 4 real help-mate, and not
a mere bit of ornamental furniture. Helen
Is good girl; but she Is not mt 10 be the
wife of a poor man. She can no more cook
4 breakfast, than sail one of my ships. I've
explained my views to her often hc con-
tinucd, glancing over his spectacles at her,
A. she toyed with curtain tassei, IN her
embarrassment, but she probably thinks
me too od-fashioned; she has never put my
advice into practice
Father said Helen. reproachiully, YOU
know have made IN elegant cocoanu! cake
for tea, a number of times
4 man cannot live on c0coanut cake, my
child. Wholesome bread, a broilcd steak,
and rood coffee. are much better. There :
no usc ia arguing this point. But IKE
YOU. sir and IN propose compromlSe. II
my daughter Is willing 90 go to work, ana
qualify herself on this -uhiccrol house nav
ii,ation. will not object % YOU taxing her
a. connander-in-chicf Of your craft. inat
nv ultimatum. sr. ii Helen learns 10 cook
4 rhank.giying dinner. from beginning To
end. | viii write out q certificate TOR her
She can turn it into Il marriage ccruhrGte,
if she likes and his gray eyes gave siight
twinkle.
Must She wait until Thanksgiving 90
serve up her dinner" asked VIII, rather
anxiously
If she has it ready to serve in q year
from next Thanksgiving you j be IN luck,
said the father with an mcrcdulous mi.e.-
And with those words be dismissed ihe low
He wasn't so formidable as I expected,
said VIII. drawing long breath.
But you don't realize, said Helen, rue
fully. what task he has set me-.
What are the requirements OF a Thanks
giving dinner, that Is according to your IA
Tiers standardY
Just the things that his mother used to
set I'm his old New England home. His de-
yotion TO this festival is relic of his early
davs. Our cook understands 1t all, for which
am thankf ! but how | am 70 Sc about
learning. Is puzzle. believe the feast
takes In a little Of everything in the range
of cooking. II can cook such dinner to
suit fathers taste, can DO anything IN the
cooking line. Bur I'll do it, She added.
You brave girl cried her lover.
1T will be rather humiiating, said Helen,
after while, 'to ask Rcbccca !crintormat;oA
on every little thing. ] ought 70 know
something about -four, and spices, and such
things. TO begin with. When | made my
cake. Rebccca brought me all the things
The task. assigned to Helen, might look
easy to those who had been familiarall their
lives with the details of house-wOrk. But
il was a seriou, undertaking for lady Of
her wealth. with no mother to direct her
and only Il stately housckc per and Il cook
70 consult, either one Of whom had little pa
tience with this --latest whim,' rs they cali
ed IT, Of Miss Helen. They would have
much preferred her room to her company IN
the kitchen, and their only hope was that
the cooking tit would not last long.
Helen kept her secret, OF course. l'ut
Rebecca began 10 guess that her father had
promised her something in case She would
qualify herself as a COOK. Mayb, trip to
Europe: or. perhaps, diamond necklace.
Helen did not deny. or affirm any OF these
suspicious. but plcddcd regularly on her
way. There wasa touch of ob-tinacy in her
composition. that would not let her give up,
or take help, after one or even two, rather
unsuccessful experiments in brcad-making.
She went to work again, after every fall
ure. saving, Jll do il yet
II was hard. meanwhile, for her to keep
pace with all the social demands Of the set
IN which she moved. and adorned 20. \
provoking burn on her hand, or cut on
her fingers. caused frequent comments
You are the mo un'ucIy gll ! know OF
latcly.' -ai Pauline Bradley. You ought
10 be insured I'M SOME sad accident com
pany.' But Wal lolkel, with great alice
ton. on the honorab!escar-, and made much
OF them.
Another good lesson. she learned, incl
dentally. by her ncw bu-incss, and that was
that the morning hour has gold IN lis
mouth II she wished uninterrupted time
for work. she found she must r.sc cary.-
This suited her father, who loved cheerful,
bright face opposite him. at his early break
fast: ANA that was Nliai ne hhI IDl vit'H
seen in his old days, before Helen took u
learning cooking.
Poor father. how solitary it must have
been. she thought, when She found how
glad he was.
She did her work vel. too. She develop
cd capajilitics, Of which She had never sus-
pectcd PerhAp., It was a Lougicilow sug-
gc>ts
All. how ,sillml grows the hand
That ubcycth Love, command
lt is the heart and not the brain
That % thc highest doth attain,
And hc who fOilowcth Loves bchcst
Far cxcccdc.h an the rest o.
Certainly. nothing else could have given
Helen the interest in her new operations,
which she felt, every morning. NOdcvotee,
intheart Of decorating tiles and china plates
ever went about it with more enthusiasm
and it was very pleasant to talk over The
morning success. when evening came, and
fortune favored her with a quiet hour with
her lover. But this was not Cften, however
o. -. r..rrlit L.