The Republican journal., 1881-09-15
no soap-luckily we had our own Lubin

| StpBocS3 DOlIlS luC IIttll w lllC
the feather bed was given me as a special
honor; for Nell and the boys had horrible
straw beds that made the whole room
smell like barn, or a haymoW, or some
thing horrid.
We hadn't a sign of tooth brush mugs,
if You'll believe it, Nell used her drink
ing cup, and | used baby's silver mug till
we drove to the village and bought yellow
ones with blue stripes, which were truly
aesthetic, a bit of color on our toilet
stands,
The table
No napkins, and brown tablecloth
and plates too heavy for any but an ath-
| lete to use Steel forks and knives
honestly half yard in length, confess
that the butter and cream were delicious
| but the bread was made OF saleratus, or
| 'emptlns or 'risings, or whatever may
| be the nasty name OF it.
! She served the boiled eggs with plates
| Ia break them on; and her coffee was
| Nller than tongue can tell. She stewed
| her delicious fresh berries in mOlasses, or
made them into sticky, pale crusted pies;
and as for oatmeal she never had even
| heard OF it. had BeSsemer bring some
/ down, but she cooked it SO badly we
could not touch it,
Mrs HackeltOn sat with us and poured
our coffee. She was neat, thin woman,
with snap to her eyes, and a screw to
her black hair which bespoke faculty if
not temper The selectman also sat with
us in his shirt-s He usually came
IN late, and performed his toilet in full
| view of the table, often standing in the
dining room door talking, as he arranged
his hair with the family comb. He was
| very good to the boys. LII give him
credit for that but he ate like DR.. Sam
uel johnson, used his own knife to serve
the butter, and he helped at table hor-
ribly.
He would pile our plates with the
boiled dish which was our dinner twice
week pork, beef, cabbage, turnip and
everything, on single plate. We had
great deal of what the boys would call
sheep Tney killed the poor creatures
in the barn and the meat came to the
table actually palpitating with nervous
ness. Bessemer declared he could hear
it bleat as he cut it on his plate Bes-
scmer will say such holTid things some
times You know
And then the mosquitoes poor baby
bItlCli tSl etl lCNNSllIllbll tlItt Il)t tN tll
screen in the house
And the woman was 50 mean about the
washing
OF course, expected to send away The
family wash. but do you know She was 50
horIid to poor Judy when she was getting
up baby's things that finally had to give
up and put those out to a Washwoman,
too.
The Post Office was three mortal miles
away and they wouldn't let us have
horse, just because they We're haying.
As if my hearing from Bessemcr every
day was not more important than their
old hay. And one night, if You'll believe
it, the daughter came, bringing in our
mail, and said:
Here's a postal from yer husband
says he'll be down a Friday night instid
OF Saturday and wants you to telegraft
il YOU have any arrants for him.
Think OF the cool impertinence
This Girl, by the way, deserves a chap
ter by herself, for She was truly Il charac-
ter She had been away to an academy
somewhere had taught school herself,
and had an autograph album and
| lover The lover was a skulking lout,
with big red hands, oily hair and a green
silk cravat. He came every night to see
her, and after her singing the entire
Moody and Sankey collection to him they
repaired to the doorstep and ate peanuts
| and gigglcd till long after 10 OF | |.
Besides this the girl had the impudence
to copy Nell in every way She did her
hair like Nell's and tried to get her hat
up like Nells, and positively asked to
borrow her pink India muslin, that beauty
she had for last class day from Paris.
She said she wanted to take Il pattern Of
the 'polinayn Did ever hear, my dear
And we'd no way to lock our doors;
and we had to move our trunks against
them while we dressed for fear they
would bounce right in.
And baby got poisoned with ivy, and
stung 10y bees and Courtney cut his fin
gers in moving machine, and Jack was
tossed by a h0rrid COW: and when finally
Alice had the Group and no doctor within
ten miles, | Just wrote Bessemer to come
and take us home, and promised if he'd
not torment me about it, I'd never say
the word country again but would 90 and
do exactly as he said every summer of
my life
Was not that aDject for me
And beSSemer promised, and what is
more, mu chryr, he has actually kept his
word to this day"
| THE SIDE COMMONLY TURNED TO THE WALL
"Iakc city boarders this summer? No.
| Miss Pilsbury, never not ef | drowdge
! my fingers to the bare bone and die on the
town. Never will take city boarders
| agln Is longs my name is Sarah Jane
lIackelton
Why not What, haint | never told
| ye about the hoarders we had last sum
mcr? no!
Wal, declare now, that's real curious
| thought Fd told everybody about that
But you sit right down. | see you've
brought your knittin' work and come to
set a SPELL take the rockin' chair and
| Jest let me tell ye all about it.
Now that It's all over and done with,
Pm free to confess that Pm the one that
started the idee in the fust place. Faith
er he was sot agin it from the very fust.
'The:e's hard work enough for We,
mother, as tbs, says he, and there hain't
no call that you should git the house
full Of strangers. and spend all summer
droWdging fur em" "
But there was sister Carline over to
Reedville, takin' boarders and layin by
money in the bank, and says to Say
Jane, says |, 'Ef there's money on the
ground, its sin and shame not to pick
it up" so at last we persuaded Of him to
say yes.
We got Say James teacher over to
Reedville to write us out harnSome ad-
vertisement and send it to some Boston
papers, and by and by we had a letter
come to him.
The letter was wal enough, and fair
speaking. 1t was from a Boston man,
and he wanted rooms for his wife and her
young lady sister, and two boys under
10, a baby and a nurse gal. He said he
would pay liberal for plain, country livin'
and we all liked his letters, and says to
Say Jane, saws L: