St. Landry democrat., 1882-07-01
HOW MART MANAGED A FARM,

"Well, SUSIE" said Mart Hammond,
:" have made up my mind at last to
purchase a farm
After saying this, the speaker stood
with his arms folded across his manly
breast, and eyed his little wife as if be
expected to behold her dumbfounded
on hearing so startling arevelation; but,
on the contrary, Susie simply said:
'Well,' and stitched away, mending
little Freddie's jacket, as though it were
an everyday occurrence to hear that her
husband was going to buy farm
''Well, SUSIE continued Mart (this
seemed to be a favorlte sentence with
him), Il am positively tired of being
away from you and Freddie half of the
tiue, and toting an old sample case
over the country, and firing the life out
of me, and leaving you fretting all the
time; and now l think the best thing we
can do is to take that nineteen hundred
dollars that Aunt Julia left me, the dear,
kind old soulr' And here Mart was on
the point of shedding tear, but
changed his mind, and continued: ssHow
much have we in the savings bank be-
side, Susie?'' I .
''About three hundred and eighty
dollars, [ think; but don't you think
you had better wait for few months?
You know your Aunt Julia'sa money has
only been on deposit few weeks, and
we will draw no interest from it unless
it remains at least six months. Or, how
would it clio to buy a house and lot in
the suburbs, as we talked about last
summer, you know9 You can get that
position in the office at nearly the same
salary you are drawing now,'' contin-
ued the patient little woman, in a mild
but suggestive tone. 'And besides, you
know nothing, or very little, about farm
ing
'But what of that, sfchildP'' asked
Mart. Didn't have to learn to sell
goods, and were you not raised on
farme Why, in month | can manage
one as well as, and in some respects
much better than, many of the old fogies
who pretend to know SO much"
But, Mart said Susie, laying down
her work and looking at her stalwart
husband, .'you are no farmer, and will
never be one; you will not look after
the thousand and one small things that
go to make the profits in farming.
And again." she continued, ssyou would
not be willing to rise early and work
in the garden before breakfast, and
saw wood, and milk and feed after sup
per-"
20, you do not have even the re-
hottest idea of farming, little girl. I
have never yet been where could man
age, and tell you there's great deal
more in the way farm is managed than
there is in the amount of drudging there
is done on it."
Very WELL" said Susie, swell give
it a trial, if you think best. We may
possibly succeed, but I have serious
doubts. But then it may be good
thing for Freddie, he is SO small for a
boy of five."
s.That's darling said Mart, going
over to Susie and squeezing her slight
form until she screamed out, and Fred
die brought in stick of stove-wood and
belabored his stern parent on the legs, |
and threatened to annihilate him in
stantly if he did not '.let mamma be. "
Mart was rare specimen; he always
had his own way, but in such way that
he hardly realized it. He would talk
with Susie about whatever he intended
to do. and if she could not be persuaded
to see it in the same light, it mattered
not: he had his way, and did just as he