Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-03-16

had - much Ncrk 4, yuG have. yr
| never ~,.,. her dr'-~" - r.alnlv
oh dear. Ilo. the poor thing woul,
have a fit If sh" ever had to Wear
plain calico ] was there ycsterda,
at their tea time. and she locked lk
a ghost. and could hardly breathe 70
the awful pain in her side. But sh,
had made three kinds of cake. tw,
pies. Il gallon of preserves. and la,
swept Eer house from top to bottom
I Her hair WIS curled and frizzcd ant
/ pulled, and She had on her percai,
dress, all rutiied and tuted. which
; She said she worked at the day be
fore until she was ready to drop
Her face WAS powdered. and her ring.
sparkled. and. if she had not groaneo
50 with pain, you might have enjoycC
looking at her But if did as she
does you'd call me well, anything
except smart. Mr.. Stonar went into
the pantry and picked up his supper
and gave the children enough pre-
serves and cake to make them all sick
No wonder they are peevish and all
ing all the time Then he went fo1
the doctor, who said she was tired out
and very delicate, and needed rest
but she has been making her Grace
Il dress to-day, and the tucks and
putls am. rutflcs are asight t. behold
say she ought to dress less, and live
more plainly. and then she would not
have to work So hard. They owe the
doctor over a hundred dollars now
and, guess You wouldn't Ike that
very well, would you?"
We'll. who cares what Mrs. StOnaI
does. anyway? Doesn't that extra
tart belong to me-"
"Thev are cA>cllcnt. are they not p
said Mrs Rolf. as she passed the plate
''Oh, they'll do. but they don't
amount to much. should think You
could use your time better than max
ing such fooleries. Jelly costs some
thing, too, when fruit is SO high, and
my mother never made any such non
sense"
He had eaten the last crumb of the
delicious morsel, and looked at the
plate as if he wished there were
another.
We'll. don't let the extravaganza
worry you." said his wife. The
paste was a bit left from the pie
made for dinner, and the parings of
the apples that l cooked for sauce
made the jelly. Your mother would
have thrown the parings to the pigs,
and spoiled the children's appetite
for supper with the paste. l made
them into pretty dish for the table,
and l guess they found a ready
market"
"Please make some more; they arc
so good, mamma" said Nora. But
do You wonder that Mrs. Rolf did not
feel just then, as if she would?
well. l hope you will have some
thing more interesting than your
neighbors to talk about when | come
again." was the parting salute of the
husband, as he put on his nat and
left for business.
Mrs. Rolf went about her work.
realizing fully how tired she was.
She had been working hard all day.
aud tired and weak, had SO longed
for some token of her husbands
affection. that when he departed with
out a single tender word, she was
disappointed and cast down. Per
haps he did love her, but he had been
thoughtless, rude. even cruel to her
She washed up her supper dishes,
set her bread for to morrow's baking.
covered her jar of sauce carefully
and carried it down cellar, and
brought up her potatoes, and pared
them for breakfast. 1t seemed rs if
a band of iron compressed her head.
it ached so; and her heart throbbed
30 painfully that many times her
hand pressed her side as if to still its
heating. a good cry might have
relieved her somewhat. but she was
too considerate for her children to in
dulge herself in that way. There is
nothing more depressing to the
spirits OF the little ones than to see
neither cry. They We're all bathed
and prepared for bed, when observ
ing. thoughtful, little Nora said: "We
do not need any song to night, mann
ma" But Robbie. two years younger,
declared that he could not sleep at
all unless mamma sang a song So
she sang the accustomed songs. Rob
bie's favorites, and Harry's Babyland,
while sympathetic Nora stood by her
side with an arm around her neck.
That warm little arm was far more
comforting to the lonely mother than
the finest laces could ever have been.
Then the children, all sweet and clean
and good tempered, were put into
their well aired beds, and Mrs. Rolf
sat in a room near them to sew until
her husband came home. Now She
could think; but her thoughts were
not pleasant. She did not fear that
her husband would come home drunk
to abuse her with blows and curses,
but it seemed as if his cold unloving
ways were almost as hard to bear.
She understood now why Mrs. Long
loved and lived with her husband,
Notwithstanding his drunken i'll
usage. A few days before he had
beaten her dreadfully, but she said to
her sympathizing friends. 1T was
not John that did it; it was whiskey.
He never says cross word when not
in drink, but says l am the one wom-
an IN all the world for him. 20 I'll
never leave him. for perhaps he will
reform. If there were no saloons he
would bring me fewer blows and more
money!
Il could almost bear the blows for
the sake of the love-" thought Mrs.
Rolf; and now the stitches were lost
in a flood OF tears.
God pity the woman, and let no
temptation come near her now. 1t is
in such times of desolation and bitter
ness Of spirit that many start on the
downward road. from which it is so
hard to turn back. A little praise, a
little appreciation of her work. ten
der word, would be SO grateful to her
that she might accept as genuine the
basest counterfeit of friendship, and
follow some will-o' the wisp to de-
SfrI1ctiop