The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-11-24

finally turned to my wife and said:
"'Mother, can't get rid of feeling that
no good is coming of this new house.
am little afraid that it is going to nettla
roomy house like this going up, with ali
sorts of conveniences in it, and then tn
have to live along in his old place, winter
and all, with better one closed up, right
by him.
$50, come. don't be prophet of ILL.,, said
she to me; there's great deal more trou-
BILE borrowed than ever comes.'
"'That's true,' said l, but am afraid IL
would take more Christian resignation
than l have got, not to feel little chean
to have my brothers. summer residence
five times as good as my regular DWELLING.
and right along by it running opposition
am afraid it will lead to GOODNESS. II
don't do to presume too far on poor human
nature
"Well, to go on with my story. con.
tracted to build and finish the house com.
plete, mason and carpenters work, paint
ing and all, for about three thousand dol
| lars Afterwards | heard that this wac
just about half of what George had saved
up; for he hadn't been in business long
enough to have saved up fortune. 1t oc.
Cured to me that it wasn't very prudent
to put one-half of all you're worth into a
summer house; but then, on the other
hand, as my wife said, it was to be built
no hen-coop basement, but a good stone
ana brick under-pinning and double floors,
and everything solid; and perhaps George
thought it was wise thing to have a home
in the country to fall back on, if he should
be sick, or for his family if he died. 1 un-
derStood he had some life-insurance.
$50 the weeks ran along, and was there
through good part of the autumn. JOHN.
and his sons dug the cellar all themselves
| and saved so much, and helped lift lumber
and all that, just as any man does for his
own house.
'But when spoke to him about the
pump that was being set in the kitchen
sink, remember he said: 40 yes, that was
very convenient, but farmers wives had to
| get along going out Of doors for a pail of
water, winter and ALL"
! "Afterwards when he was working one
| bright afternoon with me, fixing the
drains, and / spoke about the patent traps
| in the waste-pipes, he laughed and said he
didn't know whether city folks were more
sensitive to typhoid fever thar farmers, or
whether their lives were more sacred; any
way, he couldn't afford to have all these
contrivances in his house.
| $50 the fall ran on, and we got the house
| plastered and painted in good season, and
! early in November we competed the in
side finish and the little odd jobs. The
next Saturday George came DOWN to settle
up. gave him the keys and he gave me
| his check for the balance dueme.
"Then they hurried up toget the house
all in shape in time to have the Thanks
giving dinner in it, for George and his
family spent every Thanksgiving with
| John. Georges wife bought pretty wall
paper in the city, and came herself and
stayed to see it put on. And they had the
| furniture come down, all neat and sub
stantial, and finally the whole house was
in trim, ready for the next spring cam
| paign.
81 drove over there with my wife two
or three days before Thanksgiving to get a
| chest of tools that one of my men had left,
and [ got John to take us in and show us
over the house. 1t did look right down
homelike and pleasant There was great
open hearth in the front parlor and sitting
room, and the windows weren't much like
the old small-paned rattling affairs in the
other house.
"The house faced east and there were
great baywindows in front, and there
was another in the south side of the sit
| ting-room, so that the sun would lie there
all day long.
"But there were one or two things that
noticed. There were a pair of tall, hand
some, old-fashioned brass andirons in the
parlor-the kind we call steeple-tops; ard
l thought l knew them, and so / asked
| John where his brother got them.
"'Op said he, they have always been in
the front room at the old house, but George
rather wanted to have them here, so 1
brought them OVER
81 shouldn't have thought you would
have wanted to spare them,' said l; they
were a sort of keepsake
"'Well, said he, and he laughed little,
what there is is owned between US, and [
suppose George thought that the best things
would be more in keeping here.'
"And then noticed thatan old-fashioned,
Foo, 81, II
Dutch clock, and a number of other things,
that [ knew he must have taken pride in,
had been brought over, too.
$50 we saw the house and came away:
but driving home l couldn't get rid of the
feeling that had had from the outset.
"It doesn't take much of a beginning,
when a man lives on a lonely farm, to make
hard feelings. A small vexation grows if he
broods over it; and | have seen more than
one bitter lawsuit that's eaten up a farm
and made llfe-enimies, grow out of some
very trivial thing. You know the cloud
that was no larger than mans hand at
first, and how it blew up into a storm.
"There is a man in Vest Standish that
lives on lot adjoining his sisters, on the
main street, and he has just built a board
fence, forty feet high, on the edge of his
lot within a foot of his sisters windows,
and darkened them. That came from
dispute about hundred-dollar legacy. He
wanted me to build the fence, but 1 told
him he must get some poorer man than |
was for that job.
"And this kept coming up before me;
what chance there would be for a law.
suit there, seeing that the land the house
was built on belonged to John as well as
George; L don't know what made me think
of that then.
driving home that afternoon, I was
turning all this over in my mind, and
thought I'd see whether any such idea had
struck my wife; she is pretty level.headed.
Sarah said I, did you ever see a more
convenient housep
" 1T is very convenient house, said she.
" 1T must be real pleasure said |, for
John Nelson and his folks to have George
settled in such good permanent shape right
by Them
Yes, don't doubt it Isl said she.
81 didn't say anything more, but talked
of other things; but thought should hear
something further, and sure enough, my
wife spoke up:
" i did Think said she, when saw all
the thousand and one contrivances to save
steps, that they might have spared them.
just for a summer house, and put some of
them into the old house for Anna, THAT'S
Johns wife.
"'They don't generally put new wine
into old bottles, you know said l. sYou
can't blame George for wanting a new
house to be built right up in shape
" Mother said nothing to that, but lust
as we were turning into tho ward.