The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1884-01-31
EBENEZER GRATH'S WIFE.
BY A COUNTRY PARSON."

Eben Grath, viii YOU come into break
st; this is the third Tina I've called
gu. / believe you are uncommon deaf
his morning." Ebenezer was sprink-
! ne his potatoes in the patch near the
souse. The bugs were accomplishing
heir destroying work, and nothing but
he Paris green would discourage them.
t was q little old house, innocent of
paint, story and half with a leaneto,
great brilliant tree oyershadowing the
roof, and the ground in front sharply
descending to the road. 1t was a side.
lili farm facing the east. 1t would seem
atough tussls with nature to get a living
= ,ut of this rocky soil, 10 say nothing Of
the Injuries Of life. Why the very
weeds looked stunted and rocks, rocks,
abounded every where. Even Grath
said: alt seemed as if the Almighty left
what few He had over in Jordan. 1t
was mighty hard road to travel any
ihow." Although Ebenezer Grath had
= never vexed his soul about it, he
would sit in the doorway with his
stump of pipe, looking of on the mead
ows and stream that neighbor Jackson
owned, hour after hour, wondering why
It was always his risky luck to be poor"
The said Jackson In the mean tir1e was
breaking up piece of muck which he
had drained, and was going to plant
with strawberries. Waste of time"
Eben said, ''fddiiu' round in an old
muck hole" But Jackson cleared three
hundred dollars the second year by his
Industry. Eben Grath was "shiftless,"
Were is no better word; good natured
ut with no gilt. He was like the rock
own in the east pasture, crumbles, ne
ability to ii. He lacked the fxedness
( the granite about him, his backbone
seded stifening, he was spoiled in the
laking up. He would tramp all day
shing without a murmur, but it made
Is back ache 10 dig potatoes. He kali
lated he had no call that way" There
ere four young Graths. Likely chill
rem they were, healthy, well formed
. nd full of vitality. They had managed
live so far on u ii(ty-acre farm, the
.st payment on the mortgage just met,
= nd at last out OF debt.
Ebenezsr Grath had wife, and that
vas an important fact to him. She had
y faculty." knack for affairs, an indom-
& table push. She was a type of q GER
ain class of New England women who
iieem to belong to no social circle, but
Quake place Tor themselves by the very
aggressive pluck that will not be daunt-
Jed. She had q good common school
4 education: farmers daughter, she
knew how to work, and liked to. Ebe-
nezer Grath was a good-looking young
man with some money and she married
him, the only poor bargain she had
ID hF1tt M
The problem of life faced her very soon.
She bad got to meet it, and with charac-
terlstic energy she would not allow fate
to scott her. Ii you know anything
about this strain Of blood, you will un-
derstand that this woman would not let
go her grip on llfeiwlthout struggle. If
she died, she woold die 10 honorable
warfare. She never would strike he
colors. But what call i. was for pa
! tience, heroism, an iron WILL To work
/ the farm was one thing, but to make
j Ebenezer work was quite another. Even
her heart failed her almost, but she
never let it be known. She had put her
! hand to the plough of her life, she would
not look back. And so she east about to
see what could be done with a scrubby
farm for the support of an increasing
family. The children came along fast
and pain; but this woman had an iron
constitution. She went to deaths door
more than once, but she would not die.
One day she went to the village, tax
ing her baby with her. She was quite
depressed: Ebenezer grew more shift.
:. nss; she was not strong. The interest
/. n the mortgage would soon be due, and
where was the money coming from? AS
] old White logged on she glanced at the
4 agricultural department of the weekly
4 paper. There was something about
market gardening and the profit Of lit
I lie land well cultivated. She read it
With new interest. So occupied was
4she that a Deighbor passed her in his
wagon and she knew nothing about its
FsWhy could she not do something in this.
gline? Since the coming Of summer
\ boarders to the region there was mar
ket for such things. She would think it
over. She had been married ten years
4 and the fourth baby sat beside her. It
had been ten years of worry and strug-
gle. They had picked berries in sum-
mer and braided hats and seated chairs
in the winter. They had done any
. thing that would bring in an honest dol
.iar. She had always been interested in
chemistry from a school girl. She had a
special aptitude IN that direction. Agri-
cultural chemistry was somewhat dis
cussed in the papers; she had once
heard lecture in the village on the
subject. This woman was quick to
catch hints and follow out line of
thought to its practical results. When
she preached the subject to
Eben, he said, "Blazes, Jane,
what won't We think of; can We contrive
aplan to raise vegetables without work."
"You can't raise them on this farm
without brains?" she replied, and fell
into brown study. A day or two after
she announced to Eben she had leased
fiat grown up to trash. "Haint we got
land enough" he asked in amazement;
''I'll be switched if don't believe YOU
daft; Jane Grath." eft be you'll pay
the doctor" she replied grimly.
That five acres of muck must be cleared,
ami Ebenezer Grath found he must help
if he wanted peace. When Jane had
that set to her jaw he knew there was
no call to argue, and SO, with neIghbor
and much grum bling, he set about it. It
was a big chore, but Ebenezer Grath's
wife was relentless, and il was accom-
plished. And then she had it drained.
borrowing the money to have it done.
s"What or arth is the use of planting
these plaguey things in this swampy
, hole? believe you'll bring me to the
poor house." 81 have kept you out OF it
for ten year g." she said sharply.
She got the land fo. twenty-five dollars
q year, 1t brought in nothing to its own
err before; he was glad enough to realize
sanything from it. The dr,in pipes cost
her thirty-five dollars. The first year
land was broken up and she planted po-
tatoes, and she realized three hundred
and fifty bushels. The market was short.
sShs had an extra fine crop, and Eben-
ezer peddled them out. He was capt.
tai hand at this, he enjoyed it all and
vas good salesman. EDenezer Grath's
I wife found she had made $3.50 out of her
potato patch. They were about to build
new barn for the hotel down at the
village. The soil was q rich loan, and
in excavating for the cellar this must be
removed. Ebeneztr Grath's wife noted
this one day and she pought it for a tri.
file and had it transported to her five
rcre lot. Then she borght up the ashes
in the neighborhood. People said
she was SINKING her brains in that