The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1884-02-28
He had been faithful always to tha

He had been faithful always to the
shy, delicate, dark-eyed little girl who
was his sweetheart, and now it was to
Mary Peet he fastened to ask her to
share his life and home. He had in
tended to take a farm on shares the
next summer, and work his way slowly
upward to a place of his own; now he
had this hundred-acre farm, and to his
great surprise he found $1,000 laid up
in the bank at Peet's Mills, the slow
savings of his fathers fifty years. He
began at once to set his house in order.
He longed to build a new one, but
Mary's advice restrained him, so he
did his best with this. The cellar he
cleared and white washed with his own
hands, cleanedits one begrimed window
and set two more, so that it was sweet
and light. The house was scrubbed
from one end to the other, a bonfire
made of the old, dirty comfortables and
quilts, the kitchen reprinted a soft vel
low and new windows, with clear large
glass set in place of the dingy old sashes.
The wood-house was filled with
dry wood and a good store of pine
m and chopped brush and kind-
ling. A new milk-room was built q
little way from the back door, over a
tiny brook that ran down the hill north
of the house, and under the Slated floor
kept up a cool draught of fresh air, a
covered passage connected it with the
kitchen, and a door into the old milk
room made of that a convenient pantry,
while the removal of the old mi from
the kitchen corner gave to that apart
ment more room, air and light. A
new stove, with a set boiler, filed up
the hearth of the old fireplace, but
further improvements Amasa left for
May.
A different homecoming from his
mothers she had, indeed, on just such
aspiring day as Wealthy came here. The
kitchen shone clean and bright; a bowl
of pink arbutus blossoms made its at
mosphere freshly sweet, and the fire
was laid ready for her to light, the
shining tea-kettle filled, and the pantry
held such stores as Amasa's masculine
knowledge of household wants could
suggest; flour, butter, eggs, sugar, all
in abundance, and no feast of royalty
ever gave more pleasure to its most hon
ored guest than the hot biscuit Mary
made and baked for their supper; the
stewed dried apples, the rich old cheese
and the fragrant tea gave Amasa this
happy evening. Next day they took
their wedding trip to Peet's Mills in the
new and sensible farm wagon Amasa
had just bought, with a strong, spirited
horse to draw it.
81 want you should look around.
Mary" he had said the night before.
and see what Isl needful here. / expect
most everything is wanting, and we
cant lay out for fnery. But first of
| all, get what'll mako your work easy.
Your weddin' present will come along
tomorrow; to-day We'll buy necessi-
ties"
Mrs. Peet had not Sent her only girl
empty.handed to the new house. A
good mattress, two pairs of blankets,
fresh, light comfortable, and some
cheap, neat, white spreads; a set of gay
crockery, a clock and a roll of bright
ingram carpeting had all come to the
farmhouse soon after the brides ar.
rival; her ample supply of sheets and
pillow-cases, strong towels and a few
table-cloths had been sent the day be.
fore, so this sort of thing was moi
needed; but there was a new churn
bought, and altogether new furnishings
for the dairy, several modern inven-
tions to make the work of a woman
easier, a set of chairs, a table and an
easy lounge for the parlor, some Gre,
tonne, covered with apple blossoms and
white-thorn clusters, and pals, brooms
and tinware hat would have made
Wealthy q happy woman, crowded the
over-full wagon before they turned
homeward.
The old house began to smile and
blossom under this new dispensation,
andthe new mistress smiled, too.
Amasa MIXED the COWS for her and
lifted the heavy pals of milk to strain
into the bright new pans; he filled the
woodbox by the stove twice a day, put
a patent pump into the old well, and, as
it stood above the house, ran a pipe
down into a sink set in the woodshed,
and so put an end to the drawing and
carrying off water.
The fat, round. placid pigs, that now
enjoyed themselves in the new pen, he
took care of himself.
"'Ta'nt for women folks" he said.
you've got enough to do, Mary;
theirs the garden you'll have an eye ON,
and the chickens if you're a mind to;
I'm going to build a hen-house and a
yard to it right off, that'n be good
enough for you as well as the chickens,
and 1 want you shall promise if any
time the work gets a mite hefty and
worries you. you'll speak right out.
can afford to have everything else worn
out rather than my wife"
Really, it paid! 1t does pay, my
masculine friends, to give any woman
a kindly word now and then; if you had
done it ~oftener, Or your fathers had in
the past, the rights of women neve
would have angered or bored you as
they do now; or unseXed and made stri.
dent and clamorous that half of crea,
ton which is and always was nreason-
able enough to have hungry hearts.
Try it and see!
Amasa was wise above his genera.
ton; he had seen his mother suffer and
for kindly appreciation of her work, OF
help in it. When she had a door cut
through into the parlor, the stiff chairs
and sofa banished, the tiowery curtains
hung at either window, the gay carpet
put down and the new furniture set in
place, with her wedding present-ar
an easy stuffed rocker-drawn up to
the table, on which lay two weekly pa.
pers and a~magazine, she had still sense
enough left to snake this hitherto sacred
apartment into a real sitting-room,
where every evening she and Amasa
rested, read or talked over the days
doings, and when the first fat, rosy
baby came and Mary was about again
it added another pleasure to have the
old cradle beside them all evening with
its sleeping treasure.
Can l tell in words what a sense O
peace and cheer pervaded this house
hold. in spite of some failures anc
troubles? If the rye did blast one year
the two best cows die another; if a wea
sci once invaded the new and wonder
ful hen-house and slaughtered the bes
dozen of Plymouth Rocks: if sWeenine