The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-06-07

-
Gus of all, too, standing as she did at
the head of her class. And so her poor
thoughts ran on and on in a vicious
circle, and came to nothing every time
but the rag-bag.
She sat still little while after her
husband went out, building a little
castle in the air. What if somebody
should send Anna white dress as a
gift?
1t would have to be one of her rela-
tions-which one? None of the Tip
tons, certainly; they. wouldn't if they
could; she didn't know as she wanted
them to if they would. Thank good
ness, Anna didn't favor the Tiptons
any! And as for her own sister, she
was much too unable, and she had her
own girls to dress. No; if you wanted
anything, you must go to work and get
ityOurSelf; there was nothing but the
rag-bag. Did Mr.. Upton leave the
paper? Let her see what rags were
worth, if she could find them in the
price-current, and then hustle the paper
out of sight till it was forgotten. Rags
were not quoted that week. Well, she
knew from long habit what they would
probably be by the time she was ready
to sell. There were columns about
cotton-ah, what would she not give
for one good bale of cotton to add to
her rag-bag! She laughed with pleas
ure at the absurd thought
Mrs. Upton began TO bestir herself
in earnest after thi3 with her work.
She succeeded in getting Mr., Upton to
send her piece of cotton cloth bv
having him personally inspect the
sheets and pillow-cases and under
clothing, article by article, and by re-
ceiving humbly a severe lecture on
their condition. to the effect that it was
such as no self-respecting woman would
allow, and why hadn't she begun to
darn earlier, and why had she patched
them with new cloth that the Bible
itself told her would tear away, and so
on to the end of the chapter. She must
take the worst sheets and make under
clothing of the parts that were left; he
wasn't going to buy any. No time for
such piece of work as that? What
else had she to do with her time? "Mr
Upton" said his wife, made resolute,
not for herself now, not because ,she
wanted any new under-clothing but her
winding-sheet, but because she wanted
for her rag-bag the shreds and clip
pings resulting from the manufacture
of new cloth into garments-''Mr. Tip
ton, if | was to die, [ haven'tthe decent
articles to lay me out!''
"Well," he answered her, his thin
red beard bristling, as it seemed, in
double redness while she faced him as
he had never seen her do before, Il
don't know anybody that that would
hurt but yourself - But he sent her
the piece of cloth.
"Seems as if hadn't gone to work
the right way with him in the first
place. said Mrs. Upton to herself. 81
ought to have stood rightup to him, and
put my foot down then!n
But she went to work the right way
with her cloth, and cut, and Skimped,
and pieced her cores. and picked up
her threads, and saw her rag bag swell
with q heart that swelled too with hope
and satisfaction. She had looked at the
muslin that she meant to have down in
Rainey's store, thirty cents q yard; she
began already to see its luminous sheer
ness floating about her dear child 5
pretty shape.
''Ah, Mr.. Dustin" she said. when
next the tinman came along with his
cart, chow are rags to-day? No higher?
And paper just the same, you say?
"WeIl, now, Miss Upton, old papers
brings me just about the same's they
have this two year, excep' pamphlets
they're q cent an half a pound. But
I'm leetle expecting rags to rise-''
''You aren she exclaimed, in joyful
accents, and thrust her bag behind her.
eyes; rags is sensitive. They feel
the affairs OF men as if they was still
a-clothing of 'em. You let a gen'ral
Eur0peing war come on, and rags will
90 kiting. It's sometimes an excellent
thing for the market if plague or an
epidemic breaks out in the. East-rags
go up as if they knew it. That's odd
now?"
81 should say SO. How do you ac.
count for it?''
"Well l dom knows / do account
It's one of the mysteries, like the mys
teries of tides. Pears as if rags could
feel. And you don't want new dip
per to-day? Got one-a good one
thought of you when 1 slung it on
block-tin, double bottom. No? Well
another time, l reckon. I'll trouble
you, though, for drink of water, if it's
handy" And he saw that she had
plugged the hole in the dipper with 8
bit of Il match, and cut the ends of
smooth, and he knew there was a great
haul in reserve for him before long.
Poor Mrs. Upton saw that he had
seen it, "He's always getting the bet
ter of me-" she said. eff l was some
women Tdwet my rags till they weighed
like water!" But as she wasn't some
women she took it out in watching the
newspapers and trying to keep up with
the inextricable confusion of the foreign
news, hoping to be able to see the wal
cloud in season for her rags; and il
ever woman prayed devoutly for an ep
idemic in the East, Mrs. Upton was
certainly the one. But then l doubt il
any woman ever did.
Day by day Mrs Upton added to hel
marketable store. She did not go tc
walk but she scuffed along q bit Of
paper in the street till, getting it where
she could secure it unobserved, to bring
home; she stole out sometimes in the
evening and tore down such of the ad.
vertisng bills and posters as were not
faithfully pasted, that she might by SC
! much increase the sum Of her revenue