Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1885-04-24

4 jostling each other with friendly IL
III liarltv, airy co'onics Of rk->pnr
ross OF Sharon. lurineS. bachelor :
buttons. astcrs ald sp'cy carnat Oh
/ pinks. The river had grown slecpr
fpryett n itj spring joyousnes.. III,
wheat WAS nearl. ready for halyr,tin. !.
filling the broad fields with waves ut
+ splcndor. The corn ears were b,.
I ginn NJ to show their burnt gul,
through the bleaChed and bursting
! husks.
I lcihinda Wa, evidently suited witt
/ the WAYS of the household, for sh,
! had never manife-trd the slightest in
tention Of taking her departure, and
( in spite Of her somewhat severe rule.
the household regarded her as a treas.
ure. Every nook and corner OF til,
house was white and fragrant Will!
! ncatpesS. and i'll her constant upheay
! ais IN the way of cleaning She Wa,
/ silent As fate. The food which sh,
saw tit to provide was well cooke
/ and daintily a well is librrallv
served. Nothing WAS ont OF place.
and every branch of household labor
was performed with the greatest skill
1t is true. there was mournfulncs,
about the tall tallow dips with which
she decreed the house should be light
| ed. and in the sort of penitential IA,
which she ordained should be kept on
/ Sunday. beginning with brown bread
and butter ut cOck-crOw in the morn
ing. and end ne with milk porridse at
! quiet sunset.
There were also objections to break
! fasting in the dimness of the dawn
/ The raw early taste of the air would
minge with the rolls and coffee. and
regrets for lost and broken dream,
made dreary opening for tn, da,.
But there was nothing lax or calricious
in lc b nda's laws. SO there WIS moth
ing to do but submit, and pray for res
! iTnatioa. Then. too. great emhalrl> l>s-
ments arose on account Of her aversion
to company. which she invar, ably calle
"clutter." and Il way she had of bolt
ing the doors upon al strangers during
the absence Of the family
On one occasion the venerable aunt
! of Mrs. Wnsor. who had arrived uncx-
pectedly by stage. was discovered St
ing upon her trunk in the door-yard, Il
gentle shower falling upon her unpru-
/ tectcd head. while lc binda. who pro-
te ted that she thought her "lun tie
! o. sOmethn',' was calmly rcrardii y
her from the window. On another o.
casion. behold:ng the approach of the.
Free-will Baptist NJ II sttr one >ulirv
summer afternoon. Size proceeded IN
! meiiately to slam the door. which was
open. in his face, and twiiched hastily
down the window shades. He took H.,
departure in deep wrath. and gave !,
vivid account OF his treatment TO IL
neighbor. The mort fled lady OF the
house venturei to question her rs 10
the why and wherefore OF this proceed
/ ing.
why, yeou sea-. sad she, Il kncow-
ed by his cut that ef h. got in he meant
tew stay tew supper. n hedn't moth
in jest tit tcw Set bcrfore the Gosp:l
My custards m bscu.t We're bot
kinder poor; n then IF he d a got me
alone. he d u ast me ef l was on the
Lords side, Jest ez # he was lee
tioneerin' fur county sheriff. or some
thin of thet sort, n might "A sarscd
him. fur it makes my grace drctfui
weak tew be meddled with thct way. "
| Her own mother once sat Il full half
hour upon the door-steps before lc
binda could be induced to admit her
into the house and even peddlcrs passed
by the gate with mournful reluctance
She never smiled. >he never sang. she
never spoke unless obi gcd TO do so;
she never manifested either JOY or
grief; she never glanced into the pages
| Of a book or over the columns of the
village paper. Bu; it Was evident that
she had sometimes u.ed her eyes to
good advantage. She knew the prcci e
haunt; of the >hyest birds in her nat VI.
woods, Their note. their color. the ser,
marks upon their wings; she knew
where and how they bu 1t their nests:
and though she did not hesitate to ie-
tray her contempt for what she evi-
den!ly de; med his .'dretful shift le S
callin'," de gncd to be of great Use To
the master Of the house i'll his orn =
biological researches. And the III -
tr s.. whose miad was somewhat giv..,
to the pursuit o. botany. found that
there was no W IL flower in the region.
however rare. to whose hidinC-placc
Ic;b nda was unable to guide her
One damp. misty morning in late
August n great outcry from the rive
wa, heard. and n the space Of few
minutes several raftsmen appeared
bearing 4 d.'pping burden to the Win
sor cottage. One of their crew had
been hit on the head by . piece of lcos,.
timb,r and was knocked Ovcrboar.,
ard as soon as they had succeeded i,
pulling him out of the water they MAJ.
haste to bring him to the house. VIII
they might find means to resusci'al
him, if such thing were possible. ii
water. bltnkcts d brandy Were T..
med atc!y procurcd. and the cti ".
the accident. young fellow with reg
ular features and blonde beard. was
placed upon the lounge in the sitting
room.
Icibinda was absent on an errand at
the tine, but soon returned; and catch
ing a glimpse Of the pale. apparently
dead face of the man. in who e
nostrils stalwart river drv,r was try
ing to blow the breath of life. her own
face changed to something so wild and
piteous As to be hardly recognizable
"Oh! Joe! Jocr' she cried. rushing
frant.cally toward him. Speak to
me! speak to me jest once more! Oh,
he can't be dead! He must hear me
speakin' tew HIM. And with a
majesty which trembling Mrs. Winsor
had never seen equalcd. she waved his
comrades aside. and taking the cold
hands in her own, rubbed them with q
fierce energy. But It Il there was no
sign of life. Then placing her arm
under his body. she lifted his chest wit.
a quick spasmodic effort. and suddenly
there was little tlutter of breath from
the lips. faint twtching of the eye
lids.
''Hurray! he's all right, after air.
shouted the river men. jest wet h S
ps with brandy, N he'll be pert as a
lizard in a few minutes"
This injunction was Obeyed. and the
MIN almost Immediately opened his
eyes and looked about him in bewildcr-
ment. They fell upon Icibinda. and
the blood surged into his checks. Her
face assumed its usual sphinx-lle im-
perturbability. and she hastily fed from
| tho rnom