Iron County register., 1885-07-23
CHAPTER VIII.
A COMFORTABLY HOME.

I
| CHAPTER VIII.
| A COMFORTABLE HOME.
"Looks sort of showery like" said
John Parsons, coming into the shanty
the day before the girls were to 60 to
| Sacramento, and finding them and their
mother with eyes which gave evidence
of weeping, packing up their wardrobes
| preparatory to starting.
Il believe shall cry myself if you
wimin folks don't stop lookin' SO sick
like about the mouth. You don't want
| to see an old man like me cry, do you,
| now?"
"Come. mother. cheer up. You know
the girls II be in good hands, that II treat
| 'em well and let Us know if anything
happens 'em. 'Tain't fer very long any
wav: only few months. an l was
| gone from YOU all more than six years,
and if l hadn't left you we wouldn't t
have had this ranch to-day, which will
soon be the finest in the whole country;
worth all the hard work and sufierin'
we've gone through.
"At least" he added, meditatively,
s.as well worth it as anything that poor
| folks gifts is worth what it costs 'em.
"And here's Johnny, he's a houseful
Of himself, amt you. Johnny? You
won't let mother and me git lonesome,
will you?"
But the youngster had caught the in
| fection of tears. and his fathers forced
attempt at being jocular could not re-
move the feeling of coming loneliness
that was casting its shadow before, and
| he stood still and looked silently ct the
| preparations for the departure of his
| sisters with an expression on his face of
sadness and half of baby wisdom, as if
he halted between sorrow for the COM
ing loss of the girls and regrets that his
parents had no better judgment than to
permit their going.
The morrow saw them depart. A few
months later. a beautiful day in spring
saw them return, improved in mind and
| appearance from the contact with those
whose thoughts and deeds had sought.
or were seeking, a different channel
than that to which their own had been
| confined.
If John Parsons had been proud of
| his girls before, he was doubly so now;
for he could not fail to see that assOci-
alton with people of education had CIV
en- an added grace to the body as well
as the mind. And, unwittingfy per-
haps, the young people of the neighbor-
l
ence than was usually given to those Of
their own age and condition in life.
This Difference was in no sense obse-
quiousness; it was but the natural ex-
preston of that respect which all. even
those least ambitious of excellence, feel
for others who are known to be striv-
ing to make themselves wiser and bet
| ter.
Mrs. Parsons was not less pleased than
her husband She also noticed the es-
| TEEN in which her girls were held by
| young and old; and that while they
aided as willingly and cheerfully in the
household work, or in that of the vine-
| ward and orchard, as ever they had
done, they saw that the performance of
manual labor alone was not all their
duty to themselves and to society, but
that the mind and the heart were en-
titled to consideration as well as the
body.
AS for Erastus, he felt little shy
when he welcomed the girls on their re-
turn. True. he kissed both Jennie and
her sister, but somehow it was not the
hearty kind of a smack with which he
had bidden them goodbye, and he held
Lucy's hand while he kissed her, instead
of giving her hug as he had done the
morning they left.
As for Johnny, he was in ecstacies;
for had not the girls brought him half
dozen things that he had been wanting
and expecting on their return? Be-
sides, he should have some one to help
hunt hens nests and look for ducks
eggs in the water of the creek, where
they persisted in laying them if they
were not watched and shut up every
night.
A few DAYS after the return of Jennie
and Lucy the carpenters came and be-
gan work on the new house. All the
spring and summer they were busy;
and when they left, there stood in
front, and little above the old shanty,
! which was henceforth to be used for
fruit-paeklng and drying purposes. a
two-story frame house with green blinds
and a verandah on three sides; the
coolest, most comfortable, most hos
pitable-looking house you would see in
a months travel.
And no more hospitable family ever
lived than that which gathered about
the table of John and Martha Parsons.
and partook of the rich fruits and we'll
cooked meats and vegetables with
which it was daily spread.
No struggling miner. weary with
travel and wanting rest and food, ever
left their gate without at least silent
wish that blessings might descend and
rest upon the household.
The. occasional traveller through the
country on business or pleasure heard
of the Parsons ranch; its splendidly
titled acres; its luscious fruits and its
hospitable owners, miles before he
reached it, and travelled an hour later
that he might knock at its gates and
obtain permission to spend the night
beneath its broad roof.
i TO BE CONTINUED.