River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1886-06-17
POWER OFPATIENCE.
was the last straw, that was.

But no woman would know what
that means without explanation. though
Thousand, have been in my place.
You see. when Tom and were mar
ricd. it was no trouble for me to keep
house Everything seemed TO stay
clean and stay in its place. and grow
pret,icr and sweeter and more home
Ike every day. How my flowers did
hIoom my birds sing my plants thrive,
The lie in my little aquarium was ever
~ and delight; our little meals
were 80 cosy. eaten beside the open
window. or from a server on our laps
g. we sat i'm the grape arbOr or under
the elm. or on one of the little porches
among; the vines, Oar evenings. with
one IF us reading aloud. were filed
with delight. and our DAYS were like
avs in a siory-bo0k, with the charmed
influence Of fairy over all.
When the twins were born. the sweet
,nIjru was 80 new and so heavy that
We We're compelled to have help A
-raight black-eyed girl she was, who
spelled her bomely name '.Naneie. 3"
81 cieaEly. that her keen eve watched
every movement of ours. lest we disar-
range something. If we spilled water,
she -creamed in fear il might have been
grease; il We drank from the dipper,
she washed and dried IT. lest it rust; if
we opened the window for fresh air.
She closed it for fear the dust would
come in. Among her whims and signs
and superstitions We're some of the
drOllest, oldest things that any mortal
could imagine.
We shuddered over the cooking;
everything was fried, and fried in lard
everything was short and greasy and
strong and unwholesomc. .Nancie''
was girl of few words, though she
was always in 4 humble with herself.
In answer 10 our. Were you speak
ing 10 me?'' she invariably said, oh.
was only tockin' to my own self. :
We rot along with our help peat aIbly
until we found her one day dipping
fine sand out of the aquarium to scOUr
the bottoms of the cooking pots and
the bakc-panS. We were Mortified.
That beautiful sand we brought from
the shores Of Lake Champlain. and
from the banks of the beautiful little
lakes on The peninsular shores of
Michigan.
We said. How did you come to use
that particular sand2" And the
smoothly drawn ont reply was:
= Cause itlooks SO clean-likc. and as if
IL would take a good holt Oh, I've
used il freckweutly, and there is
nOthin better for Scrapin' out burnt
kittle than some Of them nice shells in
that ii~h-box"
My beautiful shells that / had gath
cred at She old ancestral home, every
one of them So sacred that Just loved
to handle them and look upon them
aud think over the stories they told me
Of other days and other homes.
And 80 in gentle way we relieved
Miss Nancy Legg. and We hired our
washing done. aud we divided the ba-
PLAYED keep house, and were happy.
and under .he dominant hand OF no ig-
HOraut task mistress.
But when the next baby came, we
were again brought under the rule of
a new mistress. and this one was a
sul5y girl, who charged extra for every
hour past seven in the evening. She
wanted 10 be called Miss Evangelinc;
to have company two evenings of the
week; to 90 visiting Aunt Becca Satur-
dav afternoons. aud TO have another
room besides the best one uD stairs.
Her trunk was twice as big rs mine
and held all her possessions. even down
10 TIE pink and white shepherdess with
her crook over her bare shoulder
Private wUrship' was one Of her
points She sang hymns through her
dOublc-barrel nose that would
have shamed the poor old godly pioneer
preachers OF seventy years ago. the
dear old men called of the Spirit from
the pillow and the anvil TO preach the
everlasting gospel She wheezed ike
old machinery when she sang.
Very often she would .'wurship" be-
side the open window. and her voice
would go out like tallv-ho shout over
the bottom fields away TO the butter-nut
woods and the swamps beyond, where
the darkness was starred by the Gin
ting wings OF the myriads of fire flies.
The coon hunters have often heard her
ascending petitions, and the owls an
Swcred back from the hollow syca-
mOres. The eXacting rule of her life
was al bound round by nosey .prairs, -
singing Of hymns, eNhortatiOns, and
go meetin' y Only for her sullen
spells. Miss Evangeline" would have
filled the requirements. and we would
have kept her. She smoked a pipe aS
had her grandmother before her. but
this she did for wind on the stomach
and "a pain in the chest.
am afraid was not very patient.
could not endure contrary winds very
well. 80 we managed to get on awhile,
hut felt a scowl trying to find a place
in my viSage all the time. Isaid:
Tom. dear. | want to grow old
( gracefully and | cannot DO i: with this
misfortune. ike a cloud. over me all
/ the time.
I SO were glad when Evangeline' ;
I grandmother had crack in her back
and the girl was needed at home.
The next girl was an uniformed,
growing creature. with restless blue
eyes and pretty, plump cheeks. who
walked with stumpy, humping tread,
and her fault-what q funny, foolish
I fault it was. and one that we never
/ haG dreamed of-was that Of chewing
gum all tie me. Morning, noon and
night her fat jaws We're going. like
slow machinery. continually. She
we ld stand before me. look at me,
/ listen TO me. answer nue. stolidly. ash
questions. ~areive directions. and AL