St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1886-01-30
FAMILY FINANCES.
Mrs. Finn Lays Siege to Mixes
Heart and Pocket.

A big brown beetle blundered against
a window OF the Finn shanty as the
shadow Of the tall chimney on the lime
mill was thrown over Browns pond by
the setting sun, and, after humming q
lively tune against resonant whole
pane, stumbled through broken one
into the meshes of Mrs. Finn's black
hair. Mrs. Finn was seated before the
fire, with her elbows resting on hel
knees, and evidently thinking of some
very serious matter, as she paid no at.
tention to the beetle. which vainly
strove to liberate its serrated legs from
their environment. The tame crow
sat on the back of chair. and re-
garded the insect as bit of mamma
sent down to be transformed into crow
meat. The beetle struggled, the crow
waited for him to get free, and Mrs.
Finn thought harder than ever how to
regain control of her husband, who
had unreasonably assumed that. as he
was the bigger and stronger of the two,
he must of necessity possess more ex-
ecutive ability than his wife. This
reasoning Mrs. Finn had proved to be
fallacious, at least to the satisfaction
of Mrs. O'Brien, who had called on the
previous day to sell a rattle ticket for
Mrs. Malone's bedstead.
Its yourself knows well. Mrs.
O'Bricn, there's ne 'er saviner woman
than me on Cooney island-savin' yer
prisince-but Mike is afther thinkin'
he can buy more wild the money than
meself, SO he's carrying the money in
his blessed pants pockets; an if rattle
tickets was sellin' fur two cints a dozen
it's meself wouldn't have that much
money as 'ud buy a straw in the Wildly
Malone's bed
Mrs. Finn had been sitting still for
half an hour. The heat of the fire was
very grateful on the chill October night.
and she began to feel drowsy As she
looked dreamily into the crate through
half-closed eyelids she saw coming out
of the embers a spawned mule. which
was also \. 11 .sl1. broken. and whose pain
iui Wheeling SEEMED to impart an add
ed brightnessJet the Goals. Upon the
rule hack IF ]. Young man. whose
welf saitzfranie vas covered with an
ill-ii,ting pair of trousers and a blue
shirt. But what bright eyes he had,
and how they danced in the freight!
And what happy smile riplded over
his face when he saw the young girl
standing on the bridge awaiting him!
Now he is off the mules back in a
twinkling, and-yes, he is trying to kiss
her. Then gently protesting voice
stole out of the CRATE:
''Arrah. 90 way wild yer foolishnesS,
Nike then. in whisper: Mrs.
Fogerty's lookin' over tn back fince,"
BY this time tue brown beetle had be-
come hopelcssl, entanglcd and the crow
had fallen asleep.
When Mrs. Finn had wiped her eyes
she looked into the CRATE again. and
saw that the youn. girl was riding the
mule, while the young man led the ami
NAL. The Queen of Sheba, no doubt.
had Drawer palfrey. but no more
knightly attendant. and her cheeks
could have borne no more roscate a
tinge when she met the King than that
on the face of the girl as she sat upon
the spawned canal mule and cautioned
her lover 10:
~Walk him aisy, Mike. dear; bekase
se know well I'm afeard he might run
AVA. Il possibility which was further
away than the North Pole.
The fire was burning low in the
crate, but Mrs. Finn could see the
mule stop before an old red Barn She
saw. the girl loosen her hold of the
mules name and drop TO the ground.
-hhlie the mule was eating hay be-
tween his whcczes, the couple seated
themselves on the grass beside the
stable door, and the young man told OF
his race over the twenty mile level up
the canal with Paddy Feenan.
''ie wouldn't think. Biddy, whin
yc're lookin' at tn ould meulc as she
had that strin'th as 'ud pull hay out o
tn rack, but you tie her on the ind iv
a tow-line. an give her gintle dig in
tn ribs wild spade, or anything
handy, an she'll pull yer boat out o
the wather."
The fire was burning very low and
the voices sounded faint to Mrs. Firms
listening ear. The flame burned up
brightly for a moment. fiickered and
suddenly went out. The vision had
departed. Mrs. Finn bathed her
flushed face and in arranging her hair
she discovered the beetle. She placed
IT upon the window, whence it fell out
ON the grouud. Mrs. Finn put on a
dress which closely rtsembled the one
which the young girl had worn when
she rode the mule. Peasant thoughts
had coniurcd up the lsselight into her
eyes. Experience b n taught her that
there are more vul erablee parts in a
married mans ana my than his heart.
Proiiting by this knowledge, she boiled
i salt mackerel, toasted some bread,
boiled scme potatoes until they burnt