St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1888-11-15
Tke GaIedonian.
SEMPER PARATUS.
a Bit of Real Experience in a Southern,
Home.

cutcheOn has borne these potent words,
semper Pdrdtus. Perhaps you will not
mind my telling how l came to adopt
this legend. 1t was the direct outcome
of the most bitter experience that
have known in all my seven years of
housekeeping. | think it was on the
eighteenth of last December that | re-
ceived letter from my husbands only
sister Marion. Among other items she
wrote: 81 want to bring our Yankee
cousin to you for the holidays. She is
anxious to see all phases of our South
ern life, and Christmas is such a stupid
+ time when there are no children in the
h household. So if it suits you write at
once and We'll come on the twenty
+ third and stay with yOu through the
E New Year.
OF course | wrote by return mail
that we should be delighted to have
the joys of the holidays thus enhanced.
and in my husbands early boyhOod lie
had been kindly entertained in this
cousins northern home. | had never met
her and Ralph's memories of her were
e rather haZy, but we were prepared to
welcome her with the old time South
ern cOrdiality. | had just five days to
not go to sleep the night the letter
came for planning. | must get the
q yard cleaned up, the house in perfect
order from garnet to cellar. Our cousin
Juliet was maiden lady and of
Quaker extraction. She would be sure
to notice anything amiss. | arranged
the bill of fare for the Christmas din
ner. The turkey was already fatten-
a ing in the coop, and the mince meat
WAS in its prime made by mothers old
recipe. There was fruit cake too |
had kept since Thanksgiving. | even
settled the little presents the children
would give the guests, and in lmaglna-
ton | already saw the little home all
aglOw with light and beautiful in its
simple adOrnmeDt of holly and mistle-
toe. The next morning began on the
4 yard. A week of rain and wintry
winds had carpeted the sOftened ground
with the last dead leaves. With the
help of my cooks little boy these were
raked up and hauled away to the sta
BILE yaId. / swept the walks myself,
and | suppose the excessive dampDess
penetrated my rubbers, for on the fol-
lowing Sunday morning | found myself
stiff and sore and the victim of a dread
fnl attack of neuralgia. L lay still all
day cOngratulating myself that the
yard was ready for inspection. |
would be better on the morrow and |
would have three whole days, but alas!
both Monday and Tuesday passed and
| still grOaned in spite of hot lemonade
and dose after dose of quinine.
Wednesday morning | woke free from
the miserable pain i'll one eye and |
was up betimes. | had still twelve
hours. A postal from Marion the
night before announced that our guests
would be with us at six p. III. | wish
L could hope to make you realize the
condition of things below stairs when
| crept feebly down to breakfast. Ny
cook was a good natured mulatto wOm-
an of middle age, and ranked above
the average as servants go these days.
With me doing the house work and SUI
pervising the kitchen and dining room
she was quite success, but without
me Omy Northern sisters, if you had
seen the havoc my brief illness had
made, am sure you would have shed
tears of hearty sympathy. | fear mine
mingled with the cup of coffee | forced
down. What could | doq How was |
in my weak state to bring order out of
all this chaos
Well after the table was cleared
away and Ralph had given me a pitt
full kiss and departed, | sent the cook
out to hire an extra hand and plunged
boldly into the midst of the dreadful
disorder. The cook | retired to the
shades of the kitchen with the materi-
ais for three large cakes. L had told
Ralph to get his dinner down town.
The children and | would eat a lunch,
and save ourselves for the extra nice
supper that would await our friends.
By eleven we had accomplished won
ders, and as | needed new rug for the
spare room and some fresh ribbons for
the scarfs and few more dainty dish
es for the table, | thought L would run
down now and do all my Christmas
shopping. | dreaded it, for the streets
are so full and you have to push your
way through and wait SO long before
any one has time to serve you. L had
nv memorandum all made out, and
leaving the busting, and the polishing
of CRATES and Tenders and the rubbing
of the silver to the 'eXtra,' | was off.
| caught il car very quickly for once,
and found what | wanted with far
less trouble than | anticipated. Ralph
had promised to provide the Santa
Claus treasures, and by one O'Clock L
own little gifts safe in my pocket and
my arms full of holly and mistletOe
just from the mountain side. The
vases must he filled and some arrang-
ed round the chandeliers. The child
rem must be fed, the baby put to sleep,
and then | could rest and be fresh to
dress them and myself, make the salad
and the oyster soup for tea and be all
ready tn give smiling greeting to the
guests and Ralph at early nightfall.
Little Bess came running to meet
me. In her hand she held a yellow
envelope, that suggested a telegram.
Oh me. Were they not coming after
all my work 1t came just after left,
Bessie explained / tore it open.
Look for us at one thirty instead of
SIX it said. | took out my watch.
In half an hour the train was due l
was dazed for minute. Then | as
tonished Bessie by sitting down in the
first chair and bursting into tears
and sobs. The cook had followed
Bessie and now came forward to in
quire with sincerest sympathy who
was dead | came very near saying
that wished | was, but | thought OF
Bess and refrained. The baby was
putting his little sticky hands all over
me by this time, and in all my life
had never seen the little things Sc
dirty. They had evidently been eat
ing out of the cake bowls and playing
in the polish pan. The extra hand
had been resting and talking to the
cook ever since | left. There was just
as much to be done except she haC
made a hepinninp on the silver anC