Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1888-01-21
PAYING THE DEBTS.

farm, his loose dress displaying to adj
vantage the tall, muscular figure, and
broad, straw hat shaded a hand
some face. The hands that guided
the pillow were strong, but whittier and
more delicate than such pursuits usu-
ally allow.
Daisy Hale sat watching him. Her
dress was print, but made with
fiounces and ruffles. Her short, gol-
den hair was curled into fringe over
her forehead, and gathered in long
curls into a comb behind, above
which was very jaunty hat, covered
with puffs of white muslin and bows
of blue ribbon.
Presently the farmer drew near
her, and stopping his horses while he
leaned indolently against the pillow.
"You look deliciously cool under
this great tree" he said. "And-
hem-very much dressed for nine
o'clock in the morning!"
"In fivepenny calicow she said
contemptuou, ly. "When are you
coming in ?"
"At noon, to dinner"
ats too absurd" she broke out,
angry tears in her eyes, "for you to
be doing the work of a laboring man!
l thought when you came home
from college you would do some
thing besides work on farm"
"And let the farm go to ruin. That
would be a poor way to pay my
debts"
"Your debts!" she said, looking
astonished. "Do you owe debts~
Certainly! You and are both
very heavily in debt, Daisy. l think
when Aunt Mary took us in, poor lit
tie orphans, 1 her nephew, you her
second cousin"
'Third COUSIN" she interrupted,
"since you are so particular! l know
what you mean, but am very sure
that Aunt Mary never intended us to
drudge on the horrid old farm ~
"Do you know that all the money
she has saved in a life of hard work
was spent upon our education? and
she has nothing now but the farm
Are you blind that you cannot see
how the four years she has been alone
here have aged her? While we were
living at ease at college and school
she has toiled for us until she il
wearied out"
"But you could send her money, i
you were in the city in some gentle
manly occupation"
perhaps so, ten or twelve year.
from now. Today / propose to worl
this farm and see how many bushels
of corn / can raise on it."
"He might as well have said wha
;, he meant" she thought, springinl
down and starting for the house. "H
thinks ought to cook, and wash ,anC
=, make butter and work like servan
girl, when / have studied so hard ant
tried to make myself a lady, that h
might not be ashamed of me-"
And yet in her heart, she knew
=, that he was ashamed of her, and tina
- she deserved it. She was not all sci
u fishness and heartlessness, thoug
7 there had grown thick crust of bot
Z over her better nature. Her ideas {
y ladies and gentlemen depended large
ly upon clothing and pursuit, and sh
u had not yet quite realized how niue
{ more nearly Johns standard reache
l. the desired point than her own.
AS she drew near the house tn
sting of Johns words penetrated MOI
IL and more through the crust she ha
a drawn over her heart, until a fres
e stab met her at the door. Lookin
q in at the open door she saw whit
" head bowed in weeping, slight FL
a ure shaken by sobs. Quickly she WI
q on her knees beside the low chair, hit
y arms around the weeping woman.
"a 80, Aunt Mary, what is it? Oh
10 please don't cry 80! Oh, what hi
ID happened?"
lie "Why, Daisy DEAR" through sol
* that would not be checked at a m
II ment's notice-'don't mind me. II
es only tired, dearie-only tired"
az Tired! At seventy, housewol
Q, does become a WEAKNESS! She w
W very tired, this patient old woma
a who had given her ife's work f
'l' others; first, for her parents; the
Il; for an invalid brother; lastly, for Il
re orphan children; with other inn
us merable acts of neighborly kindnes
a 1t was new to her to be caressed,
&C. have tender hands lead her to h
H. | nanv, orA INnoO,1 H., l.ono a.