New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-08-19
THE DIXIE.
IuLY,s "REMINISCENCES OF JOEL

try dogday and had been glad to let the fire go
: out in our stove and had decided that we would
| rather cat bread and milk for our dinner than To
nrcparo ANYTHING more elaborate We wero In our
sitting ROOM which Is tho shady side OF the shanty.
The locality naturally varies with the sun. We were
foo tirrd even 10 read. II at such time that
wo saw Mrs Burns coming across the dixie, and again
, | she bore with her tin quart measure and paper
, | bag IL was hard TO think that now, whether We
would not, wo should be Obliged to learn how 10
| make bumonge.
The sound OF the moving machine again In tho
air. and Mr. Peaho himself enthroned upon the
machine. As he assured lis that no never had two
! ncrvo lacks very nigh together our spirits were
high in the hope that now our grass would soon DO
cut. cured and stored
| But there Mrs. Burns Truly, trials ever
present when she had waddlcd up to a speaking
distance she told us that We looked cool and COM
fDrt'blo cucumbers Why IS a cucumber chosen
as tho vegetable synonyme of comfort She informed
mat she had left her young man fast asleep after
a very wakeflil night, during which she had hardly
had a minutes peace.
81 tell him. sho said, sitting down heavily, that
guess trained wouldn't be broke Of her
rests be-h'mm-m, no, not as be-
Here she passed instantly into state Of deep medl
tation having put her measure Of milk on the ground
| beside her, where It would have been Immediately
examined by the terrier mad not forcIbly prevented
such examination. My friend after looking at our
guest for moments I'm silence, proposed that
| run away during this attack Of meditation tho
part of July Burns, and thus escape learning how to
make " bumonge." But had not tho moral courage
to do IT, afraid of offending Mrs. Burns, and
| knew that the whole hamlet would take offence
| through her AS 1t was, had a singing conviction
that noarly all the people near felt mild and pity
Ing contempt for us, arising, l think, the part OF
| the men In the fact that We, as females, were not
justified in getting In grass On the part of
tho women, fancy the contempt sprang up because
| we had no masculine protectors and had taken up
with pesly longhaired dog for lack of anything
| better And read many novels. You may
have noticed that among this kind OF
| people everything reads is novel
| Daniel Dcronda' and story By Mrs.
| southworth clsssed under one head, and you !
would be foolish indeed II you tried to show the
difference between these two writers. 1 fell into
such imbeciliiy once and, after having made somo |
remarks which I thought very clear this sub
jet to Mrs. Baker, she looked at sharply and |
asked II all them books want novels. She shut !
her mouth after leaving, said she thought SO, and |
said she had been brought up to believe novel was
a novel; there want any Of them true. subsc-
quonty learned that she had read one such work |
in carly girhood. This work T. s. Arthur's |
The Maid, Wife and Mothor7 This may have
been considered by her parents too stimulating to
tho mental faculties, for It was tho last one. To
spend your time a-rcadn' puts you in a low place
among such people. You might better be count
Ing beans from one hand 10 the Other, or slt abSO
lutcly idle in mind and body. And yet they we're
kind, and, being among them, l cared somewhat
for their good opinion. So we did run away
from Mrs Burns. though greatly tempted to do So
AS It turned out, were not compelled to tako
any lessons in cooking this time for when Mrs.
Burns reused herself she seemed disnclined to stir
She said she would leave the ard milk and
We might try It again, with a little moro Judgment
to moss
sho was sitting in our best camp chair and I
think She found very comfortable for she did not
She said her young had Just taken some
morfecn tho doctor had left for him, and as It
kind Of stiR dose she guessed he wouldn't need her
for good while. She seemed disposed to recall
memories of her earlier life, particularly memories
concerning her courshlp and marriage We had
heard rumors that Joel Burns was a poor thing In
every way, and that bis wife had had her trials"
Ho had been dead several years now, and his widow
had not vislbly pncd under tho affection.
She now sat, incllnlns forward as her CUSTOM
her heavy checks looking heavier than the
day, warm and sweet, began TO deepen toward noon.
There shrill and ncessant noise OF crickcts
the afr, and the sound Of the machine constant
ly coming and then reccding, as Mr. Peake
drove round dixie.
/ saw Mrs. Burns's PALE incxpressivc eyes wander
over tho scene. She hitched slightly in her chair,
and then said that, somehow, August days made her
hnk OF joel. Then she looked at and asked II ,
We ever seen joel; she s'posed We hadn't. No.
We had him. And neither OF us had ,
been merried neither, she thought likely. We re-
ucantly shook our heads in the negative. She
thought so; folks had told her wo hadn't been able =
% letch nobody "wau WALL with a slow shake 7
IF her head, I've been thinn Of Joel mighty strong
all day. q
She continued shaking her head and looking so @
retrospective that she asked some question con-
ernlng Mr. Burns She unds gilsedly grateful v
or tho chance TO go talking about him. sho said O
no had married Joel In August and had buried him y
n August, and SHE didn't know folks could think
1 strange II she thought of him in August. We told
that folks must be very unreasonable who could
hlnk strange OF anything like that. Fl
Ecus. II does so; ec-us. II does" she said c
But folks is peculiar, you'n find Cause joel fl
wasn't all he should be. 1t don't iolcr that shouldn't
hlnk of him no, It don't" q
Our silence assentcd to this remark After a \
moment she went on, with slightly apologize j.
Ter speaking in her slow way Il
i want much acquainted with Joel when merN b
fed him, though he'd been workn' round in the neigh Il
orhood chopin wood. He told me he had a chance Ii
o take farm where there old man and woman. n
led work the farm. and he'd bring HIS mother over Il
nd II I'd morry him HIS mOthcrd help do the work a
nd they'd all keep tho house. lie told me his
circumstances, but | told him mine. l told him /
vas poor my father and mother was poor, and l c.
admit no relative but what was poor was In hopes CT
ed tell me his circumstances; but led to be- IN
cvc he had money though he only said he going fC
bring his mother over how cOuld no bring her lie
ver II no hadn't money =" 0
/" ! want much acquainted with Jool when mar f.
We here interrupted to ask where the mother OF g,
Ir. Burns was then residing. We told that she
'as to be brought over" from Maine. We inwary 70
inquired why "over' instead Of cup for instance; 81
ut we would not puzzle friend with any such al
ucston, for VIC wero entirely willing that the elder ia
rs. Burns should be brought from Maine July be
ent m
Some folks did say that no had a little house over bI
here" lin Maino). "'N' he said to me- July what pi
you want me to git for you to go housekeepin' a
1thP Wouldn't you thought he'd had money II II
ed said that to you!n OF
Mrs Burns's eyes fixed me as sho unex- tr
ecedy put this question, and necessarily forced b,
try 10 IMAGINE Jnll Nnrns asking III Ic1at hn nr