The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1888-07-12
CHAPTER VIII.

tuCA 0uiuCAS Va HuiIS anu b 0IASs
CHAPTER VIII.
COMFORTABLE HOME.
'.Looks sort Of showcry like" said
John Parsons, coming into the shanty
the day before the girls were to 60 to
Sacramento, and finding them and their
mother with eyes which gave evidence
of weeping, packing up their wardrobcs
preparatory 20 starting.
Il believe shall cry myself If you
wilnin folks don't stop lookin' SO sick
like about the mouth. You don't want
TO see IN old man like me cry, do YOU,
now?"
''Come. mother, cheer up. You know
the girls II be in good hands, that IL treat
'cm well and let Us know if anything
happens 'cm. faint fer very long any
wav; only . few months, an / was
gone from you all more than six years,
and If hadn't left you we wouldn't
have had this ranch to-day, which will
soon be the finest in the whole country;
worth all the hard work and suflerin'
we've gone through.
AT least" he added, meditativcly.
las well worth it as anything that poor
!
"And here's Johnny, he's houscful
Of himself, amt you, Johnny? You
won't let mother and me git lonesome.
will your"
But the youngster had caught the in
lection of tears, and his fathers forced
attempt at being jocular could not re-
move the feeling of coming loneliness
that was casting its shadow before. and
he stood still and looked silently at the
preparations for the departure of his
| sisters with an expression on his face Of
sadness ana half Of baby wisdom. rs if
he halted between sorrow for the COM
ing loss of the girls and regrets that his
parents had no better Judgment than to
permit their going.
The morrow saw them depart. A few
months later, a beautiful day in spring
saw them return, improved in mind and
appearance from the contact with those
whose thoughts and deeds had sought.
or were seeking, a different channel
than that to which their own had been
confined.
If John Parsons had been proud of
his girls before, he was doubly SO now;
for he could not fail to see that associ-
alton with peopl, education had CIV
en- an added grace to the body as well
As the mind. And, unwitsingly per-
haps, the young people Of the ncighbor-
hood showed them trific more defer
ence than was usually given to those Of
their own age and condition in life.
This difference was in no sense obse-
quiousness; it was but the natural OK
preston of that respect which all. even
those least ambitious of excellence, feel
for others who are known to be striv-
ing to make themselves wiser and bet
ter.
Mrs. Parsons was not less pleased than
her husband. She also noticed the es-
TEEN in which her girls were held by
young and old; and that while they
aided as willingly and cheerfully in the
household work, or in that of the vine-
yard and orchard, as ever they had
done, they saw that the performance Of
manual labor alone was not all their
| duty to themselves and to society. but
that the mind and the heart were en-
titled to consideration as well as the
body.
As for Erastus, he felt a little shy
when he welcomed the girls on their re-
turn. True, he kissed both Jennie and
her sister, but somehow it was not the
hearty kind of q smack with which he
had hidden them goodbye, and be held
Lucy's hand while he kissed her. instead
of giving her hug as he had done the
morning they left
As for Johnny, he was in ccstac:cs;
for had not the girls brought him half
dozen things that he had been wanting
and expecting on their return? Be-
sides. he should have some one to help
hunt hens nests and look for ducks
eggs in the water of the creek, where
they persisted in laying them If they
were not watched and shut up every
night.
A few days after the return of Jennie
and Lucy the carpenters came and be-
gan work on the new house. All the
spring and summer they were busy;
and when they left, there stood in
front, and little above the old shanty,
which was henccforth to be used for
fruit-packlng and drying purposes, a
twO-story frame house with green blinds
and verandah on three sides; the
coolest, most comfortable, most hos
pitable-looking house you would see in
= months travel.
And no more hospitablc family ever
lived than that which gathered about
the table of John and Martha Parsons,
and partook of the rich fruits and we'll
cooked meats and vegetables with
which it was daily spread.
No struggling miner, weary with
travel and wanting rest and food, ever
left their gate without at least Il silent
wish that blessings might descend and
rest upon the household.
To ramble about the broad porch
and through the open rooms. or to
gather around cheerful fire in the
wide crate in the sitting room, came
both the young and the old of the
neighborhood.
The occasional traveller through the
country on business or pleasure heard
of the Parsons ranch; its splendidly
titled acres; its luscious fruits and its
hospitable owners, miles before he
reached it, and travelled an hour later
that he might knock at its gates and
obtain permission to spend the night
beneath its broad roof.
lTo BE CONTINUED.
Chickens, two minutes after they
have left the eggs, will follow with