Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1889-12-19
A NICE OLD WOMAN"
How John Dalton Came to Marry
His Washer w oman.
"oh. dear,n

ooh, dear!"
twas pretty little face which was
all puckered up into such lot of wor-
ried little wrinkles; pretty in spite Of
the shadow of care in the fair blue eyes,
and the tired drop at the corner Of the
girlish mouth The owner of the face
and the wrinkles and the blue eyes and
the mouth in question was a slight,
rather delicate-looking girl of about
eighteen, who stood, attired in faded
calico dress, in the doorway of small
wood-colored cottage Tor cabin" as
they more truthfully call such edifices
in the mountains) looking out at the
sunny slope of the road before her.
Two fresh-faced smiling girls of her
own age had just gone by, stopping to
say pleasant word or two as they
passed; and the sight of their pretty,
though simple, lawn dresses and float
ing ribbons had brought, as they de-
parted those worried wrinkles to the
face that should have been as bright as
theirs, and the impatient exclamation
with which our story begins to her gem
orally accomplishing lips.
As q general thing Phrosy Miller (she
was Euphrosyne by rights, through the
instrumentality of her father, who had
found the name in his somewhat limited
reading, and had delighted in its long
drawn sweetness) was a very cheerful
and contented girl in spite of the
troubles and hard work that had come
into her young life so early; but, just at
present, there was something especial
upon her mind, and that was the COM
ing picnic.
1t was to be in just four weeks from
to-day, and all the girls were going; and
she, who had stayed at home so much
and So patiently for the last year. felt as
though she really must go. too, But
how? That was the question that
brought the worried little wrinkles to
the front so conspicuously All the girls
We're going to have new lawn dresses
and fresh ribbons for the occasion, and
do up" her blue muslin as best she
could land she was something wonder
full in the laundress line, all her neigh
bors said,) it would not look any way
but old and faded; and her ribbons
well, her small stock thereof had been
cleaned AMI dyed and done over" so
often that they were merely travesty
upon their kind. OF course new dress
and the requisite adornments would cost
very little. but, as Phrosy said, tersely
but truly: IF diamonds could be bought
for nickel apiece and one didn't have
nj oil rIyts no. -,
Of it?'
Money had been very tight in the
Miller family ever since Mr.. Miller's
long illness, ending in his death, had
put the little household under load of
debt which seemed at first simply over
whelming.
Ben Miller-a wild and reckless young
fellow he had been while his father was
we'll and strong and able to care for the
mother and sister-had steadied down
wonderfully and taken the burden of
existence on his shoulders patiently and
manfully. Mrs. Miller and Phrosy had
economical in every way, even to the
extent of taking some of the many
woodchoppers about as boarders, and
they had worked carly and late, and
sewed and denied themselves until the
debt was pal |, and the future began to
look a little brighter Then fate
frowned on them once again. Mrs. Mil
Ter, large. heavy and somewhat I'M
wieldy woman. in going down the back
steps one day made a misstep and fell,
receiving an injury to her hip which
made her utterly helpless. Since then
Phrosy had found life harder than ever.
Additional doctor bills piled in upon
them; Mrs Miller, instead of helping as
before. was now as helpless as baby and
so nervouSly irritable that keeping
boarders longer was an impossibility
even had Phrosy been able to do the
work So it was that every cent that
came into the family had to be earned
by Ben; and SO it was that the new
lawn dress, so ardently desired, seemed
to be among the impossibilities of exist
ence, for Ben's wages were small at best
and there were at least dozen ways for
every dollar.
And Phrosy thought altogether too
much of her patient and kind-hearted
brother, who denied himself so much to
keep her and his invalid mother from
want to add to his burdens by telling
him her Own troubles.
"If thee was only something that l
could do myself to earn little money!"
she said to herself "but there doesn't
seem to be. Mother wouldn't hear to
my running the machine steadily, even
if could get sewing to do and there is
al. L .l..rr. Z
guess" And, signing heavily, Phrosy
turned to enter the house in answer TO a
fretful call from within, but as she did
so her eyes fell upon the clOthes-line in
the side-yard.
'In one minute, mother" she said,
cheerily flor no matter how down-heart-
ed Phrosy was she never forgot TO be
kind and patient with the mother who
had been kind and patient with her for
so many years. III just bring Ben's
shirts in as come by-they're all ready
to raw-starch and can iron them by the
supper fire."
How white and clean and sweet they
were! As Phrosy gathered them into q
stiffly-awkward bundle in her arms she
could not help bending her head TO in
hale the smell OF outdoors las she
called it, that came from them.
"They smell differently from Chinese
washing" She thought. There's one
thing certain poor as we are, Ben's
shirts are always the incest done up in
town. and then as that thought passed
through her mind it left an inspiration
behind it.
That night after supper when Ben
was resting. himself from his days labor
by ''puttering" around the chicken
house and backyard generally, and Mrs.
Miller was chatting with neighbor
who had OPPORTUNITY dropped in, Phro-
sy, pleading an errand at the store,
slipped away from them all and proceed
ed to put her inspiration to the test of
practically.
cit might be a good idea, said kindly
Mrs. Jenkins. to whom she had gone in
her emergency. "but there's 50 many o
them plaguey Chinese around that it
brings prices down dreadful. and most
folks don't care how thing is done 80 it
is done cheap"