New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-11-03
INEVITABLE.
A NEw-ENGLAND CHARACTER:

yong, They usually lived until past eighty. and
then were buried that knoll out there beyond the
cider orchard. That knoll had been the burial yard
Of the family for almost two hundred years. The
old sate-coored hosdstoncs slanted very much, and
the letters cue on them were filed IN with fne gray
lichens
Tho house much OF the color Of the most
ancient gravestones. It had beca painted. and
II was reshinged only when that process
ssry to preserve the weatherboaris. The last time
the carpenters had been there when Mehitable
was q small child, and she was beyond middle
ago
The building was so low-eaved IN front that II
appeared impossible that It could be any lower until
you walked round 10 the back and found that over
the Kitchen the roof still nearer to the earth.
In the summer it almost seemed IL the spearmnt
growing near the Kitchen door would touch the caves
so rankly 10 sped upward. That when Mehable
rased so many sunhowers, so that the hcns might
have the seed, those bold blossoms climbed up and
nodded their yellow heads together over the roof
| shingles
In her OF her poultry, Mehtsble was guided
good deal by the monthly periodical 20 wSich she
I subscribed, and which was devoted 10 the interests
Of fowl. One year this Journal advised every ono
who kept hens and wished to make any moncy on
| them TO be sure and plant great many sunSowcrs
as their seeds marvellous food. In pHnt OF
| fact hens that fed this kind Of nourishment
would be fat and glossy. and would lay in spite Of
| themselves.
! "Try them seeds on that old Plymouth Rock said
Mehitables mother; she amt laid for MORN year
Give her a good dose. II she lays sh'n believe
there's something In that receipt"
| "'Taint exactly what call receipt mother
| said Mehable, besitatngly.
They had washed the breakfast dishes and were
sitting down by the cook-stove q moment 20 waiIn
their feet before they began to straw. II was
about halfpast g. and was not yet very light. but
Mehitable had her spectaces and the hen-paper"
she called II, In her hand She had been 10 tho
potoic and the library at the village the day before
From the former place she had procured the hen
paper from the latter she had brought homo sirath
morcp
She had Just read aloud this article about sunfower
seeds and both the women had resolved to plant
"a LOTT
Mrs. Green had the best plge. directly in front Of
the stove. Her skirt turned up over her knees
and her stockinged feet were resting a much
dried pine board. which placed on the bottom
of the oven. Her daughters feet modestly on
the hearth where they could not receive half as
much heat but Mehitable did not expect 10 receive
heat anything.
It's no matter what you call IT, said Mrs. Green
with emphasis. al guess I'm old enough to know
what receipt is. Receipts Amt all for cakes N
cookies. That one you've Jest ben readin is foe
eggs, N well try IT,"
They did try 1t the very next spring. Their luck
with the sunfower crop prodgious. but as re.
garded the egg crop II not marked. For instance
no of seeds would make the Plymouth Rock
hen lay although that bird walked about the farm
as II she laid all the eggs that in the nests.
II was in the fall, after this experiment had been
made, that the hen-paper announced that there was
nothing bad to give hens as s,nfower seeds. Me-
hitable read these words while the two sitting
in the attitude in which they had read the
former item.
Mrs Green pushed the pine board violently further
he and Mehitabe
cation, that had got so now you couldn't
believe all you saw In print
| To this the elder woman made reply that " news
papers blameder fools than folks nowadays"
Then they from the stove and went % their straw
sewing
Mother and daughter looked upon their home
very desirable place OF residence There no
piazza porch, blinds. The little windows
with their white curtains stared mblinkingly through
the long, hot July days and the cold, short days OF
February. There not much passing Oh the
pike but once It had been the stage road from Bos.
ton TO Providence. There other roads now. be-
sides the railway. and tho pike deserted that II
had suspicion of grass each side of the horse track
which ran along the centre of It.
Mehitable and her mother would have been |
prised II any had suspected they lonesome.
"Wiy' said the glrl-her mother always spoke |
Of her as any CALF there amt nothn' else, |
there's always crows nyin' over the meddcr'
She might have added there always novels |
only she was shy OF speaking Of her novel reading.
Mrs Green, however. was proud Of that fact In her
gals history. "M'htable a great re1d'r' she |
would say "a great reader; n I'd know where she |
gIts 1t from Taint from me. for the Farnworths !
never read nothln; N 'tant from her father. for |
cart horses couldn't make him open book
Mrs Green always alluded to cart horses in this |
wav as IT, with the ordinary person, cart horses were
great incentives 70 reading.
IT wa, on Saturday afternoons. between and |
g o'clock. that Mehitable left her home to walk !
the milo that lay between that home and the village |
where she got her novels
It has struck a half hour ago and there she
is inst leaving the back door. She has on a long |
circular which Is made Of an alpsca shrt, j. wadded
with cotton batting and lined with black cambric
Her very soul had longed for farmers satin for the
lining of that circular. but she could not afford thar
Injury Every time she put the cloak She shook
ont before her. looked at the lining sadly imagined
What II might have been. then with sigh of resg
nation swung the garment over her thin. work.bent
shoulders In the Utmost rccesses OF her conscious
ness MehItable could not beat down the desire for
farmers satin for the lining. But. after the very
first. she never mentioned that desire. even when
her mother would say that the cambria did better
than she expected
, long white cloud Is twisted great many times
over Mehiables head. leaving unprotected the fore
head and portion Of the sandy gray hair Ihere Is
something overwhelmingly pathetic In the expression
across the brows and the eyclh' though the gray
evcs themselves look ont with q courage that has
A great deal of patience In II.
on her hands she has red miftens Knit by herself.
On her feet are congress boots and. except In dry
summer weather a large pair OF arctics'' artics'
she calls them. and i, entirely upset when they are
by any chance misplaced and she cannot md them
behind the wOodbox, where they usually stand
These arctics have a greatly maGnifynS effect. even
on small feet, but when Mehitable wears them one
might almost doubt II thin woman could LII
ANYTHING so large But she nops along with them.
kicking UP her circular on her heels as she Co.'s
She always carries her books In much
leather reticule which opens and shuts with loud
srsn Freoueutly when there is crowd at the
library the attendant will hear that snap somewhere
IN the room and will know that Miss Green los como