The Press., 1890-07-31
BEING ENGAGED.


 Wien Mehitable's mother leaned on the chair back and looked at her daughter, after the departure of Parrot Smith, that daughter felt that she would almost be willing to forego the pleasure of hearing a man ask if he might come to see her Sunday night, if that pleasure were to result in such a gaze as this She could not account for her suffering from such guilty feeling when she was not guilty of anything, unless it were of being so at tractive that gentleman desired her society At this thought she sblushed, and then conl- mon sense whispered to her that she was not attractive.
 It was of no use to try to look her mother in the face, and she gave up the attempt After terrible silence Mrs Green cried out:
 II neverl l declare never didl"
 Mehitable trembled.
 'He was a-weighin' the roosters," she said, feebly.
 ''He want, a-weighin' no .roosters when you m he was stan'in by the fence, without bein' nigh no roosters," was the stern reply.
 Mehitable felt that there was nothing for her to say, and so she said nothing. She only tried to hold herself so that her mother should be as little aggravated as possible
 "Has that man buried his second wifeY" "He has"
 "Oh, gracious landl"
 Here Mrs Green deliberately withdrew her hands from the back of the chair, sat down in that chair, and then, with ostenta- tious carefulnesS, began to unt@ the hand kerchief from her head and to fold it on her knees. When she had done this, she looked up at her girl and made this inquiry: "When d. he bury hera"
 About six months ago."
 hoo c1v, 2
 "I s'pose so," dejectedly came from Mehit- able's lips. *
 The poor thing was endeavoring to brace herself in some way She knew that she had a right to receive MT. Smiths addresses, but this knowledge was of singularly little avail to her.
 She was immensely astonished and indefin- ably alarmed when her mother said, rising to her feet as she spoke
 "We mustn't be a foolin' here if we want to get them bunnits sewed fore the man comes" .. 5.9@E
 Mehitable eagerly sat down to the straw work For two hours she expected, every time her mother opened her lips, to hear something more of the dread subject. But no, Mrs. Green was remarkably amiable, and ''the gentlemen" were not mentioned in any way.
 
 It will be guessed that Mrs. Green had not only inherited the Farnsworth look, but the Farnsworth shrewdness as we'll What she said to herself was: ''H I~go aginst that Parrot Smith, she'll take up all the more for him, so I'll hold my tongue"
 She was one of those exceptional women who, having resolved to hold her tongue, can do so.
 Thus it came to be Saturday night. When Mehitable went upstairs to her cold and dis nal room, she stood with her small kerosene lamp in her hand before her foot-square look ing glass. She was meditating the act of doing her hair up in .''crimps D.. She had not hitherto had any occasion for crimps, but it seemed to her now that the time had come for this adornment. When she had gone to the library that afternoon she had stopped into the store and bought pair of crimping pins. These instruments were shaped like very stout hair pins, each furnished with a slide which confined the hair. When she had come into the house she had felt as if her mother could see these articles, although they were wrapped up at the bottom of her pocket, and her circular was over her pocket She never felt exactly certain how far her mothers knowledge extended.
 It was cold in her chamber The wind made loud whistling when it was that side of the house. At this moment, however, the occupant of the room. was not cold. She looked at herself full front, quartering, and tried to see her face in profile, with but poor success Finally, she set down the lamp, with dreary sigh.
 'I'm jest a fright, that's what I be-" she said aloud. < N
 She held the criInping pins for long time in her hand She wondered how they would make her look. Sine wished her mother were going to stay over Sunday somewhere, and then she, Mehitable, might experiment with those pins. But her mother never went away. She was always there to oversee every thing. Mehitable shuddered at the thought of what might be said when her hair was seen done up in those pins.
 Then kind of convulsion of courage came to her, and she did what she believed to be the bravest act of her life. She twisted her hair up in those instruments, and without waiting to consider what she had done or what she should do on the morrow, she hurricdly crept to her bed. EFF
 When she went down stairs the next morning, Mrs Green did not seem to see that her girl had her head bound up in a handker- chief which carefully concealed her brows. The excessive suitability continued even up to the time when Mehitable came from her room after their late dinner, in her best black woolen dress and with 8 wavy fluff of iron gray hair over her forehead. That Mrs. Green experienced shock at that mo- ment cannot be doubted, but she did not make it manifest. fa
 The two women sat in the kitchen The elder one had book of the Psalms, in very large print, open on her lap. She appeared to be reading diligently. The younger was holding Bible, but she did not even make the pretense of perusing it. She was think ing that the fire was ready to ''touch off'' in the sett'n' room stove, and wondering how long it would be before the room would be warm if MT. Smith should come. And if he came, what would he say? She had done the barn chores full half hour earlier than she had ever done them before, and her mother had made no remark.
 If he came, what would he say7 This ques- tion recurred again and again. She could not, by any possibility, put it from her mind It hummed over and over in her thoughts.
 It is pitiable to have to relate that Mehit- able had never had Sunday night company" in all her life. She had hay belief that this was very sad fact, and she hoped that it might never be said with truth of her again
 Surely somebody had driven into the yard; somebody said "Whoa" very loudly and en- phatically.
 ''I guess we're goin' to have callers, M'hit- able," said Mrs. Green sweetly. ''You run right m light the sett'n room stove, m I'll go to the door,"
 While Mehitable was lighting the stove" her mother ushered into the kitchen Mir. Al phonso Smith. He said he guessed he 'might s well take out his hoss 'n' stan it in the barn, as twas kinder bitin' out"