The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1890-01-23
IN
"A NICE OLD WOMAN
How John Dalton Came to Marry
His Washer Woman.
Oh. dearin

Itwas pretty little face which was
all puckered up into such a 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
giriish 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
weod-colored cottage Tor cabin as
they more truthfully call such edifces
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 c..ory begins to her gen.
orally uncomplainipg lips.
As a 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 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. z
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
were going to have new lawn dresses
and fresh ribbons for the occasion, and
do up" her blue muslin as best she
could tand sle was something wonder
ful In the laundress line, all her neigh
bors said,) it would not look any way
but old and faded; and her ribbons
we'll, her small stock thereof had been
cleaned and dyed and dome 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
the nickel, where would be the comfort
Of it?n
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 early and late, and
sewed and denied themselves until the
debt was paid, 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 misstep and fell
receiving an injury to her hip which
made her utterly helpless. Since then
Phrosy had found life harder than ever.
a Additional doctor bills piled in upon
y them; Mrs. Miller, instead of helping as
\ l,~1x.e III 4
30 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 a dozen ways for
every dollar.
And Phrosy thought altogether too
much Of her patient and kind-hearted
brother, who denied himself 80 much to
keep her and his invalid mother from
want, to add to his burdens by telling
him her own troubles.
III there was only something that /
could do myself to earn little money .
she said to herself, shut there doesn't
seem to be. Mother wouldn't hear to
my running the machine steadily, even
II could get sewing to do, and there is
nothing else. It's hopeless case, j
guess" And, signing heavily, Phrosy
turned to enter the house in answer to a
fretful call from within, bnt 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 foi
20 many ysArs). nsI'll just bring Ben's
shirts n - come by--thsy'rs ~ reads