Wichita eagle., 1890-02-09

rose bloom on her cheek and deeper
crimson than usual on her lips made her
look Like flower with a white hood ON.
She was evidently much engrossed by
some new thought or plan, for she did
not stoop to pat the old yellow dog who
raised himself on his fore legs and slob-
bered q welcome as he hay in the sun
shine; nor did she notice the threat
ening scream of a hen hawk that circled
high in air above her tiny brood of
early chickens; or even look at the golden
crocus that had sprung from the black
mold of her posy bed, cup of sudden
sunlight since last night; but took her
way round to the back door, for nobody
IN New England country villages uses
the front door, except for weddings and
funerals. Many a house have | seen
whose entire front half, with its darkened
and musty parlors, and it's ''spare cham
berS' smelling of i'll dried feathers, fen
mel and green mold, might have been
sliced away and carried off, nowise to
the detriment, and perhaps even without
the knowledge of the inhabitants behind.
So Sally followed the worD foot track,
past scraggy hlacs and sprawling Gin
namon rose bushes, round the house,
and went in TO the door of the back
litchen, where at the sink her mother
stood chopping some cold potatoes. Sally
was an only child, but her mother was
50 haunted by the one fear of spelling
lIar that she sometimes waa; too far the
other way. The poor little girl was
't;ltored." as she said, till she was weary
and aching-aching for a little of the
leep, real love that lay hidden away in
per mothers heart, very much as the
pest parlo- and bedroom were shut up;
here, no doubt, bat useless and unseen.
To-day. as usual, the first words were re-
roof:
81 told YOU there wis too mani per
,aters biled yesterday. Sally, n now I've
got to chop 'eln for dinner, and chopped
pertater amt real good lo1r a s..lt beef;
you ii on 5ht to be more cpnsl0eliu Sup
posin' you was to git married. and hev
to see to the work yourself, guess your
husband d come to woeful want pretty
surprisin' quick"
Sally sighed little but said nothing
She had learned how to hold her tongue
at least i perhaps a better preparation
for marriage than the economizing of
potatoes. Nor did she blush at her mo-
hers illustration of her discourse, for in
Ningfielj there was nobody who could
lie called beau for her; all the well to
do farmers sons had emigrated from its
barren hillsides, and the hired men were
more often Irish than any other, or, if
Yankees, of the very lowest class.
She waited minute till the noise of
the chopping knife ceased and the pota-
toes were turned into the spider. and
then said, shyly:
.'Mother, l went to the postoffice after
I'd carried the eggs, and l got letter
from Cousin JeruShy."
.'Do tell" said Mrs. Tyler, for mo-
ment holding the big iron spoon sus-
pended from her hand. "Why, we
hain't heerd from Jerushy quite spell
How is all her folks?'
They're all we'll, she says; only
Grandmother Dyke has had a long spell
of rheumatic. They've got bigger tene-
ment now, and Jerushy wants me to
come and stay with her for . while
Mrs. Tyler stirred the potatoes so Wig
orously that Sally hardly dared to ven
ture farther, but she did whisper, half
audibly:
Can go, mother
Mrs. Tyler was what the transcenden.
talists call 'antagonistic, and her neigh
bors dreadful arbitrary" her first i'm
pulse was To contradict every assertion
and refuse every request. OF course
and policy, and various
other motives. better or worse, obliged
her TO come round to assertions and re-
quests full half the time. but it was
weary and delayed victory that the OPP
posite side gained-one of those con-
guests almost as undesirable as defeat.
J Ter husband, with a shrewdness men do
not often arrive at in dealing with this
most uncommon type Of women. always
took care to say and ask nothing impor
tant if it could be helped, or otherwise
TO offer her the exact converse of his
wishes True. like all maneuvers, this
sometimes worked its own defeat. from
her habit of giving in at last; and then
the squire shook his crizzled head and
muttered to himself, winding up with a
whistled psalm tune, geherally his best
expression of doubt or CONSERVATION.
But today Mrs. Tyler was somewhat |
by Sally's shy look and tone.
though of course she put out sharp |
at first: !
mo. You can't. l don't see how YOU |
can think ont; jest layin' time. n all !
them hens to look after, n set, n feed: |
n two calves in the barn. Well. | s'pose |
[ might see to them things myself (she
always would; ''but he won't hear tot, |
know. l don't know but what I'd like |
% have We go to see Jerushy; she's a |
smart woman, and pretty woman as
ever see" (Nrs. JeruSha Phelps had |
about as much beauty RS chimpanzee. |
put pretty means only pleasant and |
veil hammered in our vernacular.) Il
guess you might go eff you had two new
owns. You hain'u got really nothing |
it to stat,a spell, and expect he won't |
rant TO give you no money. Well. its |
ign about dinner time. and you might |
I'D out to the barn and call hint II |
.Ase me a BLOWN the horn-ard YOU can
.-,;e Is. GSrta, fcrs sau come in. | |
ut want 81 htTe - Jaw - fhe sable; /
- - ast aad ba ,-.Ge N-lt- it.~
L. npI secret hear. 3Ics. Fgier knew
liat r>la didn't want - come into col