The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-06-30

no thought Of complaint crossed her
miEd as she carried a load of milk pans
around to the spring house. A beauti-
full little rivu1et which dubbed through
n corner of the back yard had been
turned to valuable use for dairy pur-
poses. But the singular obtuseness to
all common sense convenience often
shown by old time country folk had led
the builders of the substantial farm house
to place the kitchen door on the other
side.
"Wait, I hadn't got through yet"
said her husband, following her to the
spring house. my, you have got a lot
of nice looking butter there. Nowonder
your butter always brings the best prices
anywhere round. But I'm going over to
the funeral and I guess you'd better go
long"
"Ch, I can't said Mrs. Hill, shaking
her head very decisively. s.Td like to
real well, but there's too much to do"
Nonsense. Call those big girls Of
yours and let them take hold a little"
sThey do. They do all the sweeping,
but I can't leave the dairy work to any
one else. Poor Sarah Duffy! Seems as
though I ought to go to her funeral"
"Gosn get ready, mother. I'll call
Harriet"
ooh, never mind that. They like to
have a little time for study and they
ought to. l can leave it for a while"
"Hannah, them
mo, she has enough to do in the
kitchen"
He stood and watched her while she
put the finishing touches to the pats Of
butter and then walked with her around
the house. Her step Jagged behind his
brisk ones, and al she reached the back
porch she sat YEARLY down on the lowest
step.
II don't know IS I'll go, James. I
don't feel quite up to it,"
"That's your mistake, mother. You
get yourself dressed and the ride'1l do
you no end O good"
Thus urged, Mrs. Hill, after fifteen
minutes, appeared at the door ready to
take her place in the smart buggy which
her husband drove around. He talked
away in great animation as usual, but
before long seemed suddenly struck by
her unusual silence.
"Ain't you well, mother?'
"Oh, yes, about as usual. Tseem to have
o kind of tired feeling most of the time
lately, but ! s'pose it's because I'm get
ting old. We can't always be young,
you know"
"No," said Mr.. Hill. But any COM
plaint from his wife was such a novelty
that he ceased his talk, and pretending
to look critically at the grain field Of a
neighbor stole a few chances at her face.
He was not an observant man; had
not, perhaps, in the daily round of har-
monious home life taken a keen look at
the face of any one there for a year; and
a feeling Of dismayed surprise arose in
his heart as he marked the worn feat
ures, the depressed expression and the
thick sprinkling Of gray in the soft hair.
AREN'T you well, mother" The ques-
ton was repeated with more of meaning
in the tone.
"Why, of course ! am, James. Don't
you know what a worker I've always
been?"
At the gathering of neighbors for the
country funeral Mr.. Hill, leaving his
wife at the door to make her way into
the gloomy parlor in which one more
pair of weary hands lay folded in rest,
went to find a place to tie his horse.
Men talked in subdued tones Of crops
and stock until the signal came for the
beginning Of the service, when all
gathered as nearly as possible within
reach Of the voice of the minister. Mr..
Hill found himself crowded against a
corner of the house close to the end of a
long porch which was filed with chairs
occupied by women, while from an open
window near came sounds which soon
told him that the children of the woman
who lay resting were within.
They were of all ages, as he knew.
There was the babble of a toddling
child, happily too young to know what
dread meaning lay in these strange
doings. And Mr.. Hills heart turned
| sick at sound of the wailing cry Of girls
like his own. What if such a thing
| could come to his home? How could
any one have anticipated this of the
woman who had been such a power in
her family? Who could have believed
that she was in need of this rest?
The short service ended, the neigh
bors were invited to take the last look ut
| their friend. As Mr.. Fill stood waiting
| for the crowd about him to dispense an
undertone conversation between two
~neighboring farmers wives distinctly
reached his ears through the low hum.
ga dreadful thing for them moor girls. .
eyes, indesd. What'd she o. thought
If she'd had 1me to think of it?p
ssSuch an ambitious woman as she al
ways was. Never thought any work too
hard for her."
sNo. and I'm inclined to think that's
where tee mistake come in. I believe
Sarah Dufy'd a. been alive today if that
husband O hers had had a grain of sense.
KEEP on and KEEP on till she broke
Ill nj onna