The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-08-05
A POETIC CELLAR.

A lady gave an exclamation of delight
as she had a peep into a cellar of
quaint old farm house down in Jersey;
for the GOODNESS, cleanliness and fra
granceSwere just delightful, like dream
or sweet poem right in the heart of
stern everyday facts. The stone walls
| had been freshly hInewashed, until
almost as white as snow, and the brick
paved floor scrubbed so frequently that
the bricks glowed ruddy and bright, like
polished stones. Over the rafters of the
ceiling were tackled breadths of white
muslin, to prevent dirt and dust from
the rooms above dropping into the pans
of milk ranged in ows, in bright shin
ing pans, on the hanging shelves sus-
pended from the rafters. Spotless white
clothes were spread over the harging
shelves, and dainty boquets of red and
white clover here and there, while the
cream jars of gray stone sat on a table
scrubbed white. There was wire net.
ting at the windows, and not a fly or
speck of soil to be seen anywhere.
"But why the fowersP Are you not
just little to aesthetic in your taste,
when no one knows that they are here
but yourself?" laughed the lady.
"My milk and cream know it." re-
piled the tidy housewife, 'for | send
butter away every week laden with the
sweetness of the clover blossoms; for
milk and cream absorb their surround
ings just as readily as we do the air we
breathe that is the reason one often
tastes the flavor of onions, cabbage, pota-
toes, and smoke of the kitchen in the
butter bought from farmers. Now,
always get cents per pound more for
my butter than the market prices, some
times 10, and it is always because it S so
sweet and clean"
'But does not your butter come soft
and mushy sOmetimes?'
'No, never Because l always keep
cream at just such temperature.
"And you manage without ice?"
YES; but then we have such nice
we'll of cold water, that all have to do
when it is very warm is to put cream
into tight covered tin kettles and let
them down at the end of rope until
they touch the water; and then churn
every other day, in the cool morning
hours. OF course, there is considerable
work connected with it all, but have
learned that we must pay somehow for
everything comfortable and profitable"
yet one would not think you were
hard working woman" said the lady
6ycluS JuG llJIl6 uOuS6WllG CRITICALLY, as
she stood with skinner deity removing
the cream from pan after pan of milk
so dainty and cool she looked in her
light pink dress, snow-white apron, and
with red roses at her throat and among
the dark braids of her hair.
mo-" replied the little woman, 81
never make it a practice to work until l
am soiled; could not go about it in an
old slip-shod wrapper, sleeves rolled up
to the elbows, from morning till night,
hair askew, day after day, as some
farmers wives do, and then excuse my
self by laying it to work. 1t is my
opinion, it is not enough work, or they
would not look so. | have my little
times every day to fix up, and rest, too,
and that is why manage to get so much
comfort out of my labor"
"Ah, wellv' said the lady. 81 hope
you may always get as much, but you
are young yet, with only one child. Cares
may multiply as the years come"
Eyes; and that is why put by some
money every month, so that l may have
means to hire help when it gets so
can't do everything comfortably my
self.-MrS. A. E. MdskeH in New York
Tribune.