Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-05-05
PLUMVILLE CHANGE.

valley of New England agricultural dis
trlct. If the soil was thin the rocks were
thick-so thick, indeed, that it was a grim
Joke that shotgun was needed to get the
seed corn into the first and between the
4 second. Owing to this bedrock the drain
age was poor, and what the drouth spared
sudden showers swept away.
All the young men went west, the old
shoemaker had moved away, and even the
minister had departed, leaving a monu.
mental pair Of crossed poles to bar the en-
trance to the meetin house. And vet these
natlves-New England men and women
were not lacking in shrewdness aud COM
mon sense. They were simply discouraged
With all their hard labor they never got
beyond the bare necessities of life. They
nan no amusements, no expectations, no
hope. The women never had time to ait
down, but spent their time cooking and
washing in the kitchens. The front room
was always closely shattered, the front
steps were overgrown with coarse weeds
and the front gate refused to open Every.
body came and went by the back door.
along the narrow, worn footpath No flow.
ers were cultivated, and few varieties of
vegetables. News was old when it reached
PlumVille, and excited little more interest
than archaeological stories.
Few books were bought, and those few
OF kind in which no rational being could
feel an interest. Games of cards were ia
booed. There could be no social life in so
sparsely settled a region. IL was a custom
for the farmer who had "arrants" in the
village to bring the occasional newspaper
or rare letter for the inhabitants on his
route. So IL Brown saw Smith jogging
along toward "the Center" be Brown
knew that on Smiths return an hour or
two later he would find anything the mail
had brought him in his yard, tossed there
by the obliging Smith
Once year, perhaps, there would be a
wedding, for in Plumville all widowers
speedily replaced their first" On these
occasions it was usual to borrow white
kids from the doctor, who had sentimen.
tally or economically flor he had himself
worn them at two separate ceremonies)
preserved his with care
In the spring of 1880 old Mr. Elkins fell
sick. His wife had just died, and he had
no children. 1t was an added burden to
the weary neighbors, who felt they must
do" for the old man, At the best it was
tagmentary service, and the invalid was
alone many hours out of every twenty.
Tour. The relief was great, therefore,
when somehow or other a nephew's widow,
or cousins daughter, appeared as nurse
and housekeeper She brought a niece
with her-a slip of a freckled girl about
sixteen years old, whose name WAS Miiiy
French. Milly assumed the care of the
chickens. MIXED the COW, fed Towser, and
as she came and went about these duties
the neighbors wondered to hear her sing
ing like happy bird. She threw open the
front blinds and let the sunlight sacri-
legiously stream through the windows; she
even set the sacred front door ajar, and sat
on the doorsteps on pleasant afternoons
with her knitting work. II the sunset
were very gorgeous she was seen with idle !
hands. The spindling grass was sheared |
of 50 that the gate would swing back /
easily.
TITS enough to make Mis- Elkns turn in !
her grave" said Neighbor Flint
As the summer advanced, ali uncon- I
scious Of Plumyille etiquette and conven-
tionality Milly wandered in the fields
hunting for orchids or took long walks to
Baeon's woods, fetching her basket full
of plants, which she industriously trans
planted in the virgin soil of the Elkins
front yard.
well, neverl" said Mrs. Flint as she
peeked through an opportune crevice of
her side window. What won't she do
nextf"
But Milly watered her honeysuckles,
propped up her daisies, put rich loan into
the sandy waste, and was rewarded by
multitudes OF blossoms When the hens
scratched up her treasures she contrived
an inclosure Of palings that circumscribed
their operations. By and by she added a
trellis for a wild rose bush, and a long
tent Of Irvine for her fluffy wood clematis
4. Little by little the small house. unpant-
ed, but tinted soft, silvery, weather beat
en- gray, began to outline its windows in
bright green, and to throw woSdbine gar
lands all over the homeiy porch. Season
after season went by. Milly now had seeds
and cuttings to give away She carried
bouquets to the sick, potted a root for
friend, brought jar of mignonette from
Lincoln or received a package of seeds
from florist 1t thus came to pass that
every house in Piumviiie soon boosted a
flower bed, and in winter every kitchen
had at least one window full Of petunias
or geraniums, the steam Of cooking or
washing eau eag them to grow wonderful.
ly. Cold frames for pansies were manu-
even Strawberries and asparagus I
were attempted. And that these improve
ments might not fail, the land about the
house was drained, low branches Topped
of, the sink nozzle extended to a safe dis
lance, till light and air and dryuess came
to these denizens Of the kitchen.
You would not have known Plumville
Why, the shoemaker, who came back to
stay. pretended he had never seen 1t before
Il WAS rumored that a bakers cart would
come over from Lincoln once a week, and
On the strength Of IL the postmaster cleared
oil shelf aud drove six nails in the loose
ioorsteps But this plumville boom Is far q
ahead Of my story. Long before the flow !
srs bad begun to be very common there
Milly French puzzled much over the I'M I
used church. One day she got the key and
vent ia. Though It was August, the In
,erior was cold and damp, almost like G
'ellar. Cobwebs hung from the two long 1
tovepipes that extended the whole length G
II the building. Torn hymn books were c