The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1892-11-26

been tied to her easy chair IN. her pleas
ant, old fashioned sitting room. she had
lived mainly through the ears. There
was red spot on either thin cheek now,
as she listened to sister Martha's heavy
step and the receding creak of her boots.
Mrs. Whitcumb did not go up the
stairs to the front chamber, but without
ceremony walked into Ann Baskets
kitchen ito talk me over" thought Miss
Mayhem, and she was angry and trem ~ !.
lous, for her sister-in-laW had not allud-
ed to the state of her health nor-asked a
question as to how she found herself:
She knew Sister Martha had no faith In
nervous diseases-laughed the whole
pack of them to scorn. No intangible
form of illness took any hold on Sister
Marthas sympathies. and Miss Mayhem
ing like an unmasked imposter under
the lash of her sister-in-law's harsh
Judgment. All the lectures Martha
would deliver about exerting herself and
taking exercise and living in the open
air and going to see the neighbors came
up before her. and she shuddered in an
ticipation.
Mrs. Whitcumb stepped on 10 AIMS
kitchen now, and opened the door with
more gentleness and consideration than
she had shown to her sister-in-law. Ann
was person to be conciliated, while
Vinie Mayhem was of but secondary inn
portance in tho household. Ann was
standing before her kitchen table
secured to the wilderness of chalk. She
was of middle height, spare, bony,
angular person, with prominent shout
der blades, sharp elbows, lean brown
arms and large knotted wrists and
hands. Her hair was iron gray, smooth
ly brushed back from narrow fore
head, etched with hard straight lines as
if done with the point of an iron instru-
ment. Her blue print dress and white
apron were spotlessly clean, and the
thick white cotton stockings showed
above her low shoes Ann Basket had
little eyes, like gray pebbles, wide apart,
and her thin lips were generally puck
cred close as if unwilling to let out the
hoard Of important secrets that lay just
behind them
Ann claimed the supreme merit of
sninding her own business and Of ruling
her own domain with a rod of iron that
brooked no power behind the throne
the summer kitchen, the winter kitch-
en-, the cellar, woodshed, garden and
orchard. Over the remainder. of the
house she claimed only to exercise the
rights of suzerainty and partial con-
troll. It was barbarian territory to be
tidied daily and swept every week. but
still outside her absolute sway.
In one respect it was an advantage to
Ann that she served an invalid mis-
tress; there was no ''snooping' around
in her kitchen and asking of vain and
irrelevant questions. Ann was making
cup cake, studded with large raisins,
and to be baked in little tin patty pans.
There was clear fire in the stove, and
the butter and sugar, flour and eggs
were all ranged on the spotless table.
From a side window in her palace Queen
Ann had seen Mrs Martha Whitcumb
arrive; had seen 10 Spaulding, the hack
man, bring in Mrs. Whitcumb's trunk
and deposit it in the hall. Ann had not
taken her hands away from the cake,
for she was person to be sought, not
to'seek: besides. she was not in the best
of humor,
Ann divided all Miss Mayhew's Wis
itors into 'ssatchel folks" and trunk
folks The satchel folks she did not
mind so much. They only staid one
night, or at longest two, and when they
were we'll out of the house Ann could
easily slip the company sheets and pill
low cases off the bed and press them
over with hot iron, and nobody would
be the wiser. But trunk folks meant an
extra bout of washing and cooking and
cleaning, and Ann, who was meshod-
ical soul, objected to them as painful
element of disloca ton III her daily Life.
Mrs. Martha was notoriously trunk
folks. She never staid under a week,
and Ann had reason to dread her pres
ence in the house rs person who was
masterful enough to dispute sway with
her, even on her own domain
AIMS back therefore was aggressive
WuGn OlSCtl Midi Gld OuGOiCA tAO otAA4AJ
kitchen But Mrs. Martha was much
more conciliatory toward the maid than
she ever was toward the mistress. and at
times even condescended to fattery.
swell, Ann" said she, bustling in, IL
never did see anything stand wear like
this yellow paint on your floor. 1t looks
clean enough to eat off; And that stove!
why, you can just see your face in it.
What kind of polish do you use? l
should just like to get some OF that
kind"
Elbows" said Ann grimly, who knew
soft sawder as we'll as the next one. She
had not as yet condescended to turn
around. and was just now spooning out
the rich yellow paste into the patty pans,
measuring the quantity accurately with
her eye.
'.Elbows, indeedl' laughed Mrs. Mar
tina. Eyes, that's the best kind, as
keep a-tellin Jane Steel, trying to ding
it into her head should just like to
have Jane see that stove and them tins,
so bright you can see your face in them.
1 guess it would put notion or two
\ L.