Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-07-31

and chatted together, the woman cleared
away the supper things she had left u
do the milking, put the children TO bed
made arrangements for the early morn
ing meal, and then went to sleep her
self too tired to crimp her hair, say hel
prayers, or think how wretched she
was.
"But do yon always work 80 hard q:
this ?" queried the woman in the sha
dow of the vines.
pretty much OF the time" answered
the other, in her loud, high-pitched
voice. sin the spring there's the
springs work, you know, and have tc
milk more cows, cause the men folks 1:
busy nights and mornings there's the
butter TO make until the milk goes tc
the factory, the house to clean, the
sugar to sugar of, the soap tc
make, and lots Of paintin' and paperin
to be done. You know we farmer folk:
do everything ourselves. Money is toe
source to pay it but for such work as
whitewashin' and paintin' and paperin
indoors. And then the haydn comes on,
and we have men folks, and have more
milkin' to do, and sometimes take the
| milk TO the factory, and the berries be-
gin to get ripe off in the lots. / don't
have any to put up for the winter I'M
less l pick 'em myself. It's all we can
do TO buy the sugar. And then there's
harvestin' and the thrashers, and after
that the house to clean and things to
get fixed for the winter. And the
children do get so all out OF clothes.
You see we don't never buy new, and
things made out of old wear out sooner.
can't get much time to sew in summer,
have so much TO DO"
"And in winter" interrupted the
softly modulated voice.
well in winter there's the quilts to
piece up and camfortables TO tie, the
CARPET rags to sort and sew. 1t is an
awful job to make q carpet when folks
wear their clothes as close as we do
And then there's the coloring OF 'em to
do, and the warp to get ready and all,
and the knitting. | tell you it's pow
or O. work to keep three boys and two
men in socks and mittens. l hain't got
girl. Host my only girl. She'd a
helped me you know. And It's only a
little while any way before the cows
come in again, and have the butter to
see to-"
"But when do you read?"
"Oh, l don't read much OF any 'cept
Sunday afternoons sometimes when l
get my work done early. The men folks
they read the paper, you know, and
kind o. talk it over together when the
neighbors come. I kind O. keep the run
o. things, and that's all. l do miss the
reading most of all. You know was
teacher when he married me, pretty
good at books, too. l thought, just as
suppose you do, that they wasn't any
need in farmers wife working round
all the time and gettin' so old and fool
ish before she's so, but l tell you
whan a man hain't got his farm paid
for, there isn't anything but work for
his wife. You see, the children come
along, and you can't afford to hire a
nurse. The neighbors come in and do
what they can, and the men folks git
along best they can until you can't
stand it any longer and you git up and
90 to work before you are strong, and
that and taking care Of the babies and
the hard work breaks you down young.
You git so you don't know or care much
for anything"
"But do you have no recreatlonY
sob. once in while, of course.
There's church, bot, you see, we have
to git up 80 early to git the chores out
of the way. We have to dress all the
children and take them, cause there
hain't any one to leave 'em with to
home, and then hurry home to git din
ner and git the chores done to go again
in the evening, until l tell EN- some
times believe Sunday is the hardest
dav in all the week. We generally go
TO the fair one day, and that's hard
day. too, because we always take our
dinner with US, you know, and we have
to start early so to hurry home In time
TO do the milkin'. And then we gener-
ally 90 somewheres the Fourth on &C
count of the children; that Is, he and
the children go. | don't always.
And there's the church socials. We go
sometimes to them, but l have to take
something, beans or biscuit or cake. |
declare sometimes l tell 'em l suppose If
ever git started for heaven I'll have TO
cook the victuals to eat going. Of
course, in the winter we women folks
visit back and forth some, but you
know the roads isn't always good, and
the men have the wood TO git out, so
they use the horses, and we have so
much to do we don't git started. The
men visit more. They go and swap seed
potatoes, or they change work; they see
each other on the road and at the fac
tory; but we don't git out as much as
we'd orto. or course, we see each 9TH
or to the village where we do our trad
in. But we don't have much money to
spend, so we don't 20 10 the village
often"
ouestioner, "to-to-enjoy life at alp
"Oh, we are too busy to think much
about life and all those highfalutin
things that worry you. There's the
children always, and the living things
around us to keep growing, and the few
| flowers we can raise. or course, when
we have trouble we think then. did
want to get away go after my little girl
died. wanted him TO take me back
whore l used TO live. My folks is all
deao or moved away, but wanted to go
with the horse and buggy. 1t wouldn't
have cost much. You know was mar
ried in June. Them clovers you've got
in was all in bloom along the road, and
| the wild roses. l never see so many
wild roses. wanted to ride through 1t
all again, just as l did then, you know,
when he brought me here after the wed
din. But ne thought if we went any
where's we ought to go to his folkses,
and he didn't see how we could both
get away any way, so l stayed and be
went and brought his mother back with
him TO STAY here. She was lame and