Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1893-04-05
A NEW HOME.
By MARGARET SPENCER

I sand miles from the capital.
Joe looked at me, and I looked at
Joe. He simply said-"Well. dear, "
and led ME into a queer old frame
! house with an addition, made ont o:
4 the some years before deserted photo
1 graph gallery of the camp. The porch
was low and the steps were rude, but
all were parts of a true hoTe, because
we we're going to live in it, and be-
cause Joe was the man l loved better
than all the world besi le, AMI our
three children we're with rs, and my
mother aud only brother had come too.
With all the Sc dear ones what could
anywhere prove, but a home?
! / said, ''yes, dear" and walked into
our bedroom to lay off my things. 1
think my mother sighed, as she set
down ber bag and looked about, but
we were tired, and the journey had
been long. Our boys followed the
sound of gold mills, and smelters, the
roar of furnaces, the shouts of the
Mexican drivers, and the tread of the
oxen with their heavy loads, climbing
the bills.
Dinner was ready. "Mida" our little
Mexican girl. with the help of the cook
and the French baker from the one
hotel in camp, had provided feast.
The store keeper had synt jellIes and
California fruits. The Mexican car
penter, venIson aud lamb; and the
three ured, hungry strangers partook
of banquet. Joe chattered Mexican,
as the dark faces thronged the door
way, and they welc omed back their
"Padrone" with vigorous hand shakes,
and ''sta Bueno Senor, and Sen
oras;' Ut is good. "Borrito Nun
chachitos, All, ST, (pretty little ones.
All the countries of the world passed
before ms. Beauty and bandits! Egypt
aud Spain! Dark faced, dark eyed
people of some strange land.
Now where can l begin? 1 cant
write a guide book or a history of
Mexico, or of copper mines, or of a
queer new country. We looked like
a custom house. with all our trunks,
boxes aud barrels piled up on the
porch. We had "really" Yankee
front room, without it's stuffy, dread
full shut-up- ness fonr led rooms, and
long dining room, In the glass rooted
and sided photograph gallery. Just in
the centre of all the additions was our
kitchen: In it, second hand cook
stove, pine table, and sink. A most
pitifnl floor, with cracks an inch wide
in some places-quite "handy" for we
could sweep the dust throughl We
didn't need II dust pan. The children
spent bIissful hours, nll winter, feeding
the chickens, that lived under the
house; lying Hat on the floor when the
gales of wind didn't blow away the
corn. But-order must come out of
1hadsi Gail Hamilton says: "If a
woman has Il career, she is power. "
The "career" was PLAN to this little
family, and Eeroically we put on big
aprons, and dear Mrs Stoves "facul,
ty," and went to work with a will
Joe brought Antonia, the carpenter,
with plenty of cards, hammers, tacks
and nails Joe, distracted between
the mine, the mill and the new house
keeping, but resolute. Mother, deep
in the mysterious boxes and trunks,
dragging ont wondrous cushions, rugs
and hangIngs; and /, myself, needing
forty pairs of hands at once.
| First. Antonia made a dining table,
so white and sweet of native odorous
pine that we despised oil or staining,
and longed to give a dinner party at
once. Inc boys soon piled it high
from their trunks, expecting mother to
arrange their "things" in their SxlO
room. Boots and shoes appeared side
by sile with crimson velvet pincushions
parting gifts from the girls they left
behind them; overcoats and hats over
Swallowed bewilderingly pretty faces in
pretty frames, while Latin grammars
and geometries lay silently by, for the
conditions of this journey, for boys in
the tr, shman year of college. were
''study and mining together" Shelves
soon grew to the board walls, mantels
appeared in unlocked for places. Cup
boards and board partitions made an
admIrrble pantry: and pounds of nails,
; hooks and pegs fell into line, like good
soldiers, in every space. The supply
> store of the camp gave us boxes of all
J sizes from one to four feet square.
} | do declare there never was any.
! thing so lovely as our furniturel !
= long to write a detailed description OF
J every piece and have 1t published by
! the biggest syndicate in Americal
r That our Eastern women may. IN Ter
, pressure, however liberal their ideas OF
expenditure, see the beauty of ''trities'
3 and scorn the worry of "straIts," and
+ see how, "without stint or spare, men
5 use common things. with more be.
3 1ind.'
snow, Joe, ebony inlaid with ivory
2 can't beat that centre table, with its
legs of 'pinion trees stained such q
! fine black. Standing on our best rug,
with such an Eastern air-such an I'M
, possible air-and pine top, too. That
,hest of drawers is perfect Oh, Joe,
r f the girls at home in their drawing
D rooms and Libraries done in blue and
: gold aud crushed straw berry. could see
5 ,ur house, they would die of envy"
3 "No doubt they would, my dear,
| said Joe with a cOnceited twinkle il
4 ais eye, "die of envy, because of youl
! husbands capabilities
2 This same home-making went on day
1 and night with great bestowal o.
r thought, and work without stint. Tc
, every heart experiences are new. Home
i is SO Interwoven with the innermOst life
: of each individual. Pain or rapture
s tullness or meagreness, come with the
= individual life of people The ''kingdon
If God is within youl" The grand OLE
t owe of ages ago, sows the same seed
= md resps the same harvests. Tht
8 ,ongs sung over the hills of Judea-
- lud the songs sung in the mountains
4 II Mexico, were the same
We painted, we decorated, W,
Q stuffed, nailed and trimmed; making
= lnore noise than Thomas's orchestra a
, school piano, or a street band, and
g ust then our music was twice as insplr
8 ug. Fruit boxes from the sweet
b scented orange groves of the Pacifi
y coast, cracker boxes from Yanke,
: and, cedar boxes from Spanisl
9 iaciendas of the Mesills valley, an,
e lie business dry goods box OF New
s. York city-all served us with gener
y lus fitness. Book cases with 'cub
u bies," aud drawers, and with Grim
y son curtains-drawn on wire from on
Dwn mill. A full grown secretary
y With fantastic places for all our letter
d ana papers. Joe's business documents
d hlotters, pens aud ink, and even cut
3 glass Ink-bottles from the capital
70 Sleepy-boIlow chairs, aristocrsticall