The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1894-06-15
COUNTY. FRIDAY, JUNE Is, 1884.

at home nights and Sundays, but oh,
the blessedness of being screened from
busy world on hot Sunday afternoons,
when he sat behind the shru bbery un-
der the broad sheltering trees, and,
yes, though they had been married SO
long, made love tc his silver-haired
wifel
Dear" she said, softly, on one of
these occasions, "why could we not
have city water put in our house? It
would save SO much strength"
"No water like that from the old
WELL" he replied, and enlarged upon It
for some time eloquently. Besides, It
would tear up things, and we are so
peaceful and serene that 1 should dread
the general disturbance"
Again, being left without servant
for several days, she said, pleasantly,
but very appealingly: ''My dear, wish
we had gas in the old home, as in your
handsome tenements The cleaning of
SO many lamps every morning would
become unnecessary.
Il hate gas light" he exclaimed.
Nothing like nice, well shaded kero-
sene lamps!'
He did not have to keep them in
order, and suddenly thinking so, he
added, considerably, Don't light so
many, my dearest You see we'd have
to have long spell of tearing up to
get the pipes in, and it would be a
nuisance, besides destroying much of
the wall paper, ETC., that we are at
tached to-"
"Yes, that is So" said Mrs. Van Dyke
meekly. But the very next day, in
spite of her lame muscles, she drew
three pals of water, pumped five,
cleaned eight lamps, picked several
quarts of berries, and cooked meals for
a family of four relatives of Mr.. Van
Dykes, who had arrived for weeks
visit
There was not, literally, single fea-
ture of the old home which Mr. Van
Dyke enjoyed that did not tax the ply
sical endurance of his so greatly loved
wife. The light, the water, the shade,
the privilege of entertaining his friends
We're all pleasurable to him. But if he
had for one day had all the water to
draw and pump, all the lamps to care
for, all the berries to pick, all the meals
to prepare, perhaps he would have
said: Let us have modern conven-
fences, no matter at what cost or sacri-
fee" For he loved Mrs. Van Dyke de-
votedly.
But this is not to be long story. 1t
is merely an argument to prove how
devotedly Andrew Van Dyke did love
his wife
She was terribly shocked one day
when he was killed in runaway acci-
dent. More than one consoling and
sympathetic voice reached her after the
funeral services were over: "You have
lost devoted husband"
"Ab, yes, indeed l have" said Mrs.
Van Dyke, sincerely, as she copiously
wept.
"You have one great source of com
fort. He is gone now, but when here
he loved you devotedly."
"Oh, yes, devotedly," she murmured.
In little less than two weeks, and
while her eyes were still fearful, and
she seemed to be plunged into state
of most hopeless grief, Mrs. Van Dyke
might have been seen in the lovely gar
den, clad in deep black, and resting her
rheumatic figure against large tree
She was saying: "You may leave this
one. Cut down all the Others.
A few days later many workmen
were busy, for water pipes and gas
pipes and bathrooms and solarium
were occupying their attention.
There was grand transformation.
In a few weeks the old house was
flooded with sunlight. Mrs. Van Dyke
was as comfortable at least as her mar
ried daughters in their modern resi-
dences, or as her husbands country
cousins who had enjoyed modern i'm
provements for ten years in advance of
her, or as the tenants who paid her
high rents for their luxuries, not know
ing that anyone else had the right to
collect. In the midst of her new bless
ings she heard such sentences as the
following: 'Oh, grandma, how beau
tifully you have arranged everything!
How nice not to have any more lamps
to clean and no more water to draw
and everything so handy! How glad
grandpa would be if he saw you so
comfortable and so free from rheuma-
tism, now that the sun gets in!''
"Yes, it would make him very hap
py," said Mrs. Van Dyke, signing
dreamily. "Your grandfather loved
me deyotedly. ."-Harper's Bazaar,