Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1894-03-23

DIlSutcu up HOA iNOh' "'
found they were to occupy the little
seven-bv-nine bedroom off the kitchen,
she saw there was little opportunity to
display them there. Mrs bingham,
senior, took possession OF one OF the
chambers, and Mary, in the generosity
of her heart, would have spread out
her belongings there, glad to have her
mother. in-law have the benefit OF
them, but the gentle old lady firmly
refused
"Her life has been bare so long she
doesn't wish to have it otherwise,
Mary thought sadly to herself.
So she ended by scattering her treas
ures here and there about the house,
and tried to f1atter herself they took
off little of the bare, comfortless
look.
Her greatest trial was to see thkt
Jonas didn't at all comprehend but
that his home was as pleasant as hers
had been. But as time passed on, and
she learned by hard experience the ex-
acting nature of farm duties, she no
longer wondered that he had mo time
for nonsense, as she said. Stepping
into Mother Hingham's shoes meant
more real downright hard work than
Mary had ever dreamed of, but she
was young and strong, and would not
finch when she saw that both Jonas
and his mother expected her to be the
notable, hardworking housewife the
elder woman had always been.
Mother bingham helped Mary great
deal. showed her how to do all sorts
of farm work, to which she was wholly
unaccustomed, and was always as kind
and considerate as it was in the nature
of things she could be; but the care
fell more and more on Marys young
shoulders, already stopping under their
heavy load Her hands grew brown
and hard, her dresses grew old-fash-
ioned. and she had neither time nor
care to remodel them, as she seldom
went anywhere except occasionally to
church, and more rarely still on brief
visit to her fathers. Then babies came
as the years went by-boys, always
boys.
eff 1 only had girl, thought
Mary sometimes, "she might grow up
to help me, and do all the light and
pretty things that I have forgotten
how to do; but these boys will never
care for such things"
Mother bingham lived but few
years after Mary came there. To the
last she was happy and content, fond
of Mary, and at home in the farm
house, still unchanged; the same tail
old clock ticking away in the corner
of the great, clean, yellow-Aoored
kitchen the same long, wood table,
from which the family had eaten theil
meals for fifty years, standing in a fail
state of preservation, and good enough
because it always had been.
"Jonas will have to hire help fol
his wife, now that his mother il
gone" people said.
But he didn't seem to think of that.
As long as Mary did not complain, he
never dreamed she was OVERRIDING, OF
needed anything she did not have.
She saw and felt every day Of hel
life how little of rest and comfort fel
to her lot, but she saw no way of es
cape.
II did not begin right, 'she often sad
ly acknowledged to herself. IfJona'
and I had started in alone, | could
have said to him: we must have this
and that and we must arrange
things thus and so, but everything
was in the ruts when came here, and
| couldn't seem to get them out with
out hurting Mother Hingham's feel
ings, and now they have gone SO long
certainly can't get them out :"
One of the established traditions o.
the house was that they must have {
hired girl through haying time, never
at any other time of the year, unless
in case of sickness. Jonas Away
looked up hired girl as regularly a
he repaired his mowing-machine o.
bought new hand-rakes; but hayine
time over, he always paid and dis
charged her, never thinking to ash
Mary if she hadn't better keep he
longer. So through harvesting an(
the fall house cleaning, the meat-kill
ing and the spring sugaring, up tt
haying time again, Mary's one pair o
hands did the work till-she broke
down.
Nervous prostration,' the doctor