Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1895-04-18
i'm a headed hydra, and one

appeared in its place to distract and
bewilder. Late in the afternoon, as lie
sat down for moments rest, seeing
Il spare quarter of / ~ hour before it
was time to lay the table for suplsvf', a
loud cutlery arose bt low staira and
the twins appeared. Nearing poor lit
tic Mabel between them, damp,
doleful object, covered from head to
foot with mud The c7ildrcn talked
all together, and ut the top n their
lungs, trying to explain, now Harry /;
had playfully pokcd his sis4sr, and how
she had lost her balance Il 81 had fall
en- hc;ldforcmcst into s7guttcr, lin
the very guttcrest place, >Iapa," and
the poor man tore his few remaining
locks as he bore his daughter Off to
the bathroom for Il complete change
Of clothes, involving the intricacies OF
buttons strings and pins all over
again.
At $50 Mrs. Fenton returned. \
day spent principally i'll the open air
had proved Il veritablc tonic, and she
was /; pleasant sight to see, with Il
becoming color in her cheeks and eyes
unWontedly bright. as she tripped up
stairs lightly, III spite of her 40 years;
bursting into the nursery in such Il
hustle and stir of good spirits that it
grated upon the nerves of her husband
PROSTATE upon the sofa after the eX-
hausting programme of housekeeping.
The fun died out of her voice, though
not from her glan nee. as she bent over
him, saying softly: Poor, dear James!
Still in your morning dress? What does
this mean! am afraid you are getting
into untidy ways"
Mr.. Fenton groaned by way Of reply.
Mary" he murmured, feebly, after
Il moment. will you accept an hum
bled mans apology? l never dreamed
before what never-ending round of
work a woman's life could be. I'm Il
perfect wrcck-but l speak for myself.
You will never hear another word of
criticism from me il you look like Il
rag-Ea@."
Mary dropped kiss on his fcvcreG
brow. 1t WAS the seal OF forgiveness.
4 quick lock about the room showed
her it's disorder. but she kept her
, amusement to herself.
II have had Il busy day, too" she
pursued. brightly. taking off her bon
net. First. your bills. The people
We're so astonished when woman
walked in to collect that they handed
over the money without word, and
before 11o'clock my pocketbook was
full. That was the end Of my duty.
Business is rather amusing, James, L
think, and not too exciting, for it left
me good many hours, you see, before
it was time to come home, SO l went to
Cousin Lizzies."
; james gave start. Cousin Lizzie
was butterfly of fashion. for whom
Mary'S tongue was unusually q lash
of Scorn.
Eyes, Cousin Lizzie. And l said,
Lizzie, l am not we'll dressed. That's
no news, said Lizzie. NO, but l want
to be- says I. THAT'S good news
says Lizzie. Put on your things
says I, and take me to your tailor
So she did, and I've ordered a very
smart gown, my dear, which is quite
equal to anything Of any neighbours,
a new bonnet and a cape, gloves and
boots and so on. And l have had some
corsets home from Mrs. Van Dusen's
own woman. You shall never have
occasion to complain Of me again,
James. 'Well-groomed.' thank thee,
Jim, for teaching me that word.'
: AS she went into the closet to put
away her wraps. she stole a glance at
her husband. 1t found him in a state
of collapse, and in the remote depths
of that closet she broke into Il little
furry Of laughter only to be heard by
the moth balls among the furs.
Just then the supper bell tinkled.
Gomez called Mrs. Fenton. gayly,
| pulling her husband upefrom the sofa.
They went and by tacit consent the
days doings dropped out Of CONVERSE
ton.
james Fenton slept the sleep of a
peniteut sinner that night and the
morrow restored the old regime. But
the seed sown had dropped into good
ground and the next Sunday morning
the head Of the housekeeping depart
ment was mysteriously long over her
toilet. When she emerged at length
she was Il vision Of gored skirt huge
sleeves, smart cape. wide-howed bon
net. new boots and gloves. Her hair
shone like satin, and as for her figure
it was as trim and trig as a fashion
plate. MIR. Fenton opened his mouth
and shut it again. He was dumb.
But the children shreled with delight
and piroutted around the dazzling ap-
partition and curiosity.
L say isn't mamma daisy?' cried
Tommy, tossing his hat in the air.
Mabel crect tinlidly up fingered the
folds of the tlaring skirt, and look
ing up into her mothers vivid face,
She said hesitatingly:
care you pretty, mamma?'
mo. dear" answered Mary Fenton.
dcmurely, but am well-groomed and
possess Il very great charm"
There was Il small pile of bills on
Mr.. Fcnton's desk the first of the
month. He counted up the total with
Il sigh. made out check and wrote to
the fishing club that he could not take
the trip with them after all. Then he
went around to the office of the Even
ing Comet and stopped his subsclip-
tion to that unfortunate newspaper
Boston c1rald.