The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1895-01-19
HTS SURPRISE.

1888 - '@-& Bh3SN.1-f N-iC
only welded coGr!o Of whom 10 ono
ever said, How could he::" CT "Eow
could shG?:"
Ccrsa:rlv, when tho st2id old bach
elor, jonas bingham ("35 il he's q
day!' said the wondering "ot1e-
girls''}, carried CT Ea-y Morton, not
yet ont Of hcr teams, right in the face
and eyes Of many aaniriog boys. a great
mary p~cEla wondered, 'Ilow coeld
she..''
At homo she occupieJ the sometimes
objectionable position Of the middle one
in u family Of t,.res daughters. Nohady
doubted that she w0s good and usoful,
but size WIS not brilliant and fascinat-
ing like her older sister, Amy, noc was
she 6 pretty dell Of agirl to be petted rs
everybody petted her younger sister,
Bess.
Amy had troops OF beaux that she
would alGanG her finger ard made her
most obediont slaves, but Jonas Hing
ham was Mays fist attentive escort.
and his devotion and sincerity carried
her heart by storm.
Jonas pleaded o~loquontly for an early
wedding, d2v, aid Mary wa.s nothing
loath, To- lie with Jonas and for him
seemed like paradise in anticipation.
He lived three miles away on a large
farm, his fathers and grandfather's
before him, His father had been dead
several years, AID his mother, though
still active and industrious, was too old
to work as she had always done.
Everybody knew tho Einghams were
forohanded, free from debt and witt,
money at interest. The Mcrtons on the
contrary, had always lived from hand
TO mouth, Mr.. Norton's trade never
having suficed to DO much more than
provide o home, with ample food and
clothing, besides educating the girls as
they wanted to be, with music and
painting and 81 the o~~narnentals which
girls in country villages sigh after.
1t IS safe to say that Mary never
dreamed Of tho change it would be for
her to go from her snug, pretty home
into that great, bare farnlhouse-like
changing from soft, musical poetry to
plain, dry prose.
Summer and winter TIE family had
always worked and ate and sat in the
great kitchen, except when company
came. Then they rolled up the green
paper shades in the sitting room and sat
in there. Everything was stiff, bare, Or
DERBY and scrupulouslv clean.
stepping into fcther Hinghaa'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, Woodworking house
wife the elder ona had always been.
Her hands grew brown and hard, her
dresses grew old fashioned, and she had
neither time nor care to remodel them.
as she seldom went anywhere, except
occasionally to church and more rarely
still on q brief visit to her fathers.
Then babies came as the years went
by-boys, always boys.
eff l only had a girl, y thought Mary
sometimes. "she might grow up to help
me and do all the light and pretty
that | have forgotten how to do.
but these boys will never care for such |
things"
Mother bingham lived but a few |
years after Mary came there. To the |
last she was happy and content. fond Of |
Mary and at home in the farmhouse. |
still unchanged.
Jonas will have to hire help for his |
wife, now that his mother is gone
people said.
But he didn't seem to think of that.
long as Mary did not complain be
never dreamed she was OVERRIDING or
needed anything she did not have.
One OF the established traditions Of
the house was that they must have a
girl through having time, never
1t any other time OF the year unless in
Ease Of sickness.
So through harvesting and the fall
1ousecleanlng, the meat killing and
he spring sugaring, up to haying time |
again, Mary's one pair Of hands did the
work till-she broke down.
Jonas was worried about indoor mat
ers, not that he was SO misery he did
lot like to pay hired help, but who was
o take care and oversee it all?
Of course the Mortons We're as aritat-
d as Jonas himself, and as much as
hey could came to the rescue, but Mrs.
horton was growing old and could not
york as she once had done, and Amy
ad made a brilliant match years ago.
Bessie was still at home and single,
ut had never enjoyed going there when
fary was well, and with Mary sick it
ould not be thought Of.
Jonas had bad luck finding capable