The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-07-04
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| wonder, bein' we've twice burned out,
and moved three times, and hain't no
children to look arter us byme-by,
ana old age comm, if we live, and
our sheep dyin' off the last year or
two"-and she made a sudden halt
and looked at us intently.
Here was evidently warm heart,
one that had learned sympathy for
others by its own experience; one
that was too loyal, likewise, to cast
reflection on any one else in doing its
duty.
81 dare say" we replied, seeing that
a reply was expected, and not know
ing very we'll what else to say.
"Wall," she resumed, in tone of
good-natured federation, II knowed
he had enough to see arter, and so |
determined to raise what money |
could myself, and give him no trouble
about it. And of course l made my
own butter. So, arter that, when l
churned, puts away little in a
missionary jar, which | called Mexi-
CO, and we neither of us ever missed
it; and arter a while Mexico was full
| of butter, and we no wus off. And
by and by sold it and put away the
money. Says to myself" and a
smile came into her eyes" that's my
parquisites. Everybody has parquis-
ties in these days, and why shouldn't
1?
(Which was all the same about
eggs, and says / tomyself: How shall
parquisite two layin' hensF which |
concluded to pre-empt two young
layin' hens, me namin' 'em Japan and
Turkey, and bein' lonely like out
there on the ranch and no one to talk
to, I convarsed with 'em, as if they
were folks. And declare fo't RELY
think they understood me, for arter l
| had told 'em two or three times that
they was parquisite hens, and must
lay accordin', and shouldn't have no
excuse about grain and gravel, cause
l would give 'em plenty of both, them
two hens went to layin' to that degree
that l couldn't have done better my
self, and they cut-cut-ca da-cut-ed me
out to them nests that much, and
that regular, that it RELY seemed as if
they had the missionary on the brain.
And they laid me forty dozen of eggs,
did Japan and Turkey last year, and
l got two bits a dozen for 'em all
which was pretty parquisiting for two
hens-and the money put away with
the fust-do you see?" And she
came to the usual sudden stop; and
waited for us to speak.
Certainly. What wonderful hens
you must have"
eyes, that was pretty good. And
then there was my calf, which my
husband, bein' so keen for money, of
course we doesn't eat our own calves,
but sells 'em. And one of our COWS
she dropped a calf that was poor,
puny little creature, and the butcher
wouldn't give nothin' for it, and my
husband he said it would cost morn
it would come to to raise it, and he
was fur knockin' it on the head, and
sellin' the pelt, which [ begged him
ag'in it, and said would raise it on
skim milk, which wasn't good for
nothin' to nobody, if he would let me
have it; and he said | might if l
wanted to, and was greet fool for
my pains. So took it; and the rains
came on and l went missionaryin' out
to the shed every mornin' and every
evenin,' and het milk to carry to it
which it almost sucked the ends of
my fingers off larnin' to feed-and
wet my feet and slipped down into
puddles, and got rained on tremen-
jus, and had the rheumatic dreadful,
me feelin' afraid all the time that l
shouldn't make nothin' Of her, but de-
termined to try. And after some
months of such work she took a
start.
"And the way the calf growed when
she set about it, beat all you ever see,
besides making me into woman's
rights woman, which l have believed
in ever since, and shall as long as 1
am in this woodland in the next,
too, if the men have all the say
there as they do here, which l don't
believe.
Sand the calf was another parquis-
tie, and shortly she began to act as if
she understood all about it, and
growed and growed till she had got
to be the sleekest, han soonest creature
on the place. Wall, as l said, Parkie
that is the name I called her by