The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-09-05

herself IN the midst OF her sOllloquy.
The question came to her like reve-
lation; what good would money do
her mother, or herself either if it came
too late to save the precious life. Help
must come now, and through her.
That 500 prize must go, but who
could be found to take the mothers
place? Who?
who but myself9" she answered,
as with regretful glance at her cas-
ell, she rose and taking from her
wardrobe a dark print gown and
bingham apron, prepared for the con-
fiict she had determined upon. Five
minutes later she made her appear
ance in the kitchen, and quietly took
possession of the same. Her mother
protested, reminding her that more
muscle and less brain would answer
in that hot, stuffy place; but as usual
Virginia had her own way, and while
the tired mother sat on the cool porch
Smelling peas, her college bred girl,
under her directions, prepared din
ner fit for king to eat.
"Now, mother, DEAR" said Virginia,
after her father and the boys had
gone back to the meadow, "you are
to lie down and take nap while I
clear away the table and put the
kitchen in order"
"But, daughter, what about your
picture7" asked her mother. cit is
of more importance than all the
dishes about the house."
"But not to be compared to your
own life, my precious MOTHER" ex-
claimed Virginia. 81 presume house
keeping will not be play for me,
but as l have never made failure of
anything in my life do not propose
to strike my colors to pots and ket-
ties at this late day" And she did
not. AS in everything else she had
ever undertaken she made success
of cooking; in fact, she reduced it to
such perfect system as to number
it with the fine arts. At first she
disliked baking and, it must be con-
fessed, tried to shirk it; but one day
she happened on little article re-
lating Mrs. Garfield's experience
under similar trials. On certain
occasion the little woman, finding
that the bread of the household must
come through her own labors during
the season, reasoned thus: "If the
work must be done, why not do it
perfectly, and give to my dear ones
bread at once healthful and deli
cious?" and, Notwithstanding herdis-
like to the "sticky" feeling of the
dough, she succeeded in becoming
an artist in the line. "What woman
has done, woman can do" said Vir-
ginia, resolutely, and the row of
white, faky loaves she took from the
oven on the following morning
proved conclusively that she had
gone into the fight with determine
tion to gain victory over self in
every engagement. Her first plan to
utilize portion of that prize money
in sending her mother to Chautau-
qua was given up when the weary
woman declared that she could rest
at home better thousandfold than
among strangers. But the outing
she so much needed was not missed
entirely. Virginia's cleverness sug-
costing novel out-of-door home, in
imitation of Queen Victoria's under
the-tree home, inside her own en-
closure.
Luckily the lawn surrounding the
farmhouse was long and wide, and
well supplied with shade trees. A
few dollars of the 'prizs money" was
expended for good, strong, large
sized tent. Curtains of fancy
cheesecloth divided the space en-
closed into various apartments, while
mattress and rugs of all sizes and
shapes were scattered here and there
over the soft green grass. Light
chairs, tables, cots, hammocks, bed
mattresses and other necessary arti-
cles we're supplied from the house,
while in the little neat kitchen the
new gasoline stove performed the
whole duty of the old iron range,
rivaling it in everything except in the
amount of heat emitted. Here, under
the trees, the tables were daintily
laid and the harvesters rested while
partaking of the delicious viands
prepared by the sisters, who out of
drudgery had evolved an art Vir-
ginia had nov a rival in her sister
Dorotho, while Jack and Lester. not