The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-02-26
GETT|K SHEIOF MARY MASON
A Tale of Western Social Life.

| Inc nttlC woman was cfOucneu up on
the carpet sofa in limp heap. She
looked i'll, but sanguine-eNhausted, but
relieved. The remains of the midday
meal were on the table. There were
traces of ashes about the stove. The
baby's gown was begrimed. In spite of
these facts the mistress of the modest
home smiled sweetly.
"Well," exclaimed her visitor, one COM
prehensive glance embracing the unwont-
ed neglect of the place, Il heard YOU
were not feeling we'll, but l did not
know You required assistance with your
housewOrk. | supposed, of course. your
friend Mrs. Macon was with YOU"
The little woman looked up with a
sparkle in her eye.
20, Pm we'll enough l was sick
enough up to last Tuesday: I've been
gettin' better ever since. III have the
table red off an things Strengthened be-
now can let things be. There amt no
one to notice. Mrs. Mason, she don't
come over. Truth is. we've got shet of
Mary Mason. We just" in emphatic
repetition, "had to get shet of Mary
| Mason
The visitor was sympathetic. The lit
tie woman was confidential.
Me an Tom,'' she explained. have
lived OH farms all our lives. So when
| we rented the farm and moved into town,
| thought the change was fine. My!
l says to Tom, ain't it nice to live in
large place. | never before suspicioned
how comfortable it was to live reel near
to folks an have them folks neighborly
Out. II the half section we might be two
weeks 'ithout seem body to speak to.
An here we've got 300 people in this
town, an two trains a day-not to men
ton the freights-an' houses all round
vs.. It's awful nice. 1 says to Tom,
she comes i'll that often l ain't got Il bit
of time to he lonesome for the stock.
There's only herself an her husband. so
her work don't count. She can't read or
write only Bohemy, an she amt got no
use for that language since she married
out,n her folks, Take it altogether she's
| wiliin' to neighbor lots, an that T says
| to Tom, will be mighty perkin' for
yes" assented her visitor, with a ris-
ing e., infection on the monosyllablc..
Tom. he didn't say much. He's kind
of slow-like. He jest said. What suits
you, Eliza, suits me! Well. Mrs. Ma
| son she come. She kept comm. Some
times if she got Samyel off early, she
come in before our breakfast. She allus
come in before; got the dishes done up:
even wash mornin's. Sometimes she
talked: Right along she kept nibblin'.
| Sometimes twas a bit of cheese, or il
! couple. of crackers. or hunk of spice
gingerbread. or the top off a jar of jell.
l can't hear you when I'm a-rubbin'' I'd
say: That never mattered a bit to her:
She'd wait till | got through rubin an
was a-bilin'. But whether she talked
or whether she didn't she allus come.
sure as the daylight did. she allus kept
a-nibblin, an she allus stayed
,kr>. L~l
spoonful of medicine out Of bottle on
the windoWsill before she proceeded.
Our girls get home from school at
| -, went on the Frustrated chatelainc,
IAN | allus have lunch for 'em then.
Sometimes it's real good. Sometimes
it's only, scraps. Anyhow. it's the best
me an Tom can afford. Don't you think
she stayed for every one Of them
lunches? My. yes. She don't have
| to get dinner for Samyel till l. an she
lowed that she most generally got peck
ish about noon. So she'd set down with
home to get dinner: Lots of times they'd
be Just a snag of pork. or a gumption
! OF fried potatoes, or as much Jam leavin'
US you'd snecze at. There amt moth
IN here: Mrs. Mason, to ask you to have
!; bite OF, l says to her often. oh, laws
she answers what's good enough for
you is good enough for nc" An She
Her visitor sighed softly.
r., Linen she would stay all afternoon.
She was allus here when Tom come home
to supper. Her husband took his supper
at the hotel. so she used to jine us. Sam
vel never got back from the store before
IL, SO shed stay at our house to pass the
time. Tom, he'd go for the mail. an
come back, an, there sine was. Read
the noos' She! say. Tom. who is
nafc re9 pe,}f rsad Tsad it. Hed fead
Mary Mason nd put in. go on! / could
JEST set here all night an listen An
she did-pretty near!''
There was mournful silence.
ION the farm continued Mrs. Robin
How was we to go to bed even at 10,
with Mary Mason a-settn' there? Land
O the livin'!' she'd say, seem me
a;,patchin'. I'm glad amt got emmy
children td jI to keep asslavin' they do
read every word in the paper, even the the
Observation-Disclosures she was! Tom
he'd yawn and yawn. Id tell as how /
was dead beat. not havilIs got much sleen
the night before with the baby that was
f9p .',p Sne meyer pretended to hear.
room, an he'd haul off his ' Shoes hoe o an
sling en-, or the floor real hard. That
d! didn't n stir her. 1t was awful provok-
| in.
1T must have becn!" her visitor &C.
quiesced.
Then they was the borryin'. Not that
Mary Mason called it borryin'. She said
she hadn't Il bit of use for folks that
horryed. She said when she wanted any
Ting from person she neighbored with
t fr;i Hne ,; Just Went in an took it, reel
| kept a-meltin'. ''Tain't worth While me-
| buyln, package. # yeast that cost {;
| cents, she, say: when half Il cake will,
make bakin' for me and Samyel iii
fahe t, b,t Of yousrn The next time she
| gettin' whole bottle of vaniller,' she'd
say, when l only make a cake once a
week. "A teaspoon ill do me- Then
| there was tea. Samyel drank only coffee.
an 'twould be extravaganza for me-
myself III take a. pinch of your So
she took pinch-.most every day.
Pinches makes pounds-enough of 'cm.
| Pickles. she often observed, I'm most
especial ~ fond of. but Samyel says they
rust ~ =. out the linin of Il body's stomach.
over here. an then he won't know if the
linin' O. my stomach is rusted out or not
| wish,' feebly concluded Mrs. Robinson.
that you'd look at that row of empty
Jars on top of the kitchen press!'
\ depressing and significant silence fol-
| lowed.
Me an Tom.' said the protesting
voice., wanted to talk il, over. but twas
only between II at night an in the
m0rnin we got a chance. "rom,' l says
to him one night after she'd been in and
borryed our last half dozen eggs, sayin'
she'd return 'em when they got cheaper,
Tom, we got to get shet Of Mary Mason!'
Tom says, I don't know how we're goin'
to do it unless we move back on the
FARM
But you couldn't well do thatr'
Not real easy. So I begun to give
her hints. give her all kinds of hints,
| said as how I'd never been used to sasi-
siety, an that much Of it made my head
ache. l said as how Tom just loved soil. 4
tood-that there wasn't anything he liked
better than spending his evenings alone
| with me an the children. / said late
| hours were fearful wearin' on our consti-
| tootions an that after this we was going
to bed not .later'n 8 o'clock. said
couldn't return her visits because Tom
hadn't no use for women that was allus
~. - ~ -