The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1898-09-28
LOVE IN A CABIN
aAnd this is home p


mingled feeling Of wonder, joy and
disappointment. Three thousand mile.
had she travelled across the continent
to reach the home her husband had
prepared for her, and this is what she
found:
A lonely ranch among the foothills
in southern California, with plain log
cabin for hone. Not a vestige Of q
plant or flower around it, hills stretch
/ ing brown aud bare under the July
sun and not shade lin sight.
"One might know there never had
been woman near this place. said
Ruth, her eyes slowly filling with tears
1t seemed so comfortless aud barren
after leaving her mothers old fashion
ed farmhouse in Maine, full to over
flowing with inviting, comfortable
things, and surrounded with flower
gardens and orchards, and where every
nook and corner suggested the def
hands OF woman. She felt her very
heart sinking with her.
Then, seeing the eyes Of her husband
fixed upon her, she forced back the
tears
Had she not said, like Ruth Of old,
"Whither thou goest will go, and
whittier thou lodgest l viii lodge"
Would any place, no matter how full
Of comfort it might be, ever be home
without him? Had she and her baby
Ruth not wept tears Of joy when the
letter came telling them that papa was
coming from California to take them
home? And had not every foot Of the
way been a joy TO think he was once
more with them and that they were to
have home?
She stroked the hand other husband,
who held their little Ruthie in his
arms, smiling through her tears
"I know, dear, it is new country, "
she said eheerly, "and you have dOue
the best you could"
It was the truly wifely spirit, and in
his heart he blessed the true woman
who said it.
"All the ranches look kind Of desc
late" be said, where there's no one
but men about, but now we've got a
little woman here things will soon be
looking different"
Inside Of the house she found every
thing neat at least, and that was a
great comfort to her, and if the parlor
was barren looking with no carpet
upon it the kitchen was full Of eontri-
vances which women like, and she
knew that John had thought Of them
for her.
After supper they sat down on the
little porch in front of the cabin to talk
of plans for future work. It was just
at sunset, and as Ruth sat plaeidly
looking at the view in front of her,
which, after all, was fine one, taking
in glimpse OF the blue Pacific and
background of purple mountains, she
began to lose the undertone Of home
sickness which had 50 marred her home
coming. She thought how beautiful
home might really be under the shad-
Ow of the lifted pines, and she resolv-
ei, with Johns help, she could make
hers one to be proud of. As if in answer
to her thought John went into the house
and returned in moment laden with
two parcels, which he dropped into her
lap.
"'rhere, Ruth,n he said; "you can't
guess what these are, can you?"
81 am afraid not,n Ruth said, cycling
the mysterious looking packages Won
deringly.
"Well, you know the house isn't very
beautiful yet" said John, bis good face
fairly shining with the little secret he
had in store for her. "But I guess
you'll find something in each Of those
parcels that will help you beautify it."
What could he mean? Ruth took
up the lighter but larger one first. To
her surprise it was full of garden seeds,
small packages of every kind almost
she could think of.
"Well, how lOvelyp' she said. Nov
we shall raise all the vegetables we
need, and our garden will rival dear
mothers at home"
ayes" John replied, "and go ahead
of it, for California beats the world for
flowers, and your garden will be just as
lovely in winter as in summer. There
are 20 varieties of roses alone among
that collection of seeds"
"Isn't it wonderful TO think OF" eri-
ed Ruth, as delighted as child over
her treasures. "And what can be in
here?" she continued as she opened the
second parcel WONDERS will never
cease" she exclaimed the next mo-
ment as he poured a whole bag Of
silver into her lap. And what is this
for?n
"To buy your parlor furniture" he
replied, laughing at her amazement
"Honest?" She looked at him, her
brown eyes sparkling.
''It is for Mrs. Delano to do with as
she pleases," he said. ''I have saved
the money to furnish the cabin with
and thought TO have fixed it up before
you came, but concluded on second
thought that you could do better than
I; so there's the money. Buy what you
please and fix up the place to suit your
self.y
"Well, if you amt the best John in
the whole country" Ruth said, almost
laughing and crying in the same breath.
How could she ever be homesiek
again?
And that night, instead of crying
herself to sleep, as she had thought that
afternoon to do, she lay awake from
very joy, thinking Of the pretty
things she could buy and make for the
cabin and imagining how picturesque it
would look covered with Lady Banks
roses, and how sweet the violet beds
would be in the springtime.
And 50 the next day she set tine hired
man to work laying off a garden, and
all that week and the next she spent
her spare time in digging and hoeing
and spading. The following week John
took her to the nearest town, and she
selected the various articles she desired