Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-12-23

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BY HoMEsPUN.

was she from the crown OF heI We"
shaned head to the sole Of her No
shoe that every one-husband family
lew. Gentle. bond and free-was under
the smell Of her laughing good humor'
She was the friend, sister and counselor
TO The whole community
Some one once yentured TO ask cltl-
zen OF the town the question; VINO
runs this town anyway
The answer was prompt and final;
'The Bishop and Mrs Dlantha Wood
"Howsomeyer." as Mrs. Woods mo-
Their remarked when the satire was re-
peated TO her there amt many towns
IN Zion that's better managed.
There was Mr.. Wood; and his first
name was James +. Although some
wag Of the town had once addressed
an Invitation to MIR. and Mrs. Diantha
Wood" yet everyone knew perfectly
well that MIR James f. Wood was a
force and power to be reckoned with
very ostensibly. And the authorities OF
the Church knew his worth quite well
and they had appointed him to one oil
the highest positions in the Stake.
The Stake Of Woodston was one OF the
most distant outposts Of our dear Zion.
Pioneer in every sense Of the word.
Some one rises up to ask me where
Woodston Stake is located? My dear
imaginative and literal friend this is
a Christmas folly And you are to see
your friends with gowns and wigs on
set In scenes OF pasteboard and trusle'
Please to hold thy peace and let the
masque 80 on
Pioneer was certainly the word for
Woodstonl
Mrs. Dlantha lived In three-roomed
log cabin which stood In the princlpal
street-but stay. II / remember correct
~, there was but one street In the town
However that one street boosted OF
quite a number OF Lighthouses. chietest
OF which was that belonging TO Mrs'
Diantha.
The gay little woman endeayored TO
satisfy her love for the beautiful win
the fashloning Of rheumatic chairs ana
lounges from sawed-out barrels ana I'M
provised dry-gOods boXe,
And 1t was cosy retreat, that sitting
room!
In the center was a small table dry
goods box so cunningly draped with
bright -colored cretonne that II became
an artistic pedestal for the one large
handsome vase which had been per-
mitted 10 travel with them clear from
the distant Utah home.
And the vase as well as the windows
all glowed and shlmmered with the
brilliant geranlums. fusclas, and mas
turtlsms Of the winter growth, While In
the summer, the wild daisies, bluebells
and ftN,loyes filled every corner OF the
spacious room with fragrance and beau
~.
Couches, stiff in manufacture, mem:
(dry goods boxes) were skillfully
draped and festooned with the Gre
tonne while pillows piled In luxurious
confusion, bore evidence OF Mrs.
Diantha's taste and her thrifty care
for the great brood OF ducks which
quacked and waddied in the distant
barn yard
The sewing machine was a part Of
this pioneer parlor's furnishings, and
whenever not In use. II, too, was care
fully and lastly draped In graceful
folds.
Now this sitting room was the pride
OF Mrs. DIS heart OF hearts. II was
the ethical embodiment for the whole
colony OF the beauty and culture Of DIS
fapf cfvilfza ton
The shrewd little sermons which were
sometimes preached in the Relief So
cieties and Y. l.. NJ. /. A. by Mrs. ID
on order, cleanliness. beauty in the
home and such, would fall utterly to
the ground without this definite and
practical Illustration of all her teach
ings.
And so dainty little Mistress Diantha
Junior was always on her best be-
hayior when she was permitted TO take
the clean, hemmed buster In her own
lily white hand and to dust the whole
Of the sacred precincts.
With what reverent care did she
wh.sk about the ancient ornaments on
the reverend "what-not" which stood
In the corner.
For the picture frames she took a
paper upon 1t, and then rose steadily
and grandly upon her pedestal to feek
the dust from the gilt frames of the few
really good etchings and engravings.
Before the organ the little girl bowed
as before veritable shrinel Every
knob and crook and quirl and twist
and don't they make a bewildering lot
on organs-was scrupulously wiped and
polished.
Charles, the twelve-year-old boy,
carefully wiped and scraped his feet
before bringing into the sitting room
the great spicy piney chunks" which |
were TO burn In the roomy CRATE.
While even baby Tom, with his
mothers merry and beautiful grey
eyes, would peep rougishly In and say
MY feets Is all clean, mama, may l
toned in?"
Now. III leave II to you, my can
did reader-the reader Is always as
sumed 10 be candid or kind, you know, |
although / could never imagine why |
however, I'll leave 1t to you II II wasn't |
a trying thing for Mrs Diantha, with |
her eXqulsitely neat ways. and her well |
trained children; with all her New Eng |
land conscience and the president Of |
the Relief society responsibilities, 20 |
have her husband afflicted with the |
habit Of throwing his things down |
almost anywhere?
II Is true that years OF gentle ham |
mering on the same spot OF grey BRAIN |
matter had induced In her good hus-
band a dim consciousness that his |
clothes ought 10 be hung up some
where; but the somewhere tried Mrs. /
ID almost as much as the nowhere.
The treasured sitting room was Mr. |
Woods favorite retreat. Small Won
der that. Mrs. Dl rejoiced nightly |
that her dear ones enjoyed the fruits VI
her womanly toll 1t was for them she
tolled!
Whenever Mr.. Wood came into the
house, he at once felt the "hung-up-
and-put- atmosphere which per-
meated every corner thereof. and in
obedience 10 a dim half-forgotien eN-
hortation, he al once pulled OF his hat,
and hung it-on a convenient picture
frame. Overshoes were set neatly on
the machine step or on a handy chair.
Up goes the oyercOat on the projecting
knob Of the tan orean-and Mr.. Wood
SITS down al his desk In the corner ut
terly obliyious TO everything but busl-
ness.
Enter Mrs Wood She secs and sighs'