Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-11-30

/ NOulQ ask POcan0ntaS she would snake
| her head and disappear. After = long
absence she'd come back with Mrs.
Mason. 'Poky tells me you want tow
els, she would say, pitilessly, and I
would quail before the righteous scorn
in her eyes. I'll see if l can get you
some, but in such big family it's
! hard to keep any extra ones I would
feel like a criminal every time this
happened
Il had a little riding hat which
was supposed to stay on the hall table,
but was never in place One day tim
idly asked if anybody had seen it. .,
Tucker wore it down to the lower
neighborhood today, but he'll be back
| Thursday Custis said. Poor boy, he
never can keep a hat
Zone of my dearest treasures was a
tiny bottle of perfume, which l doled
out drop by drop on state occasions.
Once left it on my dresser by an I'M
lucky chance. and when l went into
my room again the air reeked with de-
licious, guilty sweetness. A few min
utes later little Mason ran to me. See
how nice | look, he cried Mamma
has just washed and dressed me and
put whole lot of lovely cologne over
me. Don't l smell sweet?' I was
sorry not to be as enthusiastic as the
occasion demanded.
Why don't you ever wear that
pretty blue silk Mrs. Murray said one
day. I happened to be looking into
your closet this morning, and l saw the
skirt hanging there. l examined it
carefully, and 1 like the way the trim
ming is put on l thanked her for her
approval, and wore the dress that
night to tea.
THE mail arrangement was the fun
niest of all. Woods Crossing wasn't
a postoffice at all, and Happy Creek,
four miles away, was where we got
our letters. Anyone passing that way
would bring them, and sometimes a
neighbor would carry them in his poclI-
ct for days. There was theory that
either the negro boy, Delaware, or
Tucker went into the postoffice every
day, but it was only theory. | was
in Washington for a few days, and
when l came back Custis handed me
several letters and papers. is this
alp | asked. There was a postal
card, but it got lost somewhere, she
replied. Mother can tell you exactly
what was on it, though, for she read it.
have forgotten what it said, but it
was from New York and signed Mary
F. j."
Zone day when Tucker went to the
postoffice the postmistress handed him
out a knife. Your aunt sent it to you
and hopes you won't hurt yourself
with it. We never heard what became
of the wrapping and the little note
within.
Zone Sunday drove, with Motoaca,
to church. She had a letter to mail
and no change. Could anything be
simpler when the plate was passed
around than putting in a nickel and
taking out two cents for a stamp?
Matoaca seemed to think not.
"All that was awfully amusing, but
did you like that sort of iife?' asked
the hostess.
Il adore it, and | am going to spend
every summer in Virginia. They
killed me with kindness. The colonel
took me for beautiful drives every day,
the old grandmother taught me every
conceivable crochet stitch and sang me
songs of the last century. Tucker lent
me his horse to ride and went with me
on an old farm hack; the girls pressed
my thin dresses and brushed my hair
for me. One day 1 had heathenish
cold and stayed in bed. Every solitary
member of the family waited on me,
and had hot drinks, eggnogs, custard,
sponge cake, milk toast, hOt-water
bags, rosy-cheeked peaches, musty
books of poetry, fresh roses and gera-
NUNS piled as high as the bedposts.
was showed off to every visitor who
came as our friend, Mrs. Strangely
and made to go through my parlor
tricks Everybody was heart broken
when I spoke of leaving, and Mrs.
Mason said after my term Of boarding
was up that she wanted me to stay
week as her guest, which | did. The
whole neighborhood came to see me
off, and Pocahontas cried. Matoaca
and Custis had tears in their eyes
when they kissed me good-by, and l
am not quite sure that my own weren't
wet.
"'Come back again next summer,
they all cried as the train moved on;
you haven't been a bit like a regular
boarder' New York Sun.