The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-29

with the dew still on them. and walking
up and down the box bound driveway. be
fore the welcome gong would sound. The
next day I would say, 'Poky, is breakfast
nearly ready? Nom, indeedy, they's just
maxim the kitchen fire she would reply.
Even as I turned my face to the wall for
another nap. the bell would ring out loud
~ on my dreaming ears"
Did they give you good things to eat?''
asked tall New York girl.
1T was a feast and a famine. Some
days the table would be weighted with
every delicacy imaginable; the next with
apparently no reason, Mrs. Mason would
say. after an early and very unsatisfac-
tory breakfast. We are not going to
bother much about meals to-day. just
picnic dinner and supper about i've And
we'd have cold mutton, hoecake, stewed
turnips, baked potatoes. preserves and
milk. But there was always plenty in the
store room 10 be had al any hour, cold
rolls, canned peaches. cheese and ham;
and often one of the girls would come up
about Il with beautiful golden-b brown
cup cake, still smoking, and a glass OF
nutty. home brewed wine. Mother
thought you might be hungry she'd say.
And on the feast days, after an indie
scribabale dinner. topped off with peaches
and cream cake, blanc mango and cocoa
nut pies, the married daughter would
make a freezer of fruit cream about 6
o'clock.
often I would run up to my room to
wash my hands get them well soaped, and
find there was no towel When l would
ask Pocahontas, she-Would shake her head
ard disappear After a long absence. she a
come back. with Mrs Mason. 'Poky tells
me you want towels she would say, pitt
lessly and l would quail before the righte-
Gus scorn in her eyes. IN see if 1 can
get you some, but in such a big family it's
hard to keep any extra ones. I would
feel Ike a criminal every time this hap
pened.
y had little riding hat which was sup
posed to stay on the hall table, but was
never in place. one day. I timidly asked
if anybody had seen it. %, Tucker wore IL
down 10 the lower neighborhood to-day.
but he'n be back Thursday, GUSTS said.
Poor boy he never can keep a hat
one of my dearest treasures was a tiny
bottle OF perfume, which 1 doTed out drop
by drop on state occasions. Once 1 left
it on my dresser by an unlucky chance
and when I went into my r ON again. the
r rocked with delicious, guilty sweei ness.
y few minutes later little Mason ran TO
me; See row nice I Look he cried. Nam
ma has just washed and dressed me- and
put a whole lot of lovely cologne all over
me. Don't l smell sweet?" 1 was sorry
not to be as enthusiastic as the occasion
demanded.
blue silk?' MIS-. Murray said one day. 4
happened to be booking into your Closet
this morning, and l saw the skirt hanging
there. 1 examined it carefully and I like
the way the trimming is put on I thank cd
her for her approval and wore the dress
that night 10 tea.
The mail arrangement was the funniest
of all. Woods Crossing WASH a pos office
at all and Happy Creek, miles away,
was where we got our letters. Any one
passing that way would bring them, and
sometimes a neighbOr would carry them
in his pocket for days. There was a the
DRY that either the negro boy. Delaware
or Tucker went TO the postofIice every day,
buI it was only a theory. / was in Wash
ington for a few days and when I came
back, GUSTS handed me several letters and
papers. Is this all? / asked. There was
a postal-card, but it got lost somewhere,
she replied. Mother can tell you exactly
what was on il, though. for she read it. 1
have forgotten what il said, but It was
from New York and signed Mary F. j."
"One day when Tucker went TO the post
office, the poStmisIress handed him out
knife. This has just come through the
mail, Tucker she said. 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.
Gusts had a lover in the adjoining
county who wrote to her whenever he got
a chance 70 send his letters by private
hand. He seemed never to have heard of
the vulgar public method of employing
Uncle sam. Often a passing carriage
would halt and deliver q missive or a col
Ored boy going through the plantation
would hand in a letter for Miss Gusts
Mason which "a man on horseback had
turned over TO him. Nearly every time he
wrote, ne would say, 4 snatch this chance
to send you message, for hear a neigh
Dor is going within a few miles of Wood $
Crossing Or, so sorry not to have got
ten word to you before. 1 wrote a long
letter last week but had 10 tear it up as
there was no one going your way
'One Sunday I drove, with Matoaca, 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 life?' asked the host
ess.
7 adore it and I am going to spend ev-
cry summer in Virginia. They killed me
with kindness The Colonel took me for
beautiful drives every day, the old grand
mother 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
ana DruShed my halr Tor me. one day |
had a heathenish cold and stayed in bed
Every solitary member of the family wait
ed on me, and / had hot drinks, eggnogg
custard. sponge cake, milk toast, hot-wa-
ter bags. rosy-cheeked peaches, musty
books of poetry, fresh roses and gerani-
uus piled as high as the bed posts. | was
showed Oft to every visitor who came as
our friend Mrs. Strangely and made to
so through my parlor tricks. Everybody
was heartbroken when l 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 1 did. The
whole neighborhood came to see me off
and Pocahontas cried. Matoaca and Gus
tbs had tears in their eyes when they kiss
ed me goodbye, and l am not quite sure
that my own weren't wet.
d" Come back next summer they all
cried as the train moved off, you haven't
been bit like a regular boarder' "
MARRIAGE TRIALS.