The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1901-07-12

/ law silver teapot
Johns mother was sitting In the
dining room. heruming an apron. Her
face looked tired and pale. and Valerie
hesitated little as she suggested the
arranging of her wedding gifts. You
look little tired she said, gently.
perhaps you'd rather not"
She was seized with an impulse to
sit in her mother-in-law's lap and kiss
her Her own mother found such
treatment refreshing when she was
tired; but Valerie feared that
mother-in-law might not find il even
proper.
Yet the mother-in-law, who had
seen Valerie with her own mother,
was wishing that the girl would sit in
her lap and kiss her She was coming
a little nearer her daughter-in-law,
and she reflected that Valerie might
have committed greater crime than
the putting of the sugar bowl into
| the Ice chest. Johns mother was
very gentle, and Johns wife was very
sweet-natured. They were doing their
| best to surmount their unlikenesses
and Eleanor's warnings. 1t was not
easy, but il was less difficult than
they thought.
They unpacked the wedding gifts
and brought the majority of them
downstairs Valerie had expected to
scatter them about the house. She
had expected to display the cups, the
little silver dishes and the pretty en-
| broiderieS on an afternoon tea table;
she had college girls fondness for @
tea table. She mentioned tentatively
| her expectation, but her mother-in.
law said:
''They will get so dusty. my dear.
Wouldn't it be better to keep such
beautiful things carefully in the china
closet and the silver drawers?" She
made the suggestion kindly; she re-
membered that Valerie did not 'ap
preciate the degree of care needed by
silver and glass and china; and
Nalerie's gifts We're too fine, she
| thought, to be dulled and tarnished
by dust.
The girls disappointment was keen
The wedding gifts were such cher
ished possessions, she wanted them in
familiar confusion. She had deter
mined, however, not to be typical
| daughter-in-law, and she s4nilingly al
lowed them to be arranged in order
ly, straight lines. in places in which
they would belong-perhaps for 81
years! The occupation lost its inter.
est. but it helped the flight of time.
| John will soon be here" thought
Valerie. "If it were not for John,
would go straight hoIne-without
waiting to dress. | simply don't know
how to be orderly, and I'm really
afraid that Johns mother win never
get used to me-
In spite of this reflection, she
thanked Johns mother very charm
ingly. and went slowly away to dress
| for dinner. Johns mother looked
after her. The girls step seemed
listless; her face, even with it's smile,
had been too wistful to escape her
notice. She remembered other things
that Eleanor had said. Suddenly she
remembered that Valerie was a girl
"a little girl, she gently amended
her remembrance.
| Valerie" she said, ''come here, my
dear child"
Valerie gazed at her in surprise
She went quickly to her side. Johns
mother took her hand and looked at
its bright new wedding ring. She
| looked up at the girls sweet face, at
the disordered hair with it's dropping
rose. She remembered that she was
older than Valerie's mother, and she
smiled, partly at Valerie and partly
at the recent dismay caused by this
tangle-haired, womanly little girl.
| my dear" she said, very gently,
''are you tired?"
| Valerie quite forgot that this was
her mother-in-law, who was precise
who had kept her silver teapot In the
same place for 35 years. She remem-
bered that she was Johns own
mother her own new mother. She
sat on the arm of her chair and put
her arms around her neck
"No, I'm not tired; I'm only afraid
II will be an awful trial to you. I've
never kept anything in the same place
for 35 years."
| 1t was a foolish little explanation,
but it had pleasant effect upon
Johns mother. She laughed and
patted Valerie's rosy cheek. Il hadn't
supposed so my dear. l am a reason
able woman, and as you are only 30"
She interrupted herself and said more
seriously: But, my dear, you may
keep your silver teapot In as many
places as You like. You know this
is your home now. too. and you must
be happy in it. I don't know how
girls are accustomed TO keeping
things. | was girl so long ago"
'If you will keep me in your heart,
you may keep my teapot anywhere
you like" whispered Valerie, impul-
sively.
so may you, my dear, if you will
keep me in yours" replied Johns
mother You may move mine to
some other place if you like"
Valerie slipped into her lap. "Now
that you know just where to keep
me, for always, and l know where to
keep you for always, l think we can
easily arrange for the silver teapots-
and such things she said, with
! contented laugh. And to the sur.
prise of all the cousins-and particu.
larly Eleanor-they did with COM
plete mutual atisfaction.-Youth's
Companion.
Briefly, As to Patriotism.