The Worthington advance., 1901-01-25
INEVITABLE
BY Marie Louise Pool.
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Copyright by Herbert s. Stone & Co..


but none of her work has been more dis
tinctly characteristic all through than has
the book issued some time ago by the pub
fishing firm of Herbert s. Stone & Co., Chi
cago entitled "A Widower and Some
Spinsters." The book contains u charming
little sketches, the first one of the "Widow-
err and the remainder of the ''Spinsters."
The following is tale of one of the spin
stcrs.
A modern young lady would have
called it ''just a perfectly, deliciously
lovely old house, and so quaint!" But
the modern young lady would prob
ably die there in month of what she
would have described as "ongwe."
The Greens, whose home this was,
did not die young. They usually lived
until past 80, and then were buried
on that knoll out there beyond the
cider orchard. That knoll had been
the burial yard of the family for al
most 200 years. The old slate-colored
headstones slanted very much, and
the letters cut on them were filed in
with fine gray lichens.
The house was much the color of
the most ancient gravestones. It had
never been painted, and it was re-
shingled only when that process was
necessary to preserve the weather.
boards. The last time the carpenters
had been there was when Mehitable
was small child, and she was now
beyond middle age.
The building was 50 low-eaved in
front that it appeared impossible that
it could be any lower, until you
walked round to the back and found
that over the kitchen the roof was
still nearer to the earth. In the sum-
mer it almost seemed as if the spear
mint growing near the kitchen door
would touch the caves, so rankly it
sped upward. That season when
Mehitable raised so many sunflowers,
so that the hens might have the seed,
those bold blossoms climbed up and
nodded their yellow heads together
over the roof shingles.
In her care of her poultry, Mehitable
was guided good deal by the month
ly periodical to which she subscribed,
and which was devoted to the inter-
ests of fowl. One year this journal
advised every one who kept hens and
wished to make any money on them
to be sure to plant great many sun
flowers, as their seeds were mar
velous food. In point of fact, hens
that were fed on this kind of nourish-
ment would be fat and glossy, and
would lay in spite of themselves.
"Try them seeds on that old Ply
mouth Rock" said Mehitable's moth
er; ''she amt laid for more'n a year.
Give her good dose. If she lays I
sh'll believe there's something in that
receipt"
"'Tain't exactly what I call a re-
ceipt, mother" said Mehitable, hesi-
tatingly.
They had washed the breakfast
dishes and were sitting down by the
cook stoye a moment to warm their
feet before they began to sew straw.
1t was about half-past six, and was
not yet very light, but Afehitable had
her spectacles on, and the "hen pa
per-" as she called it, in her hand. She
had been at the post Office and the
library at the village the day before.
From the former place she had pro-
cured the hen paper, from the latter
she had brought home "Strathmore." :"
She had just read aloud this article
about sunflower seeds, and both the
women had resolved to plant "a lot"
Mrs. Green had the best place, d.
rectly in front of the stove. Her
skirt was turned up over her knees
and her stockinged feet were resting
on a much-dried pine board, which
was placed on the bottom of the oven.
Her daughters feet were modestly
on the hearth, where they could not
receive half as much heat, but Mehit-
able did not expect to receive heat
or anything.
"It's no matter what you call it,
said Mrs. Green, with emphasis. II
guess I'm old enough to know what
a receipt is. Receipts amt all for
cakes n cookies. That one you've
jest ben readin' is for eggs, n we'll
try it,"
They did try it the very next
spring. Their luck with the sunflowe1
crop was prodigious, but as regarded
the egg crop it was not marked. Fol
instance, no amount of seeds would
make the Plymouth Rock hen lay, al
though that bird walked about th<
farm as If she had laid all the egg.
that were in the nests. It was in thu
fall, after this experiment had beer
made, that the hen paper announced
that there was nothing SO bad to giv'
hens as sundower seeds. Mehitabl<
read these words while the two were
sitting in the same attitude in which
they read the former item. $
Mrs. Green pushed the pine boart