The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1903-05-23

THAT Atrs. Brown experienced q
shock on coming out on the back
perch and seeing her daughter La
vinia absorbed ia conversation with a
man, and shat man "parrfota Smith,
IS putting IS mildly. Though a wo-
man of remarkably strong nerve and
even temper. an uncommonly deep
and shrewd woman, Is her neighbors
could testify she had to grasp the
railing in front Of her, so surprised
was she at.the sight.
surely the world is coming to an
endl" she gasped.
When Layinia saw her mother, she
took hasty leave Of her admirer, and
went toward the house, looking guilty
and confused
lit was a chilly evening in autumn,
and the big, warm kitchen, with the
supper table Set out ia the middle Of
the well-scrubbed floor, looked CHEEKY
and inviting, but it failed to raise La
vinias sinking heart, as her mothers
gaze confronted her.
AS she crossed the threshold, she
would have almost forgone the pleas
ure Of having a gentleman ask If he
might come to see her Sunday night
if that pleasure was to result in a
gaze like this. She knew she had a
right to receive the attention Of this
admirer, but that knowledge was of
singularly small avail to her.
HAS that man buried his third?''
her mother demanded in an awful
voice.
eHe has, answered Lavinia.
When did he bury her?"
Bout two months ago" came the
detected ansWer.
"Oh, gracious Lordi oh, Lordy,
Iordy, Lordyl" she exclaimed in a
terrible burst. II never, 1 declare I
neverl"
AT this moment Lavinia wished she
could sink through the floor to escape
her mothers wrath. She knew that
nothing she could say would do any
good. So she said nothing, and tried
to hold herself so as to be as little
aggrayating as possible. She was
UNNECESSARILY surprised and unutter-
ably relieved when her mother sud-
denly and unexpectedly dropped the
subject and said quite c~heerfully;
"Well, supper is ready, Laviny.
Come %, an don't Stand there ar
outlying about nothing all the even
ing IS you ain't hungry I ann
Mrs Grown was shreWd. What Size
eala 81
lf again that PARROT Smith
she'll stick up for him all the more,
So lN hold my tongue She could
% II. too, being an exceptional wo-
man.
Poor Lavinial Two tears rolled
down her weatherbeaten cheeks at
the kindly, though gruh words. She
had been working in the harvest field
All day, and was cold, hungry and
tired. For years she had taken a
mans place on the farm, and it was
a mans old, faded GOAT and hat she
now took of and hung on a nail be-
hind the door, where long ago her
father used to hang the same coat
and hat. She proceeded to wash"
before sitting down to supper, just
as amy farm hand would do.
Her mother, engaged in 'dishing
APP the wholesome food and pouring
hot tea, had no time to notice her
daughters troubled countenanee, as
she tried to grasp the problem of
this, her first love affair. Her moth
er's amiability continued through the
meal, and even afterward. When the
evenings work was done, and the
two women sat down to read or sew,
the gentlemen" were not men
toned.
Layinia thought with a burning
heart OF Sunday night. What would
her mother say and what would her
feelings be on that occasion? No
matter. For once she would brave
her mothers wrath and indulge in
the luxury Of "Sunday-night compa-
ny"
Simple Eavinia! She did not know
that her mothers shrewdness guessed
as much. and was making her plans
accordingly. In their anxiety to har-
vest the crops while the dry weather
lasted, the two women apparently
forgot the PARROT Smith incident.
But when Saturday afternoon came
around and Layinia went into the VIII
lage as usual to do her errands, she
purchased two instruments that her
mind had dwelt a good deal on
through the week. These were
crimping pins" and she had come
TO the conclusion that the time had
arrived for the use Of these impor-
tant articles.
But she could not help a guilty and
uncomfortable feeling with these
things in her possession, and as she
entered the house she almost felt
that her mothers eyes rested on
those crimping pins, though they
were wrapped up in a paper at the
bottom of her pocket, and her circu-
Tar was over the pocket. She could
never tell the exact length of her
mothers penetration
When she went upstairs to her
own little bare room that night she
surveyed her face critically in the lit.
&c square Of glass that hung against
the wall above the homemade
dresser, and even tried to get a good
idea Of herself in profile. Then she
brought the glass to bear on each
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