The Indianapolis journal., 1904-05-15
Two Little Stories Told by Women

three sheets of legs. heads. etc. of careful
drawings for anatomy. besides a lot of
dashfng sketches for character and move
ment. | worked three mornings on that
calf. and the boy scratched and gathered
dewy clover and tickled its damp little nose
patiently. When he wasn't wheedling the
calf into knock-kneed docility. he would
come gawk over my shoulder and give me
suggestions with a perseverance that put
scallopS into my straight lines. / didn't
claim for my calf that he was wonderfully
pretty, but / did claim for my picture that
it was a clever nlxeness-any one would
have known it was calf
Il finished 1.-THE picture-and sent ii off
to the firm that had ordered it through my
friend. In due course i heard from the
former They regretted small oversight
exceedingly. The picture clever, etc,
but they had neglected to stipulate that the
calf must be Of the Holstein breed. They
judged the one in the picture was not /
should say he wasn't; he was just plain,
stubborn little specimen of the hit-and-miss
spotted suburban strain. But Strengthened
the thing out. L took my picture, read up,
and scrubbed in the proper markings and
sent ii back. And it stuck. I'll show it
you a can some time. Which goes to
prove the difference between a calf and a
leopard"
"You know" said certain young matron
of lively disposition, that 1 am not a
favorite with my mother-in-law Not that
there is a shadow of a verbal ill-feeling
between us. but previous to my entering
The family she had selected another daugh-
ter-in-law, and Georges having a prefer
ence otherwise rather biased her liking for
me, for she is what you might term set
in her ideas
Now, unfortunately, / am rather set
in my ways. too. and when our views clash,
/ make it a rule to keep my temper in her
house, and she hers in mine, consequently
! so far there has never been any real rup-
ture. Our most pungent difference is in
matters of household ordering She has
very strict ideas about the duties of wofn-
! an. and thinks that a woman who steps
| outside the family circle for so much as
two days at a stretch while there is still
, a child under ten, is no better than a CAD
about
well. last week 1 had a letter from
home that May and Tom were visiting there
and that / would shave to come home If
wanted to see them, for Hilltown was the
furthest west they would be able to come
haven't seen Nav. you know. since she
was married, ten years ago, and George
| told me to simply pack my suitcase and go
between he and Mnna, the children would
get along all right. Bobby is in schoo
and / couldn't take him out, and Mabel is
i just getting well of the mumps. Ny con.
| science hurt me. but 1 wanted to go
! awfully.
Il went I may say that 1 slipped of
without discussing the matter with
Georges mother; / knew 1 would have Il
breathe all that kind of atmosphere
| could stand when i got home again. Anc
was glad went. and / am now, in spite
OF the outcome. because / needed a bit OF
| chirkiug up after winter of indoors
mumps, chickenpox and rainy:day tan
| trumS.
| II enjoyed every minute of my visit
while was away. Minna is a good, honest
| sunny tempered girl, with twice the amoun
! of patience with the children / have-s,
| there; and George is an angel to worr,
along in emergencies. / enjoyed my visit
| then I came home.
''Minna opened the door with an expires
sion cn her face / had seen once before
when half-tipSy lce-man tried to kiss he
| and she threw a dish of wet potato-peel
ings over him. 'Wel' she said, uncere
moniously. I'm glad you've come. If yol
! gone. Mrs. Browns taken possession o
the house. and she's got Mabel In bed an,
| Bobby vaccinated and me held down to al
allowance OF everything from matches t
-four
'.Minna told the truth. the good lad,
had come over and stepped into my shoe
| conscientiously. i can just imagine tn
silent reproach of myself to which sh
treated my family. She had succeeded il
frightening Mabel into mumps on the righ
SIDE. and got Bobby vaccinated because sh
heard some one say that there was cas-
of smallpox somewhere the other side O
town. and the poor little dears arm wa
temper. As for George, When / kept m
temper and kissed the good lady out of tn
house, he closed the door carefully behn
her, and told me with Sigh of relief tha
would find a little reminder of him be
tween the pages Of my sLovey Mary a
partial payment for a glorious exhibition
OF an angelic disposition"