Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1905-07-13
When the Deacon Spoke.

No one ever doubted that deacon
Haskell, farmer, meant to be a kind
husband and ? just father, but there
was Puritan blood in his veins and
his ways were harsh and arbitrary.
There were those who said also that
he was domineerlng and obstinate,
but to give the Deacon his due, he
was simply carrying out what ne
called principles. 1t was principle
OF his to go to bed on the stroke OF
9 and get up on the stroke of +, and
his wife had to do the same. Had an
earthquake or cyclone prevented
the good wife from doing the family
washing on Monday and the family
baking on Tuesday the husband
would have made no excuses for her.
During the earlier days of her mar
riage the Deacon S vile had opinions
of her own, but before she had been
his wife five years she gave them up
The thinking and the expressing IN
that house was all done by the Dea-
cvn. There was a daughter, Ruth,
and up to the age of l3 she was un'
der the same influence as her mother.
At that age she went to another State
to live with her aunt and did not re-
turn until she was l6. The amaze
ment of the fatuer when he met her
at the village railroad depot was IN
tense. In fact, it kept him dumb all
the way home. Ruth had become
someone else. That is, she was like
the average girl of 16 who had been
allowed the usual Liberties and hadn t
been crushed every time she laughed
or spoke. She had hat with flowers
on it. She had dress made by
dressmaker. She had shoes that cost
$3. She even had kid gloves. She
was al.o chatty and spoke of her faith
er as dad"
The Deacon realized that there was
a big undertaking on hand for him.
Ruth had gotten out from under bis
influence and must be squelched.
The only reproof he administered on
his way home was his silence, but she
did not seem to mind that in the least.
Just how to begin the squelchlng
bothered the father bit for two or
three days, and he waited for an ex-
cuse. At last he found one. Among
Ruth's baggage was a hammock.
There were locust trees in the front
yard to suspend it from, but such
thing as hammock had never aP-
peared on that farm. 1t was extrav'
agance, profanity, flying in the face
of Providence. Ruth put it up
while her father was hoeing corn one
afternoon, and she was not only lying
IN it when be came up to supper, but
was also reading love story. The
Deacon hardly waited to hang up his
hoe on the limb of cherry tree.
Standing before the girl, he exclaim-
ed hoarsely;
"Get out Of that y
"Why, daddy, what is it?" she
asked.
"You are disgracing me and your
self People are looking at you as
they drive by !"
"But I'm only lying in a hammock.
"And l tell you to get out. It's
shame and disgrace. The next
thing you'll be doing is to ride horse
back.
a was going to ask you if might
do that tomorrow.
That was the beginning Of the
squelching process. From that time
on for week the Deacon nagged and
ordered and lectured. He couldn't
prevent Ruth from having opinions
and from talking back, but he maa-
aged tomake her very uncomfortable.
At length she positively refused to
obey him in something, and after
turning very pale and swallowing at
the lump in his throat he went out to
the barn to think things over. Ruth
was too big to be cufed or whipped,
and it was plain that she did not in.
tend to surrender her opinions. Af-
ter puzzling over the matter for a
long time the father returned to the
house.
Ruth" he began, "you have seen
fit to set my authority at defiance.
Until you have a change of heart and
ask my pardon l shall not speak to
you again.
That was the way the Deacon had
brought his wife around to his way
Of thinking in the early days. He