The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-05-14

l have just hung a row of Japanese
lanterns about the bungalow piazza.
They have the appearance of an opales-
cent fringe, the sunlight cleaning through
them, and as l hung the last one. a
gorgeous purple and Iris blue thing, with
red leaves painted on a happy back
ground, l suddenly thought of what Miss
Morning Glory said in her American
Diary about the admiration of Americans
for the Japanese being too deeply rooted
in fancy for their paper lanterns.
THE lanterns are charming to look
upon" said the dear old gentleman, smok
ing his pipe in a corner of the piazza,
but there are more important things
that you could be doing'
THAT means that you are impatient for
your breakfast" l said, with an exasper-
ating air of indifference to breakfasts,
and glancing across a sweep of meadow
in the hope of seeing Charlotte bringing
the butter and milk.
Where will we get things to eat?" in
CURED the dear old gentleman weeks ago
when 1 pictured this bungalow in the
North Carolina mountains. He had never
hHOWn duy lulilS Dul liOlVlS
wherein he had passed summer after
summer and he could not see how he
was going to adopt himself to mountain
bungalow that was not equipped with bell
boys and a cafe that was not open at all
hours.
The real trouble. told him, was that
these mountain folk had so much milk
and butter and chickens to sell that they
would nOsftiVelV annOV him.
A week in these mountains eonvinces
city folk that these women of the hill
country have peculiar art in disposng
of the products of their farms.
"Once that yo' open the bungalow" said
a charming New York woman who has
a country house in this neghborhood and
knows the ways of these mountain folk,
you will be deluged by half the women
with things to sell and the one thing you
must be careful not to do is to raise
prices. These country people have an
idea that any one who comes from the
city is rolling in wealth, and unless you
are very firm In your dealings with them
they will charge exorbitant prices. We
always caution our friends about raising
prices"
| felt an awful responsibility.
Out of eight or ten women who have
come to our bungalow to sell eggs, but
ter, milk and spring chickens, we have
at last selected three with whom we
have made permanent arrangements. | do
not know what would have become of us
If we had bought everything, or had not
at last let some of them understand that
we had very small family, and really
did not need to buy up all the eggs In
Henderson county.
But it was a fine opportunity to study
types | selected the three women who
were most interesting, but the dear old
gentleman who pays for things thought
their products were the best.
IT was Charlotte who knocked first on
the bungalow door. She was not at all
like a woman of the hills, not a sug
gestion of that plain, awkward, starved
out looking type that Is so pathetic. She
was like wild flower, with a pink and
white skin and like all pretty women she
was conscious of her good points. She
really had the composure that few women
possess those whose nerves are worn out
going to dinners and teas and playing
bridge and she had the sweetness of
dawn in her eyes and might have posed
for that charming picture 1.-THE meeting
of the Innoeents" She is really heroine
because her sweetheart, boy of 10, en-
listed in the army and she has never
heard from him. and yet she Is going
quietly about her work as if nothing had
ever happened.
She wanted to do our sewing. and our
laundry, and said she could furnish us