The Washington herald., 1907-06-02

and help yourself
A loaf Of Aunt James sait-rising bread
q plate OF golden butter, a pitcher OF
Jersey milk, and bowl of honey in the
comb-who would ask for more? And IA:
I sat down I blessed the friendly rair
that had kept me from going home.
But who was Mary Andrews? AND
what about her dinner party?' I asked
as I buttered my bread.
Eat your dinner, child, and then
Wen talk about Mary Andrews" laughed
Aunt Jane. IL I'd "a thought before ]
spoke, which hardly ever DO. wouldn't
"a mentioned Mary Andrews. for I know
you won't let me see any rest till you
know all about her"
And Aunt Jane was quite right \ sum
mer rain. and a story, too.
7 reckon there's mighty few Twin that
ricollect about Mary Andrews and her
dinner-party," she said meditatively. an
hour later when the dishes had been
washed and we We're seated i'm the old
fashioned parlor.
Mary Andrews maiden name was
Crawford A first cousin Of sam Craw-
ford she was. Her father was Jerry
Crawford. a brother Of Old Man Bob and
her mother was a Simpson. People used
20 say that'the Crawfords and the Simp-
sons was like two mud-puddles with a
ditch between. always runuln' together. I
ricolisCt one year three Crawford sisters
married three Simpson brothers. Mary
was about my age. and she married H8r-
yey Andrews a little over a year after
me and Abram married, and there's few
women J ever knew better and liked more
than I did Mary Andrews.
'I ricolIect her wedd.n' nearly as well
as 7 do my own Ny Jane was jest
month old, ana I had 70 ask mother to
come over and stay with the baby while
] went 10 the waddin'. I hadn't thought
much about what Id wear-Td been So
taken up with the haby-and 7 rirolIect
went % the big chest o. drawers in the
spare room and jorked out my weddiu'
dress, and says 7 60 mother. 'ThoreU
be two brides az the wcd3iu"
But bless your lfc when 7 tried TO
make IL meet around my waist. why. it
lacked four or five inches of comm to-
gether: and mother set and laughed fit 20
Kill. and. says she. Jane. that dress was
made for young girl. and rou'u never
De young girl again" And I SAYS.
Well 7 may never fasteu this dress
around my waist again, hut ] don't know
what's TO hinder me from haiD' a young
girI MI my life.
81 wish 10 goodness" she went on
chat l could rfcollart what I wore t1|
Mary Andrews UeGJiu'. I know I didn't
Wear my wadliu dress. and I know 4
Went hur t1 save my life / can't call up
tie dress / had on tt amt like me 20
forgit the clothes [ used % wear but 7
can't can If mp. However. what wore
to Mary Andrews wcddia' amt got any
thing 90 do with Mary Andrews dinner
party"
Aunt Jane paused and scratched herl
leaf -aAarfivelv with "a knitting needle.
Evidently she was Iolth o. 90 ON with
ler story t.Il the memory Of that wedding
g.rw.w should return to her
"I WAS raadiu' tho other day" she con-
tuued about sometHiu' they've got off
y"ud.r n Washington. some sort of bu-
r.as thar tells folks what the wcathor'U
ba. and warns the ships about scttin off
on a voyage when there's storm ahead.
And srrs I t0 myseif. DO y0u reckon
they'll a-e- git $50 smart that they can
toll what sort o. weather there is ahead
o. tw1 people Jest married and sottin
ont eu the voyage that won't end tH
death parts 'em2 And what sort O.
weather they're C0u' t0 have SIX months
from taa wed5tr day? The worlds git
tin wiser every day. child. but there
aiut nobody wise enough 90 tell what
sort of husband a mans goin' 20 make.
nor what sort of "a wife wgmans goiu'
o. make. nor how weddin is goi8' 10
turn out I've watched folks marryin'
for more'n seventy years. and don't
know much more about It than 7 did
when 7 was teu-year-0ld child. I've
seen folks marry when it looked like Ger
tain destruction for both of 'em. and an
at once they'd take tarn thard sur
prise everybody and things would come
ont al right with 'gm. There was Wick
Harris and Virginia Matthews. Wick was
jest such q boy as Dick Elr0d and Ei--
ginfa was another Annie Crawford. Shed
never done a stitch o. SEWN nor cooked a
meal o. vigtuals in her life. and I ricollect
her mother savin' sne didn't know which
she felt sOrrlest for. Wick or Virginia. /
and she wished 90 goodness there was
law to keep such folks from marryln'. .
shipwreck ike Dick and Annie. they
settled down as steady rs any Old mar
ried couple you ever saw. Wick quit his
dr.nkiu' and glmbnu. and Virginia. why. /
there wasn't "a better u.usaka. por in the /
State nor a better m0thern she got to /
be-
And then I've seen 'em marry when f.
everything looked bright ahead and every /
body was certain 1t WAS a good thing for /.
both Of 'em and t turned out that ev-
arybody was wrong. That's the way it /
was with Mary Andrews and Harvey. No /
body had q mi=giv.u' about it. Mary was /
l- happy as % lark. ana Harvey looked 4
like he couldn't wait for the weddiu' day .
and everybody said they was made for /
=acu other T0 De sure. Harvey was .
most Il stranger IN the ncishborho0d /
laviu' moved I'm about "a year and half /
before. and we couldn't know him ike We /
did the Goshen boys thatd been born and /
brought mp there But nobody could say
D word against him. His family down I'm F..
Tcuncssea. jest beyond the State line,
ras as So0d people as ever lived. and /
Harvey himself WAS industrious and
steady. and MS fine l0okiu' a man as you'd /.
gee in n weeks Journey Everybody said .
hey never SAW bandsomer couple than
Harvey and Mary Andrews
MARY was 90 TAIL proud-Iookin girl
lways carried herself like "a queen, and
hadn't favor 10 ask of anybody. and
Harvey was half a head taller. and jest
Ter opposite iu color. She was dark and
be- WAS light The- was a fine sight
tardin up before the preacher that
lay and everybody was Wishir EN- good
uck. though il looked like they had