The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-29

was over for Miss Hitty. Feathers
flynn and ribbons streamin'. She made
herself believe she was still in the
rUnning-without 'em. She knew only
too well what it was to be a homely,
lOng-nOsed, forsaken old maid. I don't
blame her particle. Her finery stood
to her like whisky to a busted man. A
trife gay for the folks in fathers
church was Miss Hitty. yet they didn't
dast to say a word. She belonged to
one of our best families, and her
brother-in-laW, who could be the IN
COOLEST man under provocation you
ever guessed at, held a mortgage on
the church. He thought a heap of Miss
Kitty and he'd have dumped the whole
church outfit into the SHOWS of win
ter without carin once about il if they
hadn't used her right. So they over
looked things and gave her the Bible
class to run. Mighty nice to us boys
she Was-she certainly was. 1 scarcely
remember any one with pleasanter feel
ingS. No nonsense at all to the boys
a curious mix of a harmless little crit
ter, part child and part good horse
! sense woman. The woman carried her
place all right, but the child couldn't
stand the pain of it. Miss Hitty took
us boys along a gentle path, full Of
faith and kindness.
used to roar aloud at the very mention
of fathers church. One person she
really loved. and that was my mother
As for my father-well, he was a huge
stark, big-boney man, honest and SEN
sible in most ways, but his firm belief
was that to be pleased with anything
was the first step on the downward
path. Lord! One look into his eyes
would take all the spring out of a
grasshopper. He whaled me for the
sins of the entire world, 1 reckon, and
he must have weighed on mothers
heart-like the truth of some awful
dream. She bein' fond of flowers, dogs,
cats, horses, music, people, sunlight,
human kindness and laughter. Laugh
teri Well, I'll never forget one Sun
day when the sermon was about q
Mrs. Jael. She took in one of the en-
envy. fed him fine, and, while he was
| asleep, grabbed a hammer and a rail-
road spike and nailed him to the floor
by his head. Whilst 1 was revolving
in my mind how, and on what person,
I could best apply these teachings, an
other thought occurred to me.
" 'Motherr I whispers. pulling her
sleeve.
d" 'SsshP says she. what is it, WHIP
" You never could have done that
says.
''She squeezed my hand and whis-
pered back, You're right, WILL with
an approving smile.
No, says 1, still full of my dis
covery. You'd have pounded your
thumb
Her face went ten different ways,
and then she snorted right out. 1t was
! a scandal. 1t took her so by surprise
she couldn't get the best of it, so we
two had to leave the church. When
we got outside she sat down and
laughed for five minutes.
L think my father was melancholy
mad. Lord Lord, What a mate for
my mother! That tall, proud, beautiful
woman, who stepped as if she owned
the world and loved it, God, boy, all
the tragedies amt played with a gun.
Well, let's cut the old sore spots. Any
how, Miss Mary Ann used to wave
all four limbs and boiler every time she
thought of father.
One day she stopped her milk wagon
and come into the yard, one finger
jaws set and her old eyebrows drawn
black fire showed
" Adele De La Tour says she, what
made you marry that man-what made
you marry him. heb, heb? Don't you
answer me! l knew your mother be-
fore you. You listen. What made you
marry him? He amt got blood in his
veins at all; he turns decent vittels into
vinegar. Hah. His mothers milk
cruddled in his stummick'
"She bumped up her back and shook