The Washington herald., 1907-06-02
BY ELIZA CALVERT HALL.

the bride and groom would have to do
the same for the neighbors, and then the
houeymoon'd be over, and they'd settle
down and go to work like ordinary folks
we mad Harvey and Mary over to dinner
and they asked us 20 supper I ricollect
how nice the table looked with Mary
new blue and white china ana some o. the
old-fashioned silver thatd been in the
family for generations. And the supper
matched the table. for Mary wasn't the
kind that expects company TO satisfy
their hunger by iookin' at china and sil-
yer. She was fine cook like her mother
[ before her Amos and Marthy Mat
thews had been invited. too. and We had
a real pleasant time laugbin and jollin'
like folks always DO about young mar
ried people. After supper we all went
out on tine porch. and Mary whispered TO
me and Marthy TO come and see her china
closet and pantry You know how proud
a young housekeepcr is Of such things
/ She showed us all through the back part
/ o. the house. and ne praised everything
and told her il looked like old expert
enced housekeepin' instead Of a brides
/ well. when we went hack 10 the dinin-
room on our way to the porch. If there
/ countin' the silver teaspoons, a man al
WAYS looks ont o place doin' such things.
and ! saw Mary's face turn red 10 the
roots Of her hair But nobody said any
/ thing. and we passed on through and left
/ Harvey still countin'. 70 was "a little
[ thing. hut I couldn't help thinkin how
/ queer it was for a man that hadn't been
married two weeks 90 leave his company
and 90 back 20 the table 10 count spoons
and I asked myself how ia "a felt if I'd
found Abram couutiu' spoons durin the
honeymoon.
Did you ever take n walk. child. some
cloudy night when eyerythings covered
mp by the darkness. and all an once
therell be "a flash o. lighnin shown up
everything jest for "a second Well that s
the way il is with peoples lives Near as
Harvey and Mary lived To me and friend
ly as We were I couldn't tell what was
happenin between 'em. But every now
and then, as the months went hy. and
the years. I'd see or hear somethin that
WAS Ike q flash of light in a dark place
Sometimes it was jest q look, but there's
mighty little a look can't tell. and as for
actions, you know they speak louder than
words I TiCOlleCt one Sunday Harvey
and Mary was walkiu' ahead o. me and
Ahram. There was q rough piece o. road
jest in front Of the church. and I heard
Harvey SAY Don't walk there. come
over on the side where it's smooth
Il reckon Mary thought that Harvey
was thlnEn Of her feet. for she stepped
over 10 the side Of the road right at
once and says he Don't you know them
stoussll wear out your shoes qUickcr'u
anything And, bless your life. If Mary
didn't go right back % the middle of the
road. and she took particular pains 20
walk on the stones as far AS they went
n was little thing. to DE sure but il
showed that Harvey was think0' more of
his Wifes shoes than be- was of her
feet. and that aint little thing 20 "a wo-
man.
'Then. again. there was the time when
me and Ahram was passlu' fIawey's place
one eyonin' and "a storm was comm mp
and we stopped in o. keep from g'ttiu
wet Mary had been 20 town that day
and she had ou her best dress She was
a woman that looked well iu anything she
put on. Plain clothes couldn't make her
look plain. and she set off fine clothes
as much as they set her Off. Ne and
Abram took seats ON the porch. and
Mary went into the hall Co cit another
chair. Z heard the back h9U door open
and somebody come i'm. and then I heard
Harvevs voice SAYS he. Go upstairs
and take off that dress Saws he. What's
the use Of weariu' ont your best clothes
here at h1maT But before he got the
last words out. Mary was on the porch
with the chair in her had. talkin 10 us
about her trip to town. and lookiu' as
uucoucerned as if she hadn't heard or
seen Harvey That night 7 SAYS TO
Ahram. says 7. 'Abram. did you ever
have any cause TO think that Harvey
Andrews was a close man2
"Abram thought a minute. and. SAYS no.
Why. no, I can't say I ever did What
put such a notion into your head. jane
Harvey looks after his own interests in
q trade. but he's rs liberal "a Eivcr as
there is i'm Goshen church Besides. says
Ahram, who ever heard OF tan. person
able man like Harvey bein' clost? Sungy
peoples always dried up and shriveIed
Iookn''
But Id made up my mind what the
trouble was between Harvey and Mary.
and nothin that Abram said could change
it, 7 don't reckon any man knows how
women feel about stinginess and close
ness iu their husbands I believe most
w0msnd rather live with q man thatd
killed somebody than one that was stingy.
And then Mary never was used TO any
thing Of that kind. for her father. old
man Jerry Crawford. was one o. the
fTeest-handod men i'm the county. II was
Come i'm and make yourself at home
with everybody that darkened his door.
and for a woman raised Ike Mary was
havin' to live with man like Harvey
was about the hardest thing that could
a. happened 20 her. However she had
the Crawford pride. and she carried her
head high and lauged and smiled as
much as ever. but there's q look that tells
plain enough whether wOman's married
TO a man or whether she's jest tied to
him and stayu' with him because she
can't get free, and when Mary wasn't /
laUEhin' or smiIin' 7 could tell by her face
that she wasn't as happy as We all
thought she was g0iH' 10 be the day she
married Harvey"
Aunt Jane paused a moment 20 pick up
a dropped stitch.
IT'S good thing you had your din
ner, honey before l started this yarn"
she said, looking az me quizzically over
her glasses. FOR I'll be a long time /
bringin' YOU 70 the dinner-party. But I've /
got 70 tell you all this rigmarole first. so /
You'll understand what's comm II Il
was To tell YOU about the dinner-party /.
first you'd get wrong idea about Mary 7.
That's how folks misiudgas one another /.
They see people doin' things that amt
right. and they up and conclude they're
bad people, when If they only knew some /
thin about their lives they'd understand 4
how 20 make allowance for 'em You've /
got to know a heap about peoples lives. /
child. before you can judge en-
"WCU. along about this time. some
where i'm the SOS. I reckon it must "a /
been. there was a big excitement about /
politics. ! can't somehow ricollect what /
it was all about. but they had speakin's /
everywhere. and the men couldn't talk .
about anything but politics from mornin
till night Abram was Eoin to town
every week 10 some meetin' or Spe1kn'. /
and finally they had q big rally and a
nf Goshen One pf tho cDC1 K