The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-10-27
The ENLIGHTENMENT
OF mrs. TUPPINS
By GEORGE WESTON.


TO a T, it did not suit Mrs. Tuppins
to any alphabetical designation what
ever.
Mrs. Tuppins was city born and
bred, while as for Mr. William S.
Tuppins, l need only say that S stood
for Silas. At the age of Twenty-Five
Mr.. William S. Tuppins had left the
farm to SEX his fortune in the city;
at the age Of thirty he had returned
to the farm, bearing no other fortune
than Mrs. Tuppins. And as for his
experience in the city, T will say no
William returned to the farm, which
the hired man and his wife had been
running on shares, he went to his
work whistling for the first time in
a year, and when with a stick he
scratched the backs Of the little black
pigs, and listene! to their grunts of
ecstasy, it seemed to him that sweeter
music mortal never heard.
But as for Mrs. Tuppins, it did
not seem that way to her at all. She
looked with 9 sigh Of regret at her
high-heeled shoes and her long silk
gloves, which were never intended
for walking over bottom meadows or
picking ~blackberries out Of the briers.
She missed the {. owds and the lights
and the shops and the cars. In short.
she grew to hate the country; and
she did not hide her feelings, either,
as William soon found out.
WELL" he said one evening. 'the
potatoes are all in"
Mrs. .Tuppins shifted.
And the beets," he continued.
Mrs. Tuppins shifted again.
'"Too cold out here?" asked Mr..
,Tuppins. Shall I fetch you a shawl
o. something's"
mo-" said Mrs. Tuppins, distinct
ly, I'm not cold"
Tomorrow" said William, 81
think I'll start them putting a new
lining in the upper spring"
Mrs. Tuppins shifted again, and
when William looked al her he saw
that her citiied little nose was point
ed most disdainfully at the poor old
country moon
why, what's the matter?" asked
William.
William" she said "you know
the way you like the country"
Eyes"
1.-The pigs, the chickens, the COWS,
the horses, the hay, the corn, and the
barn, and the pond, and the ducks,
and everything-you know the way
you like them all?"
YES"
"Weil-that's the way I like the
city"
That was how the difficulty began.
William in vain argued that he was
not worth his salt in the city; in vain
he enumerated all the advantages of
country life-the fresh fruit and
eggs, the fresh air, and the milk and
the cream and the vegetables, to say
nothing of the freedom from worldly
cares.
To all these eloquent arguments
Mrs. Tuppins had a simple question:
william, you know the way you like
the country" To which William
could only miserably answer, yes"
well, then" said Mrs. Tuppins,
that's the way I like the city"
Nov among the fowls which chuck
ed about the Tuppins farm-yard there
was a certain speckled hen known
as Old Spotty, and whether or not it
was because she took offense at this
familiarity I do not know, but the
fact remains that Old Spotty began
to sulk and keep to herself.
Il can't make out what's the mat
ter with her." said Mr.. Tuppins, one
morning, seeking for a subject of con-
v%ersation that would be pleasing to
Mrs. Tuppins. Doesn't seem to
take any interest in life at all. Just
mopes round ali day and pecks the
other hens when they come neal her."
Somehow Mrs. Tuppins felt inter-
ested for the first time since she had
become a member of the farming pop
ulation. AS soon as breakfast was
over, she went out and looked at the
disconsolate fowl.
Old Spotty looked back at her dis
consolately enough, and Mrs. Tuppins
at once sought the advice of the hired
man, and began to pamper the hen.
Now, even if one wished TODD so,
one could not single out a hen from
a flock and pamper that particular
one-the other hens would see that
nc favoritlsm was shown. You could
not, for instance, throw a handful of
green stuff at one hen and expect all
the other fowls to stand off at a re-
spectful distance and watch the
favored one with an envious eye.
That is not the nature of poultry.
So it happened that Mrs. Tuppins.
striving to alleviate Old Spotty's dis
consolation, pampered all the hens,
with the result, that they scampered
toward her. clucking in friendly ey-
element, whenever she showed her
self in the yard. This secretly tick
led Mrs. Tuppins. although she pre-
tended the contrary.
And here is another thing; one
cannot keep going into a barn to
get corn fo1 the chickens without pat
ting the horses and saying $50 boss
to the COWS.
1t is an utter impossibiiity, as every
one knows who has tried it. And
from patting a horses back it is only