The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-07-31
"The Mother and the Child y

cross on its chapel shone over the cooI-Ioofinr
clusters of aspens and locusts in the hot summer
sunlight. The daughter of this former owner stood
on her doorstep, and looked shading her ewes with
her hands at the chapel spire Her baby-a fIaxen-
halred little boy of two-ay asleep in the grass
under the thick hedge of blossomless hlacs.
Mrs Wartons angular form, covered by large
white parasol, had just passed down the garden
path INTO the road; she was a very thin woman
so thin, the negroes said she was obliged to carry
big umbrella in order to make a shadow Mrs
Narton and her constant umbrella were not beloved
IN the neighborhood. She was a slave of duty to
her nelghbors; her husband, placid silent man.
was the village postmaster. The couple had no
children, and this fact helped to account for Mrs
Warton's ceaseess activity outside her own home
where apparently, she had no duties She had
founded the Social Visiting club Devoted to True
Economic Principles. There were other members.
but she herself did most of the work and all the
talking The work was to visit the poor and help
them to economic principles
While Alice Leslie stood looking at the glitter
ing cross on the chapel with many doubts and fears
in her heart, Mrs. Jeff Warton continued her way
along the dusty road, borne up against the heat by
Indignation. She had had what she called a tiff"
with Alice Leslie And the effect of this on Alice
had evidently been disheartenng; for, having
looked at the a little while longer, she went
back to her baby and wept.
Mrs Jeff Warton was not of the weeping kind:
she wept seldom and then only when her temper
aroused. She swept into the postofice with
behind the screen which separated him from the
general public.
"Shiftless! !" cried Mrs. Warton, folding her UNI
brela- q should say so! She's only fit to be one
of those Sisters up at the convent who spend their
time within four walls, instead of getting into the
open and doing the worlds work. Shiftlessl"
MARY Ann" said Jeff Warton with the slow
Georgia drawl, 'I amt got nothing against the
Sisters. I didn't think much of them at first be-
cause pop used to read Maria Monks book to US
r-I,o, b,74 be++a
since. They're sensible lot of women, and I reck
their letters have about quadrupled the earnings
of this postofice.'
jeff said Mrs. Warson. tanning herself with
a large advertisement bill of popular excursion
Il say that Alice Leslie is shiftess She can't pay
the rent; she has to live what truck her garden
can give; and she simply won't part with that baby
though Mrs. Ingelby will give her place in Char
lotte, in her own home, but she must go alone"
Seems to me-" said Jeff, that if | was baby.
I'd want my mother to stick to me- right wrong"
Mrs. Warton smiled indulgently. She was never
severe with Jeff as she with the rest of the
world. Even when her engagements at meetings
kept her out late and he failed to have hot sup
per waiting for her, she seldom reprlmanded him,
though this was trying.
1T is not economic" she went on; cts unscien-
tific; the best thought of modern times demon
strates that children who not be brought up as
they should be ought to be taken from their moth
ers A mother like Alice Leslie-a widow without
institution and go to work. But she'll starve
firstl"
@No she WON'T said jeff. turning aside to bite
off "chaw" of tobacco, Il sent leg o mutton
and of that barley got from Lowe over
this morning. And I've good mind to speak to
the Sisters when they come for the letters.
Mrs. Warton bridled; it was Mrs. Warton's habit
10 bridle-that is she struggled to produce
preston Of extreme haughtiness and disdain.
Jeff Warton, I'm ashamed of YOU" she re-
i -
Jeff shrugged his shoulders in lazy way He
respected his wife's superior education-she had
been one term at Delaware Female Colege-and
the consequence Of it, which gave her great volu-
blity Of speech but he always held silently to his
opinion
She'll have to give in and let the baby go to
the institution in Charlotte. She can't enough
to keep roof over her head and hold on to that
baby too It's ridiculous 1t should not be al
lowed. III to it. The rent Is due on Monday,
and she'll have to go Tt sounds cruel but 1t is the
hest thing for the child and her-the very best.
Leslie. her husband, was shiftless, and he left .
shftless widow"
Poor Leslie was all right till he caught cold
helping Ia the railroad wreck that winter night;
and 7 reckon Eve herself didn't feel so desolate
about the loss of Paradise after her baby came"
aBlasphemyT said his wife. @After supper. |
20 on the train into Charlotte and see that place
is kept for that wretched baby
Jeff Wharton merely grunted. and bis wife
walked rapidly to their dwelling IN the oak
grove. Jeff watched her
mT wish my wife wasn't masculine" he
+bourbt ristfully. 'Shes a good wife and an ed
ucated one. but the more scientific she grows. the
bardcr she gets. If I were woman, | don't think
vi give IN my child to anybody 10 raise. When I
fhink of nv old mother and the hard times we
had. wouldn't cut out the hard times and lose the
Eaemory of that mother"
left took out his pine and watched the birds in
tbe dusty locust trees for time. He thought of
tI1e struggles his mother widow had made for
him. and he actually smiled at the remembrance Of
fbe day when he had surprised the little woman by
aTer the task of mendng his only pair Of SIM
iay trousers which he had torn in thoughtless
ldS rr4L11 aTf It's mother and hard times