Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1909-10-02

! had recently adopted In speaking To
her husband.
VERY glad" he answered. III she Is
an improvement on Hannah"
The dinner was excellent. aud Ma
tilda was very attentive In her srrN i,r
Mt table. beamlng on them ns thuuah
she would say, BLESS you. my rln.
dren!' Late In the evening. when ~
were apparently much absorbed n
reading. they heard strange Suud
half cough. half sneeZc. In the hIII
! Pruc looked up from the book. "Wlat
| was that?" she said Tom was on his
! way to the door when Matilda entered
| the room. at was me. ma'am." she
said 81 never walk In on new married
folks without givin' 'em wnrnin I'm
| R-comln'-not at first. or course they
! get used to me after awhile and go
| right on loverin II ! do soc EN-. Moth
In suits me betteru that"
Prue's face was scarlet. She dared
not look at Tom. Oh. why had she
engaged the services of such silly,
sentimental creature?
y
tinued. I'm goin' home now To get my
clothes, and I'll say good night to you
and him"
Thought we were new married
folks did she?" Tom said grimly Il
can't imagine why. She's II good
cook" he added. land l hope we can
keep her"
1--WE can" Prue said to herself. III
We will meet her peculiar require.
ments. But I'll not he driven into any
foollshly unnecessary display OF affCc.
ton"
For three days the Dawsons enjoyed
the results OF Matilda's culinary Of.
forts, but n heavy heart will affect the
best of appetites somewhat. and on the
fourth day Matilda complained that
they didn't seem to relish their vic.
tuals" and she guessed she'd better
be Goin'."
ooh. nor Prue cried. mo one could
suit us better than you do"
I'm glad OF that. ma'am, but there's
another reason" And she hung her
head
Prue was painfully embarrassed, for
she could guess the other reason. 81
hope you will stay" she stammered
"I'l think 1t over till tomorrow.
ma'am. but l feel as If Hannah hadn't
been fair with me, leadin me to expect
things was different between you and
him from what they really be-"
Tom came home later than usual
that night. Prue was In the hall Civ
ing some instructions to Matilda when
he opened the door. His eyes looked
tired and sad. she thought. She hest
tated moment-only moment-for
Matilda was present. and now was her
opportunity to redeem herself in the
girls eyes, when she ran to meet her
husband and held up her face to he
kissed. The tired look faded from his
eyes as if by magic, and he put both
arms around her and held her close
HAS my little wife come to her
senses?" he asked.
Hush" she answered 81 still think
it's unnecessary. but Matilda likes it,
She refuses to stay unless we are nj
fectionate like" And she laugh~l
Historically.
ooh" Tom said. That was all, but
there was world of disappointment
in the exclamation. TNen he looked
beyond his wife at Matilda. who stood
beaming at him. her hands clasped in
ecstasy. well. she'll stay now" he
said bitterly. II congratulate you"
Yes. Matilda had decided to remain.
She came to the sitting room door
after dinner to announce her decision
After she had gone Prue left her
seat and moved restlessly about the
room. Then she sighed so deeply that
Tom looked up from his paper. Head
ache?" he asked
"N-no'' she said Her lips tremblcd.
and she buried her face In her hands
and sobbed out. ITS just heartache
Tom
"Heartache?" he said gently. II
thought had monopoly of that"
Prue came close to his chair and
leaned against an arm Of 1t. atom"
she cried remorsefuly -"Tom. dear
will you forgive me and"-her voice
sank to whisper-"kiss me?''
He caught her hands in his and
drew her down beside him. ITO please
Matilda?'' he asked.
ooh. Tom, you know better"'
because If it's to please that girl
I'll be hanged If ~ But something
prevented further speech just then.
When the DAVIS celebrated their
tin wedding 1t was with the assistance
Of their honeymoon cook.