Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1910-09-10

farm life you know that now and then
n farmer gets a hankering for mutton
and kills q sheep. In removing the
pelt he Is very careful. A cut In 1t
depreciates Its value. Pelts are gen.
orally purchased by tin peddlers. and
they are generally looked over very
carefully beforehand. II there are two
or three cuts in the pelt 1t is only half
price. Deacon Strong lived on farm
in the outskirts Of the village OF Raw
sonville. Tin peddlcrs had found him
n truthful man. When the deacon
warranted a sheepskin free from cuts
1t was no use spending time to look
at it. On this particular morning when
a peddler called the deacon had pelt
all rolled up to trade for tin pans.
While he didn't exactly warrant 1t. he
didn't acknowledge to any damage.
and it was three days later that the
peddIer found he had been done for.
The peddler could have gone back
and talked about graft and ~ that
and raised a row, but he didn't. lie
returned to the neighborhOOd after sew
eral weeks, but he didn't call on the
deacon. Neither did he make any In
quiries about him. He just sawed
wood and listened to what people were
talking about, and what they were
talking about just then was the fact
that the deacon had decided to send
his old mother to the pOorhouSe.
Deacon Strong realized that he
would be criticised, and so he went
hot
house it was.
The tin peddler got on to the talk
and the facts, and he was doing some
thinking as he drove from the neigh
borhood. He had brother in town
twenty miles away, and the brother
was a lawyer.
The day had been set for grandma
to 20 to the poorhouse when one Of
the neighbOrs brought in newspaper
to show the deacon an advertisement
1t called for information concerning
one Anna Strong, widow, and strongly
limited that 1t would be to her great
advantage to step out into the lime
light The poorhouse trip was can
celed and a journey made to see
lawyer. Anna Strong. widow. was
Deacon Strong's mother. He could
prove 1t by fifty people. The lawyer
replied that 1t was all right so far. but
did she have cousin named Charles
Bixby, a rich man living In Boston,
cousin who would be apt to remember
her In his will to the extent Of $4,000?
The deacon's hair climbed up. He
said that he hadn't the least doubt Of
the cousinship and would take the
cash home to the old lady. He went
too fast The Widow Strong must APP
pear and make an affidavit. What her
son knew or guessed wouldn't cover
the case. The deacon didn't say she
had lost her voice. He started for
home to see If he couldn't find 1t for
her. Her fingers were so cramped
that she hadn't written line for
years, and all depended on the recov-
cry Of the voice. The old woman had
been tucked away in the poorest room
Of the house. She was at once trans
ferred to the best The scraps from
the table were thought good enough
for her. She was now fed on the best.
Instead of three regular meals per day
she was coaXed to eat much oftener.
The son had hardly spoken to her for
weeks, but now he sat with her and
even told her jokes and hoped she
would live for twenty years yet. He
also went among the nelghbors and
said that he had heard the cellar Of
the poorhouse was damp after every
shower and he couldn't think of TAX
ing his dear mother there.
Mrs Strong, widow, could hear very
Well She heard her son ask the name
of all her male cousins, including
Charles Bixby of Boston, and she heard
herself addressed as dear mother"
but she could make no Ineligible re-
plies. Not when the daughterin-law
combed her hair for her and washed
her face and said she was a saint II
there ever was one could she talk.
When she was lifted In and out of the
buggy for q ride she couldn't express
her gratitude in words. Once or twice
she happened to overhear her dutiful
son say to his wife that he'd like to
build a fire under the old woman to
make her talk, but she didn't lay 1t up
against him. She went right on hay-
ing the best In the house and wonder
ing why other Did women didn't lose
their voices.
Once a month for two long years
Deacon Strong called upon or wrote to
the lawyer. He offered all sorts of
terms and compromises, but 1t was no
use. He wrote to Boston, but his let
ter was unanswered. He consulted
other lawyers, but they said that moth
ing could be done until that voice came
back. Raw eggs and wine, pies, cake
and buildings fattened the old woman,
but the voice remained obdurate. She
winked and she smiled and she nodded,
but that wasn't enough to bring home
the Bixby legacy. Then at last she
died. She went to sleep In her chair
one day and passed away without
struggle. She was buriedin very de-
cent manner, and next day the deacon
walked into the lawyers office as next
of kin and heir to the Bixby legacy.
And you mother didn't regain her
voice" asked the lawyer
Never spoke Eprd."
"She had the best OF CARE"
THE very best"
II am glad to hear 1t. have just as
certained there was some mistake about
1t. She may have been n ColySin OF