Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1913-11-13
THE ROMANCE OF
farmer DALE
Lost Faith In Womankind ana
Then Regained 1t.

! piiSnd to see no Wnn;tn ahout, All tIe
work being done 10y the owner ot the
place. Ezra bale. After supper light I
ri IL pipe and sat on the porch slnok- I
| Ing. Dale came and sat beside me. /
,Nou have finished Your evening
chores early" | said. When my wife
| is without IL servant she never gets the
dishes washed before 8 o'clock. 4
''Maal, you see. don't do it that
away. | wash dishes oncet Il week"
Don't you think a wife would l'.
handy. She could do your mending.'
Don't need no wife. got needles
an thread am buttons" 1
"Where's your thimble:" asked.
Don't need no tllimble."
Did you never have Il love aifair: |
.Yes. oncet. 1t was when WAS Il
young feIler-very young an very
green. | used ter look on Il gal as IL
heather would look on Il sacred image.
There was il little one Twin across the
creek. Farmer Owens daughter Daisy.
Purity? Ye bet. am gentle as Il kitten.
Sine TUX Il shine to me. was Il fair
lookin' young TELLER then. straight an
slim an light on my feet. One eyenin'
! was a-pnssin' Far!ier Owens, an
Daisy come runnn' ont with her finger
a-beedin' am asked me to tie it up fur
her. had ter git her arm under mine
somehow an hold on ter her hand an
wrap the linen strip an wind the
string am !: lot of things all at the
same time. While | was a-doin' OF 1T
her hair got ag'in my cheek. an -waal.
lost my head am, turnin'. put an arm
around her an kissed her.
do We know. stranger I've since
made up my mind she done 1t all a-pur-
pose. b'lieve she cut her finger on
tentionally. tell ye. women folks is
tricky"
II think that was very nice fem
mime way of catching your attention"
remarked. Go on"
"rhats jist what did do went
on from day ter day. week ter Week.
till 1t seemed ter me if anything hap
pened between me an that gal Id col
lapse. Somethin' did happen. Farmer
Owens TUX a farm ham fur the haydn.
am what did Daisy do but take him
out i'm her buggy that her father bought
fur her at Christmas an drive right
by that house a-purpose ter show him
Off ter me. tell We. stranger, she
had the wickedest eye in her We ever
see"
"Another feminine trait" observed
Miss Daisy was evidently woman"
"She was woman. stranger an the
worst kind of one" Dale Went on
lugubriously "She broke me all up.
list rented this farm an went away.
didn't come back fur ten years. Then
l made up my mind that women FOLKS
wasn't with worryin' about. an TUX
my farm ay'in an began ter work it.
The fust time went by Farmer
Owens Daisy come out-sle had
grown ter be fne lookin' yonn. wo-
man Of twenty-six-an' what do ye
suppose she did?'
II can't imagine"
asked me il wouldn't tie mp cut
finger She had the same wicked look
in her eye she had when she drove that
lopsided farm han by my house ten
years afore Women is the persistent
est critters | ever see. jist squared
Off an said: 'Ye don't git me that
away ag'in Ye done it oncet. an
that's enough But, do We know. stran-
ger, she was so slick about it that i'm
five minutes had my arm about her
an she was a-restin' her head on my
shoulder. She was a-cryin'. too-crytn'
crockerdile tears, no doubt.
"Waal. we was engaged. but it didn't
las long The question come up as
ter whether we'd be married by a jus
tice or II pnlson. don't like parsons
myself. an wanted justice. Daisy
wanted IL parson, an she was so bli'he
set about it that reckoled if she was
as obstinate about a small matter like
that she'd he wantin' ter run the farm
so | called the thing Off. an I've been
Twin alone here ever since"
"Mr Dale" | said. "yon have mis-
taken natural feminine traits for gen
ernl clsSedneSs."
That's what they is. tell We. stran-
ger. Ye don't understand"
you have declined to give up that
which to Il woman is a great deal.
while to you it is nothing. Miss Owens
was right to insist on being married
by a parson. and you We're nngenernns
to refuse her. Now, let me give you !;
bit OF advice. Miss Owens is still
single? Yes. Well. go to her and tell
her that when you first met her you
were II laundering idiot and that later
you were an obstinate brute Say that
if she will overlook your past errors
you will spend your life in doing
penance
why. stranger. if was ter do that
I'd never have any own way about
anything afterward."
ut is the only way to have your
own way about everything With wo-
man. Toss 1t all into her hands and
she'll toss 1t right back to you More
than that. she'll expect yom to lead.
and If you don't lead she'll not respect
you"
"Ye don't mean it! Say. stranger.
what sort of makeup do We call that
anyway"
The next summer rode past Farm
err Dales place. 1t was the trinmest
looking farm in the county. After
supper the farmer told me how mucn
better cOntented he was while Mrs.
Dale was washing tho dishes