The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1914-08-07

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Std o me; fer know very well that's
| "ha' y"w'rc alayin' out fer ter do.
| >'s, yes, mother, yew can't fool me.
! But think what folks would say!
mink what they would say! They'd
GROW, sThar's Abe a.takln' his comfort
IN the Old mems hum, an Angelina,
shes a'eatin' her heart out In the poor.
! house,"
Angelina had. indeed, determined to
De the one TO go to the poorhouse; but
All her life long she had cared. perhaps
70 faulty degree, for what folks
would say" Above all, she cared now
Tor what they had said and what they
5tilI might say about her husband and
ihls ilnal ending to his downhill road.
she rested her two hands Oh the table
ana looked hard ut the apple sauce
uhlll II danced before her eyes. She
could not think with any degree OF
cIeafhess. Vaguely she wondered If
thelr supper would dance out of sight
before they could sit down to eat IT,
so many of the good things OF life
mad vanished ere she and Abe could
touch their lips to them. Then she
telt his shaking hand upon her shoul.
der and heard him mutter with husky
tenderness:
My dear. this is the fust chance
since we've been married that I've had
to take the wust Of IT, Don't say n
word agin 1t naow, mother don't yer
I've brought yer ter this pass Lemme
bear the brunt o. it."
All the greatest good OF all had not
vanished, and that was the love they
bore one to the other. Tho sunshine
came flooding back into mothers
heart. She lifted her face. beautiful.
rosy. eternally young. This was the
man for whom she had gladly risked
want and poverty. the dspleasure OF
her own people, almost half n century
ago. Now at last she could point him
out to all her little world and say,
See, he gives me the red side OF the
apple" She lifted her eyes. two
bright sapphires swimming with the
diamond dew of unshed, happy tears.
I'm a.thinkin'. father" she twit.
tered, that naow me an yew be
l'gwtnc so fur apart we be a.gittin'
closer tergether in speret than we've
ever been afore."
Abe bent down stiilly to brush her
cheel, with his rough beard, aud then,
awkward, a5 when a boy OF sixteen he
had first kissed her, shy ashamed at
this approach TO a return of the old.
time love making. he seated himself
at the small. bare table.
This warped, hlland.dale table Of
the drop.lcaves, which had been
brought from the attic only today
after resting there for ten years. had
served as their first dinng.table when
the honeymoon was young. Abe
thoughttully drummcd his hand on the
board. and rs hUgy brought the tea.
pot and sat down opposite him, he
recalled
We had bread an ten an apple
sass the day We set up housekecpin',
dew yew remember. Angy?"
An burned the apple sass," she
supplemented. whercupon Abe chuck
led, and Amy went on with a thrill
of genuine gladncss over the fact that
he remembered the details of that
long-ago honeymoon as well as she:
'few don't mind havn' no butter to.
night, dew yer, father?"
He recalled how he had said to her
at that first simple home meal: "Ycw
don't mind bcin' poor with me, dew
yer. Angy ?" Now. with silent shake
Of his head he stared at her, wonder.
ing how II would seem to eat ut table
when her face no longer looked At
him across the board. to sleep at night
when her faithful hand no longer lay
within reach of his own, She lifted
her teacup. he lifted his. the two Ea2-
ing at each other over the brims. both
hall distressed halI-comfortcd by the
fact that love still remained their
-oasimaa.cr after the passing OF all
he years. OF sudden Augy cx.
claimed, We fcrEot ter say grace"
Shocked and cantrte. they covered
heir eyes with their trembling old
lands ami uIrmurcd together. Dear
Lord, We thank thee this day for our
laily bread"
Angy opened her eyes to find the rcd
'oses cheerlully facing her from tho |
back of the rocking chair A robin |
rad hoped upon the window sill Just |
outside the patched and rusty screen |
md was joyiully caroling to her his
'icws Of life. Through the window |
lines in which the bird was almost I,
noshed the sunlight slfted softly into !
he stripped, bare and lonely room. |
angy felt strangely encouraged and |
The roses became sym.
,olical TO her OF the lilies Of the field |
which toll not, neither do they spin"
he robin was one OF the two spar |
ows sold for farthing. and one OF
hem shall not fail to the ground with.
tut your Father" while the sunlight
eemed to call ont to the little old
ady who hoped and believed and
owed much: Fear We not therefore
Ie are Of more value than many