New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1914-11-25

kitchen. she was hailed by Mary. who
came ont the front d0s,r with rug in
her hands
Step right in this way said Mary;
this doors unfastened."
.'Forevermorer Jenny said. MARY
Chavah! What you got your house all
| open for? You amt moving?"a ";
A gust 0f wind took Mary's answer
She tossed the rug across the icy rail.
ing of the porch and beckoned Jenny
into the house and into the parIor. And
when she had greeted Jenny after the
months of her absence:
See, Mary said exultantly. don't ii
look grand and empty? Look at It first
!! and then come on in and I'll tell you
about it,
The white papered walls of the t,po
rooms were bare of pictures: the floor
had been sparingly laid with rugs The
walnut sofa and chairs, the table for
! the lamp and the long shelves Of her
grandfather's books--these were all
| that the room held A white arch di
vided the two chambers. like a benign
brow whose face had long been dim.
med away. 1t was all eSquisitely clean
! and icy cold A little SHOW drifted in
through the muslin curtains. The
breath OF the Two women showed.
What on earth you done that for:"
Jenny demanded.
Mary Chavah stood in the empty
afchwav the satisfaction on her face
not yelling its pure auSterity.. She was
not much past thirty three hit she
looked older. for she was gaunt Her
flesh had lost it's :tirmness.: her dress
making had stopped her. her streng
frame moved as if it habitnntly shout:
dered it's way In her broad. sforeheal1
and deep eyes and somewhat lin her
silent moutll':yon read fine woman-the
rest of her was Obscured in her. gentle
reticence:: She: had a gray shawl blue
bordered., folded tightly about her head
and pinned under her chin. and 1t
wrapped her to her feet. d -: -
II feel like thing in a new SHELL"
she said. Come on in where it's
warm" -;
Instead of moving her dining room
table to her kitchen. as, most OF Old
Trail Town did in winter. Mary had
moved her cooking stove into the din
ing room. had improyised a calico cur
tained cupboard for the utensils, and
there she lived and sewed. The win
doWs were bare:
I'm let the parior have curtains if it
wants to- she had said. but In the
room l live in l want every strip OF
the sun l can get Il:
There were no plants, though every
house in Old Trail Town had a window
of green, and slips without humber
were offered: SO. -:
''You can have flowers all you want"
she said once; Il like EN- too well to
box 'em up in the house" :.
And there were no books; -.
Il don't read" she admitted; Il amt
ever read a book In my life but Pill
grim's Progress and the first four
chapters: of ,Ben-Hnr y: What's the
use of pretending. when books"is such
nuisance to dust? GrMndfat Their
books in the parlor-oh. ffhey amt
books: they're furniture
But she had little bookcase whose
shelves were filled with her pitterns-
in her dressmaking she never used a
fashion plate. ::,:s.- 49,: CO.
IL like to: make: 'em up and cut EN-
| out, she sometimes, told her friends
II don't care nothing whatever about
the dresses when they get done-more
fool the women for ornamenting them
selves up like lamp shades. l. always
think. g: But just do love to fuss4with
the paper and make it do like. say
Land. I've: got my cupboard: full Of
more patterns than I'd ever get orders
! for if L lived to be born again.
She. sat. down before the cooking
stove and drew off her WOODEN mittens
She folded a hand on her cheek; fore
ing the cheek out Of drawing by her
hands pressure. There was always
about her gestures curious nakedness
indeed. about her face and hands.
Thsy were naive, perfectly likely to
reveal themselves in their current
d"h"dluucS6 uuu uSuucSS VI ulOIu6ll-
tary expression which, by its very
frankness. made new law as it broke
an old one.
Don't you tell folks I've been house
cleaning" she warned Jenny. 1.-THE
town would think 1 was crazy, with
| the thermometer acting mp zero SO.
Anyway, amt been house cleaning.
just simply got SO sick to death OF
all the truck piled up in this house
that had to get away from it. And
this morning it looked so clean and
white and smooth outdoors that felt
50 cluttered up couldn't sew be-
gun on this room. and then l kept on
! with the parlor I've took out the
! lambreQuins and 'leven pictures and
| the whatnot and four moth catching
! rugs and four sofa pillows. and I've
packed the whole of 'em into the attic.
I've done the same to my bedroom.
I've emptied my house out of all the
stuff the folks and the folks folks and
1