Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-21

rious complaint to make so far. Cnt,l
TIL ursday nights snowstorm the weather
has averaged as good as could be expect
ed in March. and the ground showed
signs Of drying, though the roads were
still pretty muddy, and found 1t neces-
sary to wear my rubber boots to and
from the station.
It Is possible that when this snow is
gone and it dries under foot, and my
muscles get hardened, l may enjoy my
Der boots lacks a lot of being pleasant
stroll. The early rising doesn't bother
me much, now, though the alarm clock
wasn't especially welcome music the
mornings following my midnight trysts
with the incubator.
Jim and New Enjoy It.
The most surprising thing to me is the
alacrity with which Jim and Ned get out
of bed when they are called. In town 1t
used to be a hard task to get them up to
eat breakfast in time for school. The
only thing in the way of chores the boys
ever had to do when we lived in fiat
was to 20 to the store occasionally. Now
each has his morning and evening duties,
and insist that they do them promptly
and properly. l haven't any intention of
making 1t all work and no play;sin fact,
want them to have a lot more play than
work. But we nave estdpHsHeu d het!e
industrial community of our own, in
which each of US, except little Marsery
can contribute something to the family
welfare. 1t is only right that the boys
should do their part. however small. and
l think they will be the happier for dong
it, l don't know how long their enthu-
siasm will last, but right now they seem
mighty proud of the TACT that they are
able to help.
have been cultivating the acquaintance
of my buck-saw. and at the price of a few
blisters and a lame back, have about half
of my pile of wood sawed into chunks.
Jims job, morning and evening, is to split
and carry in wood for the kitchen range
and chunks for the heating stoves. and
to pump and carry in each morning a
tubful of water, so his mother will have
handy supply for washing dishes and
like purposes. Ned feeds and waters the
chickens morning and evening and keeps
the chicken house clean. Jim spends his
spare time building nest boxes IN the
loft of the barn and getting it ready for
his pigeons. A regular Saturday job tor
the boys is going to be to police the
yard. There is nearly half an acre IN
grounds around the house, ana 1t Will De
their duty to keep them neat and orderly,
sticks and bits of paper and other trash
picked up, and playthings that have be-
come scattered during the week put IN
their proper places.
some Country Compensations.
At a cost of 40 cents 1 got enough
manila rope to make swing, which L
fastened to limb about twenty feet
from the ground. The boys think it is
the finest plaything they ever had, and
they are not the only ones that enjoy it.
I swung Jane the other night until her
feet touched the branches and had her
squealing like a school girl Margery
has a little swing of her own, and she
has been spending a lot of time in it
when the weather was such that she
could be out of doors.
A little later OH shall get hammock
and when ] buy my lumber I'll get a
plank especially to make "see-saw.
bud" Brown has one and it loohs to
have possibilities of lots of fun. There
isn't any doubt that country life will
have its hardships and privations, and
I want Jane and the children to get all
the compromising pleasures out of it they
can. / hope they'll have such a good time
this summer that they'll not pine for the
fiat in town when winter comes again.
Jim and Ned started to school Monday,
and seem to like it first rate. Ned s
teacher is Mrs. Lewis, mother of the
unsalted butter the day after we moved.
She sent word by Ned that she is going
to call on Jane today.
The boys didn't have to stand much OF
a hazing from their schoolmates. Town
boys, 1t seems aren't such novelty,
after ALL There are several families in
the school district who came out from
the city Just as we did, and there are two
boys with whom Jim and Ned went to
school in Washington. l am going to
look some of these men up, to see how 1t
has Jared with them. E. s. NJ.