Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1922-04-06
CHAPTER ll-continued.

An your ma-poor little thing
couldn't think of anything but a doll
that was thrown in the corner because
somebody'd got tired of her She was
lonesome, an no mistake. Anybody(
be sorry for her, to see her mopin'
round the house, nothin' to do. Oh
she read, an sewed with them bright
colored silks an worsteds; but course
there wasn't no real work for her to
do. There was good help in the kitchen
an / took what care of your grand
ma was needed; an she always gave
her orders through me. so l practical
ly run the house, an there wasn't
: anything there for her to do.
AN so your ma just had to NOPE il
out alone. Oh, l don't mean your pa
was unkind. He was always nice an
polite, when he was in the house
an I'm sure he meant to treat her
all right. He said yes, yes to be sure
of course she was lonesome, an he
was sorry. Twas too bad he was
so busy. An he kissed her an patted
her. But he always began right away
to talk of the comet; an ten to one
he didn't disappear into the observa-
tory within the next five minutes. Then
your ma would look so grieved an sor-
ry an go off an cry, an maybe not
come down to dinner, at all.
well then. one day things got SO
bad your grandma took a hand. She
was up an around the house, though
she kept mostly to her own rooms
But of course she saw how things was
goin'. Besides, l told her-some
Twas no more than my duty, as
looked at it. She just worshiped your
pa, an naturally she'd want things
right for him. So one day she told me
to tell her sons wife to come to her
in her room.
"An' / did, an she came. Poor lit
tie thing! / couldn't help bein sor-
ry for her. She didn't know thing
of what was wanted of her, an she
was so glad an happy to come You
see, she was lonesome, I suppose
Me? Want me?-Mother Ander.
sonT she cried. ooh, I'm so glad !
Then she made it worse by runnin' uI
the stairs an bouncin' into the room
like rubber ball, an cryin': Now
what shall / do, read to you, or sing
10 you, or shall we play games? IL
love to do any of themn Just like
that, she said it, l heard her. Their
] went out, of course, an left them
But l heard most everything that
WAS said, just the same. for l was
Tight in the next room DUSTIN an(
the door wasn't quite shut.
First your grandmother said real
poiite-she was always polite-but il
cold little voice that made even me
SILVER in the other room, that she die
not desire to be read, to or sung to
and that she did not wish to play
games. She had called her daughter
in-law in to have a serious talk will
her. Then she told her. still yer,
polite, that she was noisy an child
is,h. an undignified, an that it wa.
not only silly, but very wrong for hel
to expect to have her husbands entire
attention that he had his own work
an it was a very important one HI
was going to be president of the col
1ege some day. like his father before
him; an it was her place to help hin
Ia every way she could-help him Il
he popular an well-liked by all tn
college people an students; an h
couldn't be that If she insisted all tn,
time on keepin' him to herself, or look
In sour an cross if she couldn't hav,
him.
"Of course that amt all she said
but | remember this part particula
on account of what happened after
ward. You see-your ma-she fel
awful bad. She cried a little, an
sighed lot, an said she'd try, sh,
really would try TO help her husband
In every way she could; an sh'
once, to stay with her An sh
wouldn't look sour an cross, either
She'd promise she wouldn't An She,
try, she'd try, oh, so hard, to be prope
an dignifed.
"She got up then an went out o
the room so quiet an still you wouIdn'
knew she was movin'. But / heard he
10 in her room cryin' half an hou
later, when | stopped a minute at he
door to see if she was there. An
she was.
But she wasn't cryin' by night
Not much she wasl She'd washed he
tnce an dressed .erself up as prett.