THE ALAMANCE GLEANER.
• ~ •t% h m ■ / * . VSI • * ** _» . V
VOL 4
THE GLEANER
PUBLISHED WEEKLY BT ,
E. S. P A KIT E R
Hrnhmn, N. C.
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P*H» PAPER IS ow ma WHS
_ V
JOHJS SHAMBERi>AIiN
GREENSBORO, N. C.,
PRACTICAL a K. b R*
WATrn »' ffijjfp* AN ®
JEWELLER
'** DEALER IN
FINE WATCHES, JEWELRY,
J-
W Sterling Silver, and Plated- Ware,
VINE BrECTACI.ES,
and everything else in my line.
(9* Special attention given to the repaiiing
and timing ofTiue Watches and Regulators.
I offer you every possible guarantee that
whatever ydu may buy ftf uie shall fee genu
ine and .'Hat as represented, and you shall
pay no more for it than a fair advance on the
wholesale cost, Goodb torderoß shall be fur
nished as low as it purehaoed in person at my
cjuHter. I have mode iu the handsomest
manner, | ' J |- f ,«
Hnir CkalW.HalrJ«welry. Diamond
Mud Weriiliutf King*, all kind*
•ffinr Jcwtlrr, Gold aud
v silver Wntcli C'nsc#,
el®,, etc.
My machinery and other appliances tor
making the different parts of Walches, is
perhaps the most oxtensiv* in the State, con
sequently I can guarantee that any part of a
watch or clock can be replaced With the ut
most facility, ,
£&■ 1 guarantee that my work will com
pare favorably iu etficlency and finish with
any In the laml.
' fc JOHN CHAMBERLAIN,
Watch Makej-aud Jeweler,
Greensboro, N ,
The Dead
I deal in American and Italian
Hftrble Monuments
* and Headstones
[ would Inform the public that I am pre
pared to do work as
Cheap as any yard in
the State,
+.
AND GTJAKANTEE PFKFECT
SATISFACTION.
V
Parties living at a distance will save money
by seLdlng to me for PRICE LIST and
DRAWINGS. T6 persons making np a
club of six or more, I offer the
Most, liberal induce
ments,
' oa application will forward designs,
Ac,, or visit them in pet son.
Any kind of marketable produce
taken in exchange for work.
S. C. ROBERTSON,
/>. GREENSBORO, N. 0. i
I
ONl¥ A (ABMKB'S WIFE, j
y
BY WII.KIJE VAIL
- * 1
[From The Sunwy Strath.]' 
'John cmn you spire me ft dollar j
this morning I' naked Mrs. Larcom.in 1
a faltering voice, and with downcast I
eyes, as she followed her h.iaband to I
the door as he starced to his day's i
work. 
Her voice and manner involunta- ;
rily betrayed her fear of a refusal,and 
one conld see at a glance ihe was ac« ]
customed to a lecture when asking
for money, or worse still, to have it 1
given grudgingly."
* Well, I s'poao so, he replied;* and :
slowly thrusting his hand into ■ his 
pocket, drew out a well worn leather
pocket book, and opening it, selected
a ragged bill and extended it to his
wife. . (
A flush came into her pale cheeks,
her eyes were lifted to his with a
sparkle in their blue depths, as aiie
said joyfully: * ' .
'Oh, thank you, dear! I was bo
afraid you'd but it actually
| makes me shivvr to look at the baAs
j front yard; my heart was so set on
the flower seeds, and—,'
'Flower seeds!' he cried, aghast:
- dyn't uiean to sajr you wanted
to throw a dollar away on ttowcr aeedxf
I thought you wanted to buy the milk
pan* you Bj»oke of last night.'
The glad li-ht died out in the blue
eyes, and the flu h deepened on the
thin cheek, and fche low voice trem«
bled as she said: » • * JwW
'Oh, John, I thought you knewl I
tol*d you about it yesterday, and
Myrtin Cloud says I can seud my or
der to Vick with hers, she is going to
i send ten dollars for seeds aud ever*
greens.' ,A3H »
'Wellyif Myrtie Cloud is disposed
to throw her money away buying
trash, that ia.no reason I should throw
mine away, and I don't intend to; I
wish you'd remember yon are only a
farmer's wife, and every dollop - J
; have is dug out of tire ground by
■ hard lal|or. Flower seeds indeed!
| women nOw-a-days think of nothing
> but foolishness.'
'There, John, don't say anymore,'
1 uho faltered, in a choked voice, her
| lips trembliug like a grieved child's.
'I thought maybe you wouldn't mind;
and the place is so desolate; not a
picture or book inside, nor a flower
, outside.'
'Books and flowers—fiddle sticks/
■ I think you have enough housework
to keep you employed without wasts
1 ing time on flowers and novels, and
such trumpery —my mother is a hap
py woman, aud a useful one, too, and
I'll go bail she never read a novel or
dug in a flower bed in her life. No,
keep the money,' he said, replying- to
the motion of her hand, 'and buy the
milk pans with it; it won't be thrown
away; in them is some comfort.'.
He settled his hat on bis head with
a jerk, thrust bis purse into his pock»
et and strode away to where several
'hired men' were harnessing their
plow horses, and a moment liter bis
voice reached his wife's ears as he
gave directions for the day'a work,
mingled with sharp laps, taps of his
hammer as he adjusted 'heel screw'
and 'clevis pin,' with the skill of an
experienced farmer:
She stood watching his brisk
movements until her vision was obt
scured by a tearful-mist, and slowly
turning, she threw herself into alow
cane-seated rocker, and gave way to
the luxury of a 'good cry.'
John Larcom was designated by
his neighbors as a 'forehanded fel
low;' sharp and quick in trade, close
and saving with his money, yet
prompt in meeting his bills as they
became due. By close application
and unswerving industry, he bad
succeeded in lifting the heavy mort
gages that encumbered the farm left
him by his father, and now at the
end of five years he held bis deeds
fiee of mortgage, and had a snug
sum deposited in bank for a 'rainy
day,' he said.
He had united experience and
sound, practical common sense with
the farming' taught nowa
days in books; many of them contain-
GRAHAM, N. C-,
ing thoughts and suggestions of price*
less value to farmers of discernment,
while others are written by soft palm
ed idlers, aud brought before the
great farming world with % mighty
flourish of trumpets. Many an amax
teur farmer has bewailed his tolly in
trustiug to those high sounding theo»
ries, and to his chagrin aud infinite
disgust has discovered at the end of a
year's experimenting that the expense
of scientific tools and chemical corns
posts, leaves him empty pockets.
John Larcom was a farmer's son,
bad been educated on a farm, and
I was by nature, extremely practical
and so found little difficulty in so it
erating the grains ot true merit from
the great mass of chaff found in
the volumes of scientific farmer's
lore.
These books and the country news
paper embraced his entire fund, of
literature; and he thought it con
temptible in a man, and frivilous in
a womau, to possess a taste for fic
tion.
He was regarded as a Mucky fel
low' when he was married to pretty
- blueseyed Lucy Dean, the daughter
of the most successful farmer in his
district, and prospective ljeirisss of
her father's fertile acres.
John thought with greflt compla
cency of the snug little fortune his
wife would inherit, and gazed with an
air of proprietorship across the well
tilled fiefds of billowy wheat, and
rustling corn, and of cotton, whose
rows were turned on hillside and bot
tom land, with geometrical precis
ion. *
He even thought of making a few
needful additions to his honse and
furniture, 'just to pleaaa, Lucy,'
but—
"The boat lale plans of men'and mice
Gang oft aglee."
for the honey moon had scarcely
reached its zenith when his father
in-law was stricken with para ly Bis;
and after a few weeks lingering death
in-life, quietly breathed his last.
I >ucy was inconsolable at tho loss
of her kind father; and John, while
sinceiely regretting the eld man's
sudden death, could not refrain from
mentally congratulating himself on
the speedy possession of one of the
most valuable f*rms in the county;
but to his dismay, creditors came
forward, one after another, with
claims against the eetate amounting
to almost its full value.
John loved his wife, but there was
a vein of selfishness iu his heart, and
ho thought, almost unconsciously
that he had been duped into mutri
mony under false appearances.
Mrs. Larcom thought of bis expoc«
talious and his disappointments as
she sat gently rocking, and in her
loyal heart exonerated him from all
blame.
'Oh, dear,' she said at last, starting
up; (his will never do! But i'm just
ready to give right up. John and I
never can see alike. What delight
him is weary, hard drudgery to me;
but if I could brighten" up the place
just a little I would bo so happy.
Scrub, cook and eew from
Monday morning till Saturday night;
work. work, work all day* and go to
bed at night so tired I can't rest. Aud
thedaysare all alike, crowded so
with work and try as hard as ever I
can, I never do dove tail it all in. but
hurry so I do nothing well, and leave
out whole duties entirely. The fault
is in me; it must be; but Ido try, eh,
so earnestly! John's mother mast be
a remarkable woman, but I do bate
for him to compare me with her so
often! I will Bpade up the beds and
plant the seeds Aunt Pattie promised
to give me, and train morning glories
over the front porch.'
She hung «p the feather daster she
had been vigorously brushing over
the well worn cbairiTand tables, aud
rearranged the plain furniture, inL.
partiug a cozy, homo like grace te
tho bare rooms with ber dexterous
fingers and artist's eyes.
When the rooms were all tidy and
freshly swept and aired, she tied her
on -her ruffled and fluted little
sansbonnet and ran down the steps
into thetyard, and was soon deeply
engaged In the fascinating work of
preparing the soil for a prospective
flower garden.
'lt wasn't so bad, after all.' sho
mused; 'there will be one comfort in
Auut l'attie'a flower seeds—l shall
TUESDAY APRIL 9 1878
not bo afraid of pronouncing .the,
names of her flowers, nor inake such
a blunder as Nettie Jones did last
summer when she called columbine,
a-quiHey, etc.l And the florist's
seeds might prove unsatisfactory,
after all.'
But sho worked with a half guilty
reeling of disobedience, as t>ho knew
ber husband would icgard her work
as wasted time and energy. II j had
never reproached Lncy tor hot fath-'
er's improvidence, bnt she knew
when he made covert nllusions (o hit
'small income,' and the necessity of
'rigid economy,' he was thinking of
changed prospects; and &he weekly
submitted to be guided by his Btrou>
ger will, amf uncomplainingly fell
into the dull routine of domestlo dus
ties which ho religiously thought the
real aim and object of woman's lifo.
Lucy, fragilo as a hot house plant,
and Beni.itlve to every chilling breath
of neglect or indifference, keenly felt
the change iu tho atmosphere of her
husband's house, accustomed ns she
had been to a never changing temper
ature of love and appreciation in her
father's home. . - .
But like most clinging natures, sho
loved her husband sincerely, and
carucst ly endeavored to reach hisim
poss'ble wifely staudard.
As Lucy's prospective fortune had
been ruthlessly swept aside, like the
fabric of a dream,' he 110
longer felt the desire, or ability, to
beautify his plain coun'ry farm house
for her occupancy. She thought with
injense longing, of the many elegaut.
thingß Bhe could create with her own
skillful fingers, 'if John could only
let her have a little money.' But he
had a profound contempt for 'wo
man's gimcracks,' and pOslivel/ res
fused any aid toward the furtherance
of her ohcrished schemes.
Once, as he camo suddenly into the
house, he found her beuding with
absorbed attention over a borrowed
volume ot'BeauttfutSomes; or Hints
in Tasteful House furnishing. Jle
took the book, glanced over its pages
and with the tone of a judge pro
nouncing sentence of death, inquired
tho name of the owner; and without
expressing his opinion ot tho useless*
noss ot such aivabsurd work, called
for a boy at work in the garden, and
dispatched it to its owner.
Not that he meaut to be unkind, he
sacredly thought it his duty to keep a
strict espionage over his wife,,for he
regarded her as little more than a
child; and he reasoned, 'are not books
ot fiction, like Freucb bons-bons,how
ever pleasing to the taste, sure to
leave a vitiated apetite? And does not
Lucy grow more finiky day by day?
Oh, farmers in our beautiful sunny
land; do you ever pause to consider
why tho winsome girls you so eagers
ly woo, so soon exchange their bon
ny, sprightly ways for an ait of lists
less apathy? Or why the peach bloom
complexious so early change and
fade—and why tho bright eyes bes
come dim and assume a lack-lustre ex
pression, enlarged and sunken as they
too often are by ill health, and surs
rounded by bistre circles that over
shadow tho pale cheeks—have yon
ever given one moment's thought to
the weary, almost hopeless lives thsy
live as 'farmers' wivess" Have you
ever thought of the endlesa tasks
they daily accomolish? Most of them
trifles, you think; and grauting them
te be trifles, is not the world compos
ed of'trifles?' Is not the atmosphere
formed of minute atoms? Yet yea
would deem it no 'trifle' to be depriv
ed of air!
You living as mou baying eyes, yet
see not.. For once, open your eyes
to the destiny your wives are forced
te accept—look at the iucovenieut,
cheerless places, it would seem a sac
riligp t.» designate by the. hoi v word v
home—your wives speud their lives
in.
Do you ever think bow infinitely
you could llghfeu tho burdens of the
one being you have chosen from all
the world as your companion and
your friend?
Do you have the faiutest idea what
torture it is to a true woman to live
the isolated life, seemingly inseper
able from farming interests? y
You thiuk. perhaps, it is a 'waste
of time' to pay and receive visits; bat
as the brightest meial will grow dim
from disuse,so tae human mind can be
kept polished and bright only by com"
ing in contact with other minds, and
it is the duty ot every farmer to pro
vide social amusements for his family.
Make your hones attractive, provide
books and music lor your wives and
daughters toJW 'guile some of the te«
dinm of long whiter evenings; and
regard money wel! spent that adds
to the comfort and happiness ot jour
families.
Mrs. Larcom continued her work;
now spatting, now exchanging the
loug hauilled nnwieldly spado for - a
still more nnwieldly mattock, now
leveling and smoothing with a patent'
cotton, er 4 tlne hoe;' and pausing
now and then to view with an air of
satisfaction (he narrov bed she had
so laboriously thrown op.
•What on earth are yon doing Lns
cyF'askeda voice from the ffont
door, so suddenly she-dropped the
spade,, and lifted a face flushed with
exercise to see her husband standing
in the door, broad brimmed hat in
hand. .i.
•I thought I wonld fix the beds and
sow the seeds Aunt Patttie has for
me; that will bo better than none yon
know.
'Ttmtjspnding is too heavy for your
Blrength,'"he said, «Wait until I r m at
leisure and I'll fix the beds for you.'
'But the seeds must be planted soon
if they are to come to perfection next
summer,' she replied with a sigh, for
she knew how indefiuito was his
'leisure time.'
'1 came by the house to let you
know there will bo two extra hands
to prepare dinner for; and httrry din-
ner Lucy—trom the way the clouds
dritt, I expect rain to-night, aud I
must get the ground bedded up in
the meadow field this afternoon.' J
She glauced regretfully at the half
finished borders, then hurried Into
house, kiudled a fire in the steve,
drtw water and began preparing the
meats, vegetables, etc., for cooking.
And now as the excitement of
> woi king in the open air subsided, she
became conMions of a dull, heavy
pain in her side, which became *N |
1 most unbearable before the dinner was
served.
I She occupied ber seat at the table,
1 but made no pretence of eatfof, bat
quietly and almost in silence admin.
Istered to the wants of her husband
and lha 'hired men seated at the ta
ble.
'Are you sick Lucy ?' suddenly eus
, quired Mr. Larcom as ho extended
his plate for a fresh supply ot pud~
ding, aud uoticiiig for the first time,
and with a queer little quiver in his
heart, how pale and thin she had
grown.
'Only a pain in my side,' she
replied.
*1 told you to let that yard alone.'
he said in a half peevish ton§. The
next thing you know you will be in
bed and I'd be almost ruined
if you shou!d haye a spell while I'm
in such a push with tho spring
planting!'
'l'll be all right again when I get
rested, sho said, the ghost of a smile
flickering over her pale face.
• Well, let that yard alone, if you
were compelled to dig, you had bet»
ter have cotton planted iu the yard as
cotton is the 'money weed' youkuow.
And Lucy, be suro that you have
'supper ready wh4K the hands come
from the field.'
So saying he hurried after the men
who had already returned to work.'
She began gathering the dishes
together, aud heaping them in the
bright tin disb pan, pausing now and
thou to press her haud to her side,
through which ever and anon darted
an excruciating pain through her ribs
but labor and patience will overcome
most things in lifo—and few men's
wives an indulge iu tho luxury of
working only when the/ feel like
it.
'Now,' she sighed as she folded the
tablecloth in itn original creases,
*1 can take a moments breath 1 But
not iu the house; sometimes I feei as
it confinement, day after day in these
close rooms is postlve matyrdom.
She slipped off the porch aod passed
ttrongh the little back gate into the
orchard where the blossom draped
trees were scattered like the 'pitched
tenUef an army,' and the soft hazy
clouds seemed bending to throw a
silvery \ ail over the flower-crowned
earth; and"droning bee, and sinless
bird, were ehantiug and caroling a
hymn of praise to Nature and to
Natures God.
, 'Tnis is breathing! this is living!'
Bhe cried. 'I am half intoxicated
with sweets. Ob, what a happy, care
free lifo the Gipsies must livo iu the
woods, free to bask in - God's son>
shine without a thought of neglected
dut ; esto mar their pertect enjoys
ment.
She broke a spray of fragrant apple
blos&oins, held them to her lips then
N0.6
tautened them to her throat.
The tired ieet and achhig side were
almost f rgottcn now, for Bhe was
invigorated with tlio tonic of boantv
'Site sealed herself where a group
of cherry trees formed & kind of
arbor, and the light wind drifted the
snowy petals over her and fanned
iter cheek til! a soft color - crept ltito
it.
Farmer's wives and daughters can
never complain of want of exercise
but work taken iu doors, fighting
dust and cooking over beated stoves
is not the kind o4 exercise needed
for beak h. Exercise in fresh, pure
air, with surroundings that amuse
andTefVesb the mind. The lack of
this is what causes the prematurely
faded cheek and the lack-lustre eye
of so many farmer's wives. ■ „
Mrs. Larcom sat lost iu a dreamy
[ revery untill recalled by tbe quick,
Impatient voice of her has band.
to tbe bouse and found
"him standing on the porch with *
roll of course cloth in bis band.
•Lucy,'be said: *1 waut you to
make some new back bands this
evening; two of the old ones bave
given out and I must bave these
to-morrow—bave them made by
night and I'll fasten the books on.'
Sbo cut and shaped the-tooils and
hastily began sticbing them; and as
•he leaned over her sewing the pain
iu her side grew more intense, until
her nervous" BHgers, could' scarcely
torce the large needle through the
i thick folds.
She rose at last and with difficulty
tottered to the bed, across which she
fell in an nuconckms state—and so
hpr husband fsuud her on his return
from work.
He had gone into the stove-room
and to his surprise iound the stevo
cold and no preparations for snpper
visible, and hi* Wife no where to be
seen. He was at Afst surprised,-, but
when no response was made to Us
call, became alarmed and on going
to her room found her lying apparent -
ly lifeless—her face white, and hsr
brow bathed with cold moistare. He
gazed at fier a moment as ii stuns
ned.
'Oh my God!' he gasped his fac#
only a shade less pale than the one
he gathered to bis bosom and pressed
to his heart. 'Spsak to me Lucy; oh
Lncy what ails yon? Open yonr eyes
aud speak to me? «
In his agony he rained kisses on
the lips that bad never Bpoken save
in love and tenderness to ali his im
patience and fanlt finding.
>' 'Maybe she's only tainted sir,' said
one of the men who followed him
'l'd better go for the doctor.'
• *Yas go at once,' he replied • catch
ing at tbe crumb of comfort suggested
by the man.
Mr. Larcom laid his wife tenderiy
ou the bed and administered such
i restoratives as bis small experience.
suggested, but without any percept!-
i bie advantage.
In an hour the doctor came, and
> after examining her pulse, and
i listening for the beatings of her heart
turned a grave face to her hns
i baud.
'How long has she been in this
state?' be asked.
M came te tbe lions at three o'clock
and she was iji her usual health then
—but wheu we came to supper fouud
her as yen see ber. -Ob, Doctor yoa
you dou't think she's dead?'
'No she i« not deed; but she will
not recover soon,' if ever he meutally
added. 'Send for some woman to
attend l&r—and yen had better dis
patch for your mother a3 she has
none, poor girl.'
And then be added:
'This attack is no more than I
expected. I warned ber a month ego "
that she was tasking hor strength
beyond endurance —'
•Overtasking her strength I' Larcom
repeated in-a surprised voice. 'Yoa
don't think—'
He paused for the words ot tbe Dr.
suggested a possibility to his awakeus
eued scnsibillity that appaled him.
•Yes, John, 1 think she's over
worked; aud if she recovers it wilt be
as by a miracle; these are bard words
bnt bard words break no bones, my
friend. I told her a month ago unless
she hod assistance in her work she
would be on my hands.'
'She nevei told me,' Mr. Larcotn
said. *1 have been bliud beyoud
iorgivouesss.'
With a sigh that wr.s aln o t a groan
he covered his face with his bands.
Awakened memory recalled the
[Co/Umwed on fourth j>ugc.~\