han this room and there's a fire there, too." Then,
catching sight of his lamp, he picked it up hurriedly and said, "Jest
as shore as I leave anything undone, that shore somebody comes and
sees how slouchy I am. Come on into the kitchen where you can warm,
and I'll clean this lamp. One of the cows was sick this morning; I
hurried over things so as to doctor her, and I forgot the lamp. I
smoke and the lamp smokes to keep me company."

The kitchen would have delighted the heart of any one. Two great
windows, one in the east and one in the south, gave plenty of
sunlight. A shining new range and a fine assortment of vessels--which
were not all yet in their place--were in one corner. There was a slow
ticking clock up on a high shelf; near the door stood a homemade
wash-stand with a tin basin, and above it hung a long narrow mirror.
On the back of the door was a towel-rack. The floor was made of white
pine and was spotlessly clean. In the center of the room stood the
table, with a cover of red oilcloth. Some chairs were placed about the
table, but our host quickly hauled them out for us. He opened his
storeroom and told us to "dish in dirty-face," and help ourselves to
anything we wanted, because we were to be his "somebody come" for that
night; then he hurried out to help with the teams again. He was so
friendly and so likeable that we didn't feel a bit backward about
"dishin' in," and it was not long before we had a smoking supper on
the table.

While we were at supper he said, "I wonder, now, if any of you women
can make aprons and bonnets. I don't mean them dinky little things
like they make now, but rale wearin' things like they used to make."

I was afraid of another advertisement romance and didn't reply, but
Mrs. O'Shaughnessy said, "Indade we can, none better."

Then he answered, "I want a blue chambray bonnet and a bunch of aprons
made for my mother. She is on the way here from Pennsylvania. I ain't
seen her for fifteen years. I left home longer 'n that ago, but I
remember everything,--just how everything looked,--and I'd like to
have things inside the house as nearly like home as I can, anyway."

I didn't know how long we could stop there, so I still made no
promises, but Mrs. O'Shaughnessy could easily answer every question
for a dozen women.

"Have you the cloth?" she asked.

Yes, he said; he had had it for a long time, but he had not had it
sewn because he had not been sure mother _could_ come.

"What'