886 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
Dec.  31 
JANET  THORN'S  TEMPER. 
MK8.  F.  M.  HOWARD. 
Chap.  I. 
“What  d’ye  think,  mother,  about  plow¬ 
in’  up  that  ere  south  medder  ?” 
“  I’m  sure  I  don’t  know,  Abel.  Mostly 
stuns  down  under  the  grass  hain’t  it  ?” 
“  Wall,  yes,  I  reckon  mebbe  ’tis.  Stuns 
is  the  heaviest  crop  a  man  raises  in  this 
section,”  laughing  dubiously.  “  The 
farm  is  a-growing  so  everlasting  poor 
there  won’t  nothin’  thrive  on’t  ’cept 
weeds  and  quack  grass  and  that’ll  grow 
anywheres.  I  thought  mebbe  the  south 
medder’d  turn  up  a  little  richer,  that’s 
all.” 
“  Do  jest  as  you  think  best,  Abel.”  The 
meek  wife  who  delivered  this  non-com¬ 
mittal  advice  in  a  mild,  drawling  tone, 
put  on  her  gingham  sun-bonnet,  and  tak¬ 
ing  a  pail  on  her  thin  arm  went  out  to 
draw  water,  while  Abel  sat  by  the  fire 
whittling  a  stick  in  a  doubtful,  irresolute 
sort  of  way — there  was  no  doubt,  how¬ 
ever,  about  the  litter  he  was  making 
upon  the  floor;  that  accumulated  steadily, 
like  the  unprofitable  deeds  dropped  along 
one’s  lifeway  while  pondering  upon  the 
great  and  good  to  be  accomplished  in  the 
future. 
It  was  an  iron  pump  at  the  deep  well, 
and  the  strength  required  to  use  it  would 
have  carried  the  mother  through  a  half 
day’s  labor,  but  she  never  thought  of  ask¬ 
ing  Abel  Thorn  to  bring  the  water  for 
her,  still  less  did  he  think  of  offering  the 
service.  It  was  easier  to  whittle  a  stick 
and  meditate,  so  he  meditated. 
“  Plagued  if  I  know  what  to  do.  Wish’t 
I  could  sell  the  blamed  old  farm  for  half 
what  it’s  worth,  er  rather  what  ’twould 
cost  to  get  away  from  it.  ’Taint  worth 
nuthin’  skeercely.  I’d  a  ’most  feel  as  if 
I  was  takin’  money  under  false  pretences 
if  I  was  to  get  an  offer  for  it.” 
He  was  a  tall,  spare  man  with  narrow, 
stooping  shoulders  and  pale  whitey  blue 
eyes,  over  which  hung  an  expanse  of 
high  forehead,  narrow  and  unintellec¬ 
tual  ;  his  face  too  was  long  and  narrow, 
seamed  with  many  deep  wrinkles,  the 
mouth  and  nose  not  at  all  handsome 
features,  betraying  weakness  and  in¬ 
efficiency. 
This  was  Abel  Thorn,  proprietor  of  the 
Thorn  Farm,  located  in  a  suburb  of  a 
small  village  in  northern  New  York. 
He  had  bought  the  place  years  before 
when  the  village  was  in  a  growing  con¬ 
dition,  with  the  prospect  of  becoming  a 
large  town  as  the  railroad  came  in,  and 
newcomers  flocked  into  its  hospitable 
borders.  It  was  overdone,  however,  and 
when  the  excitement  of  building  and 
settling  was  over,  and  the  reaction  of 
real  every-day  living  set  in,  there  were 
more  doctors,  lawyers  and  merchants 
than  could  possibly  be  supported,  for  the 
surrounding  country  was  poor  and  hilly, 
and,  as  Abel  Thorn  has  remarked,  stones 
were  the  principal  crop  a  man  could 
raise.  The  railroad  had  sown  a  string  of 
little  villages  all  along  its  route,  each 
struggling  to  maintain  its  existence  and, 
if  possible,  outdo  the  other,  consequently 
they  all  remained  nearly  stationary,  and 
are  to-day  just  where  they  were  20  years 
ago,  allowing  for  the  minor  changes  of 
fresh  paint,  growing  shrubbery  and  an 
occasional  new  dwelling. 
There  were  industrious,  painstaking 
souls  upon  some  of  the  stony  farms, 
however,  who  with  undaunted  courage 
fought  the  disadvantages  of  the  soil  tooth 
and  nail,  enormous  stone  piles,  meadows 
and  pastures  surrounded  by  stone  walls 
testifying  to  the  plucky  fight  with  nature, 
while  the  cultivated  portion,  enriched 
and  wisely  used,  yielded  a  fair  return  for 
the  labor ;  but  it  was  labor,  veritable 
sweat  of  the  brow,  a  condiment  with  his 
daily  bread  which  Abel  Thorn  was  not 
at  all  fond  of,  so  his  farm  steadily  de¬ 
creased  in  value,  and  his  buildings  grew 
more  shabby  year  by  year  while  he  be¬ 
wailed  his  “cussed  luck,”  and  watched 
his  neighbors  grow  rich  and  prosperous 
beside  him. 
There  were  two  children,  a  son  and 
daughter,  now  well  toward  manhood  and 
womanhood. 
Janet,  sturdy  and  self  reliant  Jimmy, 
as  his  mother  fondly  persisted  in  calling 
him,  having  the  indolence  of  bis  father 
combined  with  the  meek,  easy-going 
disposition  of  his  mother. 
“  Can’t  help  nothing  by  frettin’,”  was 
one  of  her  favorite  sayings,  a  true  one  in 
a  measure,  still  very  much  may  be  ac¬ 
complished  by  merging  the  fretting  into 
resolute  doing,  a  fact  which  Jimmy  and 
his  father  too  often  ignored. 
The  young  people  had  finished  such 
education  as  the  village  school  afforded, 
and  were  now  at  home  taking  up  their 
share  of  home  duties. 
“  We’d  orter  have  a  new  pump,  pa.” 
Mrs.  Thorn  had  come  in  with  the  heavy 
pail,  and  was  standing,  her  bonnet 
pushed  back,  her  hand  pressed  close 
against  her  side,  and  panting  with  her 
exertions  at  the  iron  monstrosity. 
“That’s  so,  ma,  we  had  orter.”  Abel 
arose  and  brushed  the  fine  splinters  he 
had  made,  from  his  clothing,  “  but  poor 
folks  can’t  have  all  they’d  orter  have 
y’know.” 
188  ACRES  AT  A  BARGAIN. 
FINE  FARM,  with  good  timber,  water,  buildings, 
fences  and  young  orchard  of  all  fruits.  Half  a  mile 
to  P.  O.,  and  three  miles  to  R.  R.  station.  Other  busi¬ 
ness  compels  a  sacrifice  of  20  per  cent  discount  from 
real  value.  W.  L.  COGGSHALL,  West  Groton,  N.  Y. 
FARM  FOR  SALE. 
Two  hundred  and  thirteen  acres  of  good  land,  2J4 
miles  northeast  of  Middletown,  Ind.;  180  acres  under 
cultivation.  Good  buildings,  plenty  of  gas  and  good 
water.  For  price  and  terms  call  on  or  address 
I).  T.  PAINTER,  Middletown,  Indiana. 
“But  poor  folks  can  do  the  share  of 
the  work  which  belongs  to  them,”  said  a 
round,  full  voice  at  the  door,  “  I  declare 
Pa  Thorn,  I’m  ashamed  of  you  if  you 
have  allowed  mother  to  tug  away  at  that 
pump  again  while  you  sat  and  whittled.” 
“  I-I-didn’t  think,  J’net.  I  re’ly  didn't,” 
with  an  uneasy  glance  about  the  room 
for  his  hat :  it  was  his  way  to  dodge  and 
run  from  unpleasant  truths.  “  I  was 
busy  thinkin’.” 
“  If  there  was  more  doing  and  less 
thinking  about  here  things  would  work 
smoother  I  imagine,”  retorted  the  girl 
sarcastically,  but  Abel  had  found  his  hat 
and  lost  the  remark,  as  he  got  through 
the  door  with  unwonted  agility. 
“You  musn’t  be  sassy  to  y'r  pa, 
J’net.”  The  mother’s  mild,  drawling 
tones  were  characteristic.  There  was 
nothing  quick  or  impulsive  about  her. 
If  she  had  ever  bad  any  energy,  it  had 
long  since  departed,  and  she  was  thin, 
colorless  and  ambitionless  in  her  later 
years  ;  a  perfect  contrast  to  her  daughter 
who  stood  before  her,  her  black  eyes 
snapping  with  indignation  as  she  reached 
for  the  broom  and  dust-pan.  She  had  a 
LORIDA  LAND  FOR  SALE.— 1,520 
acres,  best  quality,  Marlon  County,  Florida. 
TOM  SLOAN,  Greenville,  S.  C. 
BLUE  CRASS  FARMS. 
Every  Farmer,  Fruit  and  Stock  Grower,  wishing 
reliable  Information  in  regard  to  the  agricultural 
land  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  can  secure  a  copy 
of  the  New  South,  free,  for  three  months.  Address 
W.  8.  FRANCIS, 
346  West  Main  Street,  Louisville.  Ky. 
pleasing  face,  full  of  fire  and  animation, 
and  her  long,  black  hair  was  coiled  into 
a  pretty  knot  at  the  back  of  her  shapely 
head ;  a  head  carried  with  a  proud, 
determined  poise  which  made  the  vil¬ 
lage  beaux  a  little  afraid  of  her,  and 
her  easy-going  father  decidedly  uncom¬ 
fortable  when,  on  occasions,  it  became 
quite  stiff-necked  in  the  rigidity  of  dis¬ 
approbation. 
“  Kin  always  tell  when  J’net’s  mad  by 
that  head  o’her’n,”  he  remarked  to  his 
wife.  “  It  beats  me  where  the  child  got 
her  temper.  ’Taint  from  me  ner  you, 
mother,  that’s  one  comfort,”  with  a 
deprecatory  shake  of  the  head. 
Away  back  on  a  remote  bough  of  the 
family  (thorn)  tree,  there  had  grown  an 
apple,  fair  and  beautiful  to  the  eye,  but 
sharp  and  puckery  to  the  taste.  “  Aunt 
Ann  ”  was  a  terror,  but  such  an  ambi¬ 
tious,  shrewd  terror  that  she  had  won 
the  unbounded  respect  of  her  entire  ac¬ 
quaintance  in  spite  of  the  sharpness  of 
her  tongue,  the  flashing  terrors  of  her 
eye.  She  had  the  reputation  of  being  a 
driver,  and,  to  speak  it  mildly,  a  scold, 
but  at  the  last  her  easy-going  relatives, 
who  were  neither  drivers  nor  scolds, 
looked  with  admiration  upon  the  sub¬ 
stantial  results  of  her  life  work,  a  solid 
bank  account  and  broad  acres,  which,  at 
her  death,  were  divided  among  them. 
(To  he  continued.) 
FEEDING  ANIMALS. 
This  Is  a  practical  work  of  560  pages,  by  Professor’ 
E.  W.  STEWART,  upon  the  science  of  feeding  In  all 
Its  details,  giving  practical  rations  for  all  farm  ani¬ 
mals.  Its  accuracy  Is  proved  by  Its  adoption  as  a  text 
book  In  nearly  all  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experi¬ 
ment  Stations  In  America.  It  will  pay  anybody  hav¬ 
ing  a  horse  or  a  cow,  or  who  feeds  a  few  pigs  or 
sheep  to  buy  and  study  It  carefully.  Price,  &54.00. 
Address  THE  RURAL  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
Times  Building,  New  York. 
l  ft  S  ' 
mgk 
„  .ft  OP 
A  Great  Dollar’s  Worth.  M 
’  $  1  oTO 
FREE  to  subscribers  who 
pay  for  mailing  only,  all  of  the 
following  “Novelties”  never  be¬ 
fore  offered. 
>5  magnificent  New  Hardy 
Roses,  Rosa  Rugosa  Hybrids. 
The  new  Carman  Grape.  Re¬ 
tail  price,  $5  per  vine. 
200  New  Cross-bred  Tomatoes. 
Crosses  among  best  varieties. 
A  new  Early  Potato,  pro¬ 
nounced  the  best  ever  intro¬ 
duced. 
This  collection  can  not  be 
bought- is  only  obtainable  by 
our  subscribers.  Worth  $25  to 
any  bright  cultivator.  Valuable 
Cash  Prizes  to  our  subscribers 
for  best  products  from  above. 
Specimen  ’ of  magazine  for  10 
cents. 
IS  THE  COUNT  RIGHT? 
1.  More  than  800  beautifully  printed  pages' 
of  fresh,  bright,  readable,  practical  matter. 
2.  About  900  choice  illustrations  that  illustrate. 
3.  The  benefit  of  several  large  experiment  gardens 
and  orchards  in  widely  separate  localities. 
4.  The  work  of  scholarly  editors  who  are  skillful 
horticulturists. 
5.  A  magazine  for  every  lover  of  nature;  the  man 
or  woman  who  owns  a  geranium,  a  flower  bed,  or  a 
costly  lawn ;  every  one  who  “  sits  under  his  own  vine 
and  fig  tree;”  the  suburban  resident  and  country  gentle¬ 
man;  the  commercial  florist,  the  fruit  grower,  and  the 
gardener. 
6.  Artistic  plans  by  landscape  architects  for  laying 
out  readers’  grounds,  in  every  issue,  such  as  cost  hun-  *2 
dreds  of  dollars  in  the  usual  way. 
7.  An  inquiry  department  which  answers  all  ques¬ 
tions  from  readers. 
8.  All  in  all  the  most  complete  and  profusely  illus¬ 
trated  gardening  journal  in  the  world.  Yet  it  costs 
only  $i  a  year. 
The  Rural  Publishing  Company, 
Times  Building,  New  York. 
A 
Mi 
Subscriptions  to  American  Gardening  count  the  same  as  those  to  The 
Rural  New-Yorker  in  clubs  for  premiums. 
The  Rural  Publishing  Co.,  Times  Building,  N.  Y. 
