1904. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
899 
Mrs Rodney’s Blue Monday. 
It did not seem like a blue Monday. 
I he sun shone brightly into the dining 
room, and both Mr. and Mrs. Rodney 
looked happy and care free. They chat¬ 
ted in a leisurely way. Then Tom looked 
over the last night’s paper while his wife 
cleared the table, and then put on his coat 
and hat, kissed his wife, and started for 
the station to catch his train. Alice stood 
watching him till he disappeared from 
view. 1 he happy smile on her face gave 
place to an anxious pucker. 
“Oh, dear!” she sighed, “I wish Tom 
had thought to put on the wash water, and 
he never remembered to shovel a path 
for the clothes-line—and he had plenty of 
time. I hated to ask him. He ought to 
have thought of it himself.” There was a 
little feeling of resentment toward her 
husband. “Well, I shall have to do it all 
myself.” 
She put the boiler on the stove and 
fdled it laboriously with water. She was 
not strong, and so she did not fill the pail 
full and it took her a good while to do it. 
While the water was heating, she took the 
snow shovel, and, feeling very much 
abused, dug a path for the clothes-line. 
Fortunately the snow was light, but even 
so, after she had put up the line she felt 
very tired and her back ached. She had 
to make two trips to the cellar to get the 
tubs, and then there was the water to dip 
out of the boiler. 
Mrs. Rodney had not been married long, 
and she was not used to housework, so it 
was after 12 o’clock when the washing 
was at last ready to put out. She was 
too tired to eat, and so she made herself 
a cup of cocoa, and after drinking it went 
out to hang the clothes on the line. By 
one o’clock she had the tubs carried back 
to the cellar and the wash bench, boiler 
and wringer put away. The breakfast 
dishes were still waiting to be washed, and 
she gave her attention to them next. Then 
there was sweeping and bed making to do, 
and plants to water, and a little dusting. 
She had planned quite an elaborate sup¬ 
per, and she had begun to make prepara¬ 
tions for it when a sudden feeling of faint¬ 
ness warned her that she had reached her 
limit of endurance. She lay on the couch 
half an hour, till she felt better, then 
went doggedly to work getting supper. 
Her back was lame, and her head ached 
wretchedly. When supper was ready, she 
went out and took in the clothes, and by 
that time Tom came home. 
Now all day long Alice’s resentment 
and her abused feelings had increased. 
She said no word about being tired, but 
she was silent and gloomy, and before 
-supper was over she spoke crossly and 
said several hateful things. Tom evi¬ 
dently thought it best to get out of the 
way till the storm was over, and he went 
into the sitting room and buried himself 
in a book. As soon as she could, Alice 
went to bed, explaining to Tom that her 
head ached. At breakfast the next morn¬ 
ing there was a slight constraint between 
them, which both tried to ignore. After 
Tom had gone, Alice sank into a chair 
and cried a little. Then she sat up in a 
very determined manner and wiped her 
eyes. 
“Now,” sire said aloud, “I’m just going 
to think it all out before I do another 
thing. It is perfectly dreadful to go or 
this way every Monday. And it gets 
worse, too. I never was so downright 
cross to Tom before. We’ll be quarreling 
in a month, if it keeps on. How hurt he 
looked when I was so cross! He had no 
idea what was the matter, poor boy, and 
there I had been feeling hard toward him 
all day. I was obstinate and horrid and 
wouldn’t ask him to help me. He’d have 
done all that lifting and hard work in a 
quarter the time it took me, and it 
wouldn’t have tired him a bit. But I 
wouldn’t ask him, and did it myself, and 
then took my spite out on him at night 
by being hateful and snappish. I’ll try a 
different way next week and see if it 
works better. Yes, and I’ll go and see 
Mrs. Randall. She always has her wash¬ 
ing out by nine o’clock, and she has a 
big family, too. I’ll find out how she does 
it.” 
“Why, how early we are!” exclaimed 
Tom the next Monday morning when he 
came down stairs. 
“Yes,” said Alice smiling; “I set the 
alarm clock half an hour ahead. It is 
washing day, and I want you to do a few 
things to help me before you go.” 
“All right,” said Tom cheerfully. “What 
shall I do first?” 
“If you could put the boiler on—” 
Tom dashed into the back room to get 
it before she could finish her sentence. 
She was greatly relieved. What if he had 
refused, or had said hateful things as 
some men did? 
He filled the boiler and put it on the 
stove, then filled the tank and the tea¬ 
kettle. “Now what?” he questioned. 
“The tubs—” 
Tom was on the way to the cellar, 
whistling as he went. He brought in the 
wash bench and placed the tubs and fas¬ 
tened on the wringer. Then he suddenly 
disappeared, and Alice, glancing from the 
window, saw him shoveling a path, for it 
had snowed two days before. Just as he 
finished pulling the clothes-line tight, 
Alice went to the door to call him to 
breakfast. 
“That aid me good,” he said, as they 
sat down to the table. “I haven’t had 
such an appetite for a month. If I could 
take that amount of exercise every morn¬ 
ing it would do me a world of good.” His 
eyes were bright and his face had a ruddy 
color. 
Alice rose from the table quite promptly. 
“Now if you could empty the boiler into 
the tubs and then fill it again,’ ’she said, 
“I won’t bother you any more.” 
“Bother!” he returned scornfully. “Fid¬ 
dlesticks ! It’s too hard work for you.” 
By the time he had finished filling the 
tubs and boiler, Alice had the table cleared 
away. She stood watching him walk 
briskly down the street. When she turned 
to ner work the smile was still on her lips. 
“What a goose T have been,” she said. 
“What is an awful tax on my strength is 
just agreeable exercise for him.” She 
worked in a leisurely way at the washing 
and enjoyed it, and she got it out very 
soon after Mrs. Randall had finished her’s. 
4866 Tuck Shirred Skirt with Flounce, 
22 to 30 waist. 
She rested half an hour, and then did 
up the housework. 
“I like to wash,” she told Mrs. Randall 
that afternoon as they got in their wash¬ 
ings. “It is much easier the way you told 
me to do it, and Tom helped me before he 
went this morning.” And after that Mrs. 
Rodney’s Mondays were never blue. 
SUSAN BROWN ROBBINS. 
The Rural Patterns. 
The skirt and waist here shown will 
combine to make a stylish costume, espe¬ 
cially in some soft material. It would be 
very suitable for a wedding gown if made 
in white crepe de chine or some similar 
fabric. The sleeves and ruche trimmings 
are attractive novelties. The waist con¬ 
sists of the fitted lining, the full back and 
fronts with the yoke. The yoke is hooked 
over on to the left shoulder seam while 
the waist and lining are closed separately 
at the front. The sleeves are made in one 
piece each, arranged over fitted founda¬ 
tions that are faced to form the cuffs. The 
deep girdle is smoothly fitted and extended 
slightly below the waist line at the front. 
The quantity of material required for the 
medium size is 3^4 yards 2L inches wide, 
3J4 27 inches wide or 2 yards 44 inches 
wide, with 1 yard of all-over lace and 
yard of velvet for belt. The pattern 4872 
is cut in sizes for a 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40 
inch bust measure; price 10 cents. 
The skirt is circular with a gathered 
flounce that is joined to its lower edge. 
The upper portion is shirred to form a hip 
yoke and laid in two groups of graduated 
tucks, which also are gathered and drawn 
up slightly, so confining the fullness. The 
flounce is tucked at its lower edge, gath¬ 
ered at the upper, which is concealed by 
the lowest tuck of the skirt. The quantity 
of material required for the medium size 
is 11 yards 21 inches wide, 8/ 2 yards 27 
inches wide or 6 yards 44 inches wide, 
with 18 yards of banding to trim as illus¬ 
trated. The pattern 4866 is cut in sizes 
for a 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30 inch waist meas¬ 
ure; price 10 cents. 
GROWING UP 
There’s something the mat¬ 
ter with the child that fails 
to grow up. A child that 
grows up too much, however, 
without proper filling out of 
flesh, is almost as badly off. 
Nothing will help these pale, 
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Scott’s Emulsion. It supplies 
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Do you know “The Song of 60 Years?” 
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hair grow. Verse 2. Ayer’s Hair Vigor stops falling hair. 
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AGRICULTURE, 
HORTICULTURE, DAIRYING AND ANIMAL INDUSTRY 
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IK 
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LOWEST RATES TO ST. LOUIS AND 
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local Ticket Agent, or A. W. Ecclestone, D. I’. 
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JAYNE’S EXPECTORANT 
CURES THE WORST COLDS. 
For 73 years the Standard Cough Remedy. 
