PENELOPE AND NAUSICAA 191 
figuratively, if not literally, true! As soon, however, 
as harv^est- time comes, the atrocious effect is softened 
by the multiple strings of beans, of sliced pumpkin, 
and sliced apples that festoon the walls about the 
fireplace and shrivel decoratively in front of it, mer- 
cifully concealing and staining and otherwise har- 
monizing the luridities of the daily press. Papering 
the walls in this way is an exasperating boon to the 
storm-bound stranger who, unaccustomed to long 
reverie in a public place, turns for pastime to the 
papered wall. You follow a thrilling narrative 
through several columns, interested in spite of your- 
self, then at the most exciting point it stops short. 
You have reached the end of a page that cannot be 
turned. 
You will often see the mountain woman in her 
big sunbonnet in the fields hoeing, or helping "lay 
by the craps," occupations which, if not pursued too 
arduously, and they seldom are, do her no harm. On 
the contrary, such work is good for her, although it 
so often excites the indignation of strangers, to whom 
the sight of a woman working in a field always 
seems to bring visions of terrible oppression and 
cruelty. Most of the mountain women would prefer 
their light field work to the far more arduous duties 
of their well-dressed critics. The woman milks the 
cow, — she does not like to trust so important and 
delicate a task to a mere man, — and she sits in the 
doorway or near the fire and churns the butter in a 
tall, slender earthenware or wooden churn. And 
when she is done, she has plenty of time to rest. 
