avor
of her early life in a densely-wooded State still cling to her, and if
you find her in her working-dress among her flowers she will beg you to
excuse her appearance, adding, "I look as if I was just out of the
timber."

But this character, though interesting, is not a typical one. Neither is
that of the pinched, hungry-looking little man whose five acres and
small dwelling meet my sight when I look toward the country in another
direction. His patch of ground is devoted to market-gardening, and from
its slender profits he is trying to support himself and wife and four
children and pay off a mortgage of several hundred dollars. He has
lately invented an ingenious toy for children, and is trying to raise
enough money to get it patented, hoping when that is done to reap large
profits from the sale of it. He is like a poor trembling little mouse
caught and held in the paws of a cruel cat. Sometimes Fate relaxes her
grip on him, and he breathes freer and dares to hope for a larger
liberty: then she puts her paw on him again, and tosses him and plays
with him in very wantonness.

Neither are the three old-maid sisters whose house I often pass types of
Iowa character, but I cannot forbear describing them. Their names are
Semira, Amanda and Melvina. There is nothing distinctive in their
personal appearance, but their character, as expressed in their home and
surroundings, is quite interesting. Their little low house is on a
corner lot, and as the other three corners are occupied by large
two-story houses, it seems lower still by contrast. It is unpainted, and
has a little wooden porch over the front door. The floors are covered
with homemade carpet, and braided mats are laid before each door and in
front of the old-fashioned bureau, which has brass rings for handles on
the drawers. A snow tree made of frayed white cotton or linen cloth
adorns the table in the best room; woolly dogs with bead eyes and
cotton-flannel rabbits with pink ears stand on the mantel; a bead
hanging-basket filled with artificial flowers decorates the window; an
elaborate air-castle, made of straw and bright worsted, hangs from the
middle of the low ceiling; and hung against the wall, between two
glaring woodcuts representing "Lady Caroline" in red and "Highland Mary"
in blue, is a deep frame filled with worsted flowers, to which a
butterfly and a bumble-bee have been pinned. Paper lacework depends from
their kitchen-shelves, and common eggshells, a