A Country Doctor | Page 7

their possessions, from least to greatest, as belonging to
both brothers. The only time they had ever been separated was once in
their early youth, when Jake had been fired with a desire to go to sea;
but he deserted the coastwise schooner in the first port and came home,
because he could not bear it any longer without his brother. Martin had
no turn for seafaring, so Jake remained ashore and patiently made a
farmer of himself for love's sake, and in spite of a great thirst for
adventure that had never ceased to fever his blood. It was astonishing
how much they found to say to each other when one considers that their
experiences were almost constantly the same; but nothing contented
them better than an uninterrupted evening spent in each other's society,
and as they hoed corn or dug potatoes, or mowed, or as they drove to
the Corners, sitting stiffly upright in the old-fashioned thorough-braced
wagon, they were always to be seen talking as if it were the first
meeting after a long separation. But, having taken these quiet times for
the discussion of all possible and impossible problems, they were men
of fixed opinions, and were ready at a moment's warning to render
exact decisions. They were not fond of society as a rule; they found
little occasion for much talk with their neighbors, but used as few
words as possible. Nobody was more respected than the brothers. It was
often said of them that their word was their bond, and as they passed
from youth to middle age, and in these days were growing to look like
elderly men, they were free from shame or reproach, though not from
much good-natured joking and friendly fun. Their farm had been

owned in the family since the settlement of the country, and the house
which Martin occupied was very old. Jake's had been built for him
when he was married, from timber cut in their own woodlands, and
after thirty years of wear it looked scarcely newer than its companion.
And when it is explained that they had married sisters, because, as
people said, they even went courting together, it will be easy to see that
they had found life more harmonious than most people do. Sometimes
the wife of one brother would complain that her sister enjoyed undue
advantages and profits from the estate, but there was rarely any
disagreement, and Mrs. Jake was mistress of the turkeys and Mrs.
Martin held sway over the hens, while they divided the spoils amiably
at Thanksgiving time when the geese were sold. If it were a bad year
for turkeys, and the tender young were chilled in the wet grass, while
the hens flourished steadily the season through, Mrs. Jake's spirits
drooped and she became envious of the good fortune which flaunted
itself before her eyes, but on the whole, they suffered and enjoyed
together, and found no fault with their destinies. The two wives, though
the affection between them was of an ordinary sort, were apt to form a
league against the brothers, and this prevented a more troublesome
rivalry which might have existed between the households.
Jake and Martin were particularly enjoying the evening. Some accident
had befallen the cooking-stove, which the brothers had never more than
half approved, it being one of the early patterns, and a poor exchange
for the ancient methods of cookery in the wide fireplace. "The women"
had had a natural desire to be equal with their neighbors, and knew
better than their husbands did the difference this useful invention had
made in their every-day work. However, this one night the conservative
brothers could take a mild revenge; and when their wives were well on
their way to Mrs. Thacher's they had assured each other that, if the
plaguey thing were to be carried to the Corners in the morning to be
exchanged or repaired, it would be as well to have it in readiness, and
had quickly taken down its pipes and lifted it as if it were a feather to
the neighboring woodshed. Then they hastily pried away a fireboard
which closed the great fireplace, and looked smilingly upon the crane
and its pothooks and the familiar iron dogs which had been imprisoned
there in darkness for many months. They brought in the materials for

an old-fashioned fire, backlog, forestick, and crowsticks, and presently
seated themselves before a crackling blaze. Martin brought a tall,
brown pitcher of cider from the cellar and set two mugs beside it on the
small table, and for some little time they enjoyed themselves in silence,
after which Jake remarked that he didn't know but they'd got full
enough of a fire for such a mild night, but he wished his own stove and
the