Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1864-12-08

another baked apple!"
"No, thank you, mother, I've finished my
dinner" And the young man, to prove his
assertion, placed the handle of his knife and
fork side by side On his plate, and rose from
the table.
"Well, then, if you've finished, want you
to make good fire in the front room. The
girls are coming this afternoon to quilt, and it
won't do 10 have numb fingers. Get the room
warmed up if you can, by one o'clock, JOSH
alb. | declare it's half past twelve now !"
and Grandma Neal piled up the plates, and
hurried them into the sink, as if she feared
she might not be able to take quite as many
stitches on the quilt as the girls, who were to
come at Zone o'clock precisely"
"Will they get it off this afternoon, moth
err"
''What the quilt? Oh no, to be sure not
There's two full half days work to be done
after to-day. But you know deacon Bates
does not start for the west until Monday, so
we have plenty of time. Let me think ="
And Grandma Neal actually paused in wiping
a green-edged platter to fix upon the days
that could best be devoted to the completion
of the quilt; the everlasting quilt" as Jo-
siah laughingly termed it. ..
Let me see, tomorrow is Tuesday, and
can get the ironing done by noon easy
enough, SO there's one afternoon for it. Wed
nesday is sewing society, and on Friday there S
a temperance lecture. Saturday always brings
hurrying work; so tomorrow and Thursday
must be the days. And Josiah, you may in
vite the Young fellows to come in Thursday
evening, if you like. The girls will DE glad
of little play, and they have earned il, dear
knows, on that piece of fancy patchwork"
Josiah soon had bright fire blazing on the
parlor hearth and the good old lady after
hurrying her dishes into the cupboard, and
brushing up the crumbs was in the act of
trying on figured alpaca apron, when the
street gate was heard to open and shut with
an unusual clang In moment hasty feet
battered up the walk, aud the front door
opening, admitted a whole avalanche of mirth
and mischief, in the shape of dozen bloom
ing girls, of ages ranging from fourteen to
twenty.
How they laughed and chartered! How
they trooped to the "spare bedroom" throw
ing off their bonnets and capes, and smooth
ing their hair with incredible dispatch; and
then walking out to the quilt, how they scru-
tinzed it all about, declaring that here was
long stitch, and there was an end sticking up,
and certainly Grandma Neal had been at it
in their absence, for they never did such
things of course.
And Grandma Neal, putting on her specta-
clcs, assured them that she had not touched
the quilt since they left it the Friday before,
and moreover if she had, it was very imper-
tinent in them to charge their blunders upon
an old woman, who had quilted nineteen
quilts and seven cOmfortables before they
were born F.! And then with much laughter
andhunting for thimbles and between-needIes,
and with SLY chances at Josiah, who had come
into the room ostensibly to see if the fire
burnt, they all sat down industriously to
work.
"Now if our dear Maggie could only look
in upon us all so comfortable" sighed Grand
ma Neal, and well she might say "our dear
Maggie" for truly the absent one, for whose
benefit they were assembled, had been, ever
since the days of her orphaned childhood, the
pride and darling of the whole village
Adopted by her grandparents when but little
more than an infant, had she not also been
adopted by the minister's wife, the doctors
wife, the squire's wife, and particularly by a
whole host of farmers wives, who counted
her as one of their own family in "sugar
time" in " cherry time, and best of all in
"nutting time ?" Had she not endeared her.
self expressly to the old people by her elastic
spirits, and her miraculous knacks of finding
lost spcctacles and knitting works? And as
she grew older, did not the children all but
adore her for her inexhaustible fund of sto-
ries, especially Chicken Little - foolish
chicken, who thought the sky was falling be-
cause a rose leaf fell on her tail. AS for the
young men, they believed her, without exccp-
ton, the most bewitching little compound of
roundness and rosiness, and sunshine and
sparkle, that ever dispensed heart-ache at a
midnight promenade, or ear-aches at "a husk-
ing trolic.
Loud, therefore were the lamentations,
when one fine May morning, a young man
from the ext viEage-where it CHANGED that
Maggie had been teaChing-a tall, sturdy
youth, with a well developed head, strong,
willing hands, and hundred acres of unclear-
ed land in Michigan, bore off the maiden, an
unreluctant prize, to the matrimonial altar,
and against her name was written that most
common sentence in the tablet of New Eng
land memories: married and gone west"
In early May, 1t was just five months ago
that Maggie went from her grandfather's roof,
and the few letters received from her-few,
because at the time of which we write, COM
munication between the East and West was
much more difficult than at present-had
given the fullest assurance that she was hap
py with the chosen one in the wilderness
home though now and then an undertone of
sadness told that the long beloved friends of
her childhood were still dearly treasured.
But the album quilt All that was the Sc
cret that was to make Maggie's eyes glisten,
and her heart leap with most exquisite, be-
cause unexpected pleasure
The Quilt was made of various colored stars
upon light blue ground, all pieced and DO
mated by Maggie's most intimate girl friends
The patches were chiefly taken from dresses
and garments which Maggie had often seen
them wearing and in the centre of each, up
on white ground, was inscribed the giver'S
name in indelible ink. Very neat in design
and very tasteful in execution was the album
quilt, that was destined to maze sunshine in
Maggie's lowly cabin in that far away wilder
ness.
Grandma Neal had furnished the cotton
and lining, and had it put on fr mes at her
own expense, because, as she saii, {" it was
more kind O central than any oth r." The
truth was, the kind old lady dearly owed the
prattle of youthful tongues, particularly when
their theme was her favorite grandclild; and
counted the labor of getting four or i've sup
pers for dozen mad-cap girls as nothing in
comparison to the pleasure felt in the en-
ployment.
Hand me that spool, Katy Green" said
one, after unusually heightened silence of
four minutes, "a and the shears and chalk line
please. The pattern is hearty rubbed out"
eyes," said Lottie Wright, and here
Josiah has destroyed a whole grape leaf, with
his elbow" ...
at is not a grape Leaf, Lottie," answered
pretty Fanny Grant, to whom, as being ae-
knowledged the genius of the circle, had
been deputed the delicate task of marking
the Quilt. "It's an acanthus leaf, and not at
all like a grape leaf"
oWell, acanthus, asphodel, or cabbage, it's
all one to me, )" laughed merry Lottie g reach
me that bit of pasteboard, and the pencil,
Grandma Neal. and please make Josiah mark