The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-12-01
MOTHER PATERs PUMPKIN.
nY rnANK r. sTocKroN.


very cheap and sugar cost but little, and
nearly everybody could buy flour, and butter
was not more than twelve cents pound,
Thanksgiving Day approached.
On the outskirts of a small village there
lived at that time an old woman named Mother
Pater In her garden was pumpkin vine,
on which had grown quite a number of
pumpkins; but as the old lady only desired
two Of these vegetables, she had picked OFT ali
the rest when they were but little green
things.
Zone of these pumpkins" said she, els
for my Thanksgivin pies. The other is
sinking fund.
By this she merely wished to convey the
idea that if one of these pumpkins failed at
the festal period, she would fall back upon
fhe other do not know whether she always
made herself understood on the subject or
not. At any rate, one of these pumpkins did
fail--failed most decidedly, and died; so all
her hopes were centred on the other one.
Her son Isham, fine boy of fourteen, un-
usually old for his age, tended this solitary
vegetable Cor fruit-whichever 1t was) with
ali possible care but when the day, which
was three days before Thanksgiving, arrived,
it became evident to his mind that that sink
in'-fund punknn would not be ripe in time.
Ut may be here remarked that Thanksgiving
day used to come good deal earlier in the
year than it does now.) When Mother Pater
it became evident to her mind that
her son Isham was right; there was
no hope of the pumpkin ripening in
three days. Mother and son looked at each
other. What was to be done? They were
both persons of resolution and energy, never
accustomed to giving way to obstacles. Fold
ing their arms as they stood in the little gar
den, they busted themselves in thought. In
q few moments they both came to the same
IN In
but to ask the Governor to postpone Thanks
giving-day. Accordingly Mother Pater went
into the house, put on her mob-cap, her spec
tacles, her Sunday short-gown and petticoat,
and with her umbrella in one hand, and her
trusty staff in the other she set off for the
Governors house. AS she went out of her
little gate, her son put into her hand a card
on which was written the earliest date at which,
in his opinion, the pumpkin could possibly
ripen. The old lady put this in her pocket,
and told Isham that were she in his place,
she would gravel the front path, and white
wash the fence that morning.
'"Io be sure, said she "nobody nldy come
but although the Governor will believe me-
of course, when tell him about my pun
kin; still to satisfy the people at the State
House, he may have to come and see it him.
self"
So off went she, trudging bravely along the
road, but as for Isham, he only waited until
she was out of sight, and then, instead of
trying to fix up the old homestead, he ran off
to tell all the village that Thanksgiving day
was to be put off. When the people heard
that Mother Pater had gone to the Governor
to have this done, they mourned from the
bottom of their hearts, for they knew that she
never undertook anything that she did not
carry out. And what would become of them?
Everything prepared or nearly so; in some
houses the pies even made, and the turkeys
and geese already killed and hung up to
slender, and all arrangements made to cele-
brate the following Thursday. If Thanks
giving day was put off, a gloom would settle
over the entire community. So, from every
hilltop bonfres blazed and bells were rung,
and horns blown, and men mounted in hot
haste and rode hither and thither to arouse
the populace, and bring them together to
consider their impending fate. Everything
was shortly in an uproar; all business was ne
elected, and the roads were crowded by the
country people hurrying into town.
In the meantime, Mother Pater walked by
the most direct road to the town, and marched
up the main street to the Governors house.
On the way, she met a good many persons
whom she knew, and when they asked her
what brought her to town, she told them right
out. If possible, the town folks were more
excited about the matter than the country
people. They rang their alarm-bells, and
fred off cannon on the green, and shut up
their stores, and the circulating library closed
and free lunch was given at all the taverns
and the fremen got out their apparatus (for
who knew what might happen y and the
schools were closed. Such hubbub as arose
in that town in about an hour you never
heard.
When Mother Pater reached Governors
door, she knocked on the knocker, and then
Strengthening herself up, she waited to be let
in. In a few minutes an Irish girl came to
the door, and Mother Pater informed her that
she wished to see the Governor.
"And where's your card ?" said the servant.
''My card ?" replied Mother Pater. GLOW
in the world you should have found out had
one, 1 don't know, but here it is What do
you want with it ?"
''To take it to his honor, sure, and see if
he'll see you," said the girl; and leaving the
old lady in the hall, she went up stairs with
the card which Isham had given his mother.
Before she reached the Governors study she
looked at the card, which was one of an old
pack which Isham and his mother used to
play cribbage with before eight of the hearts
and six of the clubs got lost
''Arrah!" said the girl ''TheI Queen of
Spades is she a? If I'd known that, I'd taken
a better look at her. 'Tisn't every day that
the Queen of Spades is to be seen walkin
about with an umbrella"
When she handed the card to the Governor,
he glanced at it and turned pale. Being a
profound man, he felt sure that the card
meant that game was about to be played
in other words, tr60SOB-and that 10 lo0lJ6
9Spen tn ttoeyoe daysi fastening down to
meet the mysterious messenger, he found it