Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1871-11-04
Miseellane9ns.
THE MINISTER'S HOUSEKEEPER.
BY MRS. HARRIET BEEcHER STOWE.
TcoNCLuDEp FROM YEsTERpAY.l

CONCLUDED FROM YESTERDAY
"Oh, docter," says Huldy, all in trem-
BILE, 'caus you know she didn't want to
contradict the minister, and she was
afraid shes laugh-'I never heard that
Tom turkey would set on eggs.'
"Why, they ought to-" said the parson,
getting quite earnest; ''what else be they
good forP You just bring out the eggs,
now, and put 'em in. the nest. and I'll
make him set on 'em"
So Hubby, she thought there wern't no
way to convince him but to let him try !;
SO she took the,eggs out, and fixed 'em all
nice IN the nest, and then she come back
and found old Tom skirmshin' with the
parson pretty lively, l tell ye. Ye see,
old Tom, he didn't take the idee at all,
and he Topped and gobbled and fit the
parson, and the parsons wig got round SO
that his cue stuck straight out over his ear
but he'd got his blood up. Ye see, the
doctor was used to carryin' his pints O.
doctrine, and he hadn't fit the Arminians
and Socinians to be beat by Tom turkey
so, finally, he made dive and ketched
him by the neck in spite O. his floppin', and
stroked him down and put Huldy's apron
round him.
There Huldy," he says, quite red in
the face, "we've got him now," and he
travelled off to the barn with him as lively
as cricket
Hubby came behind, iist chokin with
laugh, and afraid the minister would look
round and see her.
''Now Hubby, We'll crook his legs and
set him down." says the parson when he
got him to the nest, 'you see he is getting
quiet, and he'll set there all right"
And the parson he sot him down, and
old Tom he sot there solemn enough and
held his head down all droopin', lookin
like rail pious old cock, as long as the
parson sot by him.
There; you see how still he sets,
says the parson to Hubby.
Huldy was most dyin' for fear she should
laugh. "Tm afraid he'll get up" says she,
"when you do"
"Oh, no he WON'T" says the parson, quite
confident; there, there, says he, layin' his
hands on him as if he was pronouncin' a
blessin'. But when the parson riz up, old
Tom he riz up too, and began to march
over the eggs.
Stop now!' said the parson; ''I'll
make him get down again, hand me that
COil DdShct, we III put lildl over IT'LL.
So he crooked old Toms legs and got
him down again, and they put the corn
basket over him, and then they both stood
and waited.
"Thatll do the thing Huldy," says the
parson.
II don't know about it." saws Uuldy.
''Oh yes it will, child understand"
says he.
just as he spoke the basket riz ri ght up
and stood, and they could see old Toms
long legs.
''rll make him stay down, confoind
him. says the parson, for we see parsons,
is men, like the rest on lis, and the doctor
had got his spunk up.
"You jist hold him a minute and III get
something that'll make him stay, guess"
and out he went to the fence and brought
in long, thin, flat stone, and laid it on
old Toms back
Old Tom. he wilted down considerable
under this, and looked rally as if he was
goin' to give in. He staid still a good
long spell, and the minister and Huldy left
him there and come up to the house. but
they hadn't more than got in the door be-
fore they see old Tom hippin' along, as
high-steppin' as ever, saying 'talk talk !!
and gutter! qutter!" and struttin' and
gablin' as if he'd come through the Red
sea and got the victory.
"Oh, my eggs" says Huldy, "I'm afraid
he's smashed 'em!''
And sure enough, there they was,
smashed flat enough under the stone.
"I'll have him Killed." said the parson
we won't have such critter round"
But the parson he slept ont and then
didn't do it-he only came out next Sun
day with tip top sermon on the "riginal
Cuss," that was pronounced on things in
gineral, when Adam fell, and showed
how everything was allowed to go contra
ry ever since. There was pig-weed, and
pusley and Canady thistles, cut worms and
bug worms and canker worms, to say
nothin' of rattlesnakes-the doctor made
it very impressive and sort o. improvin
but Huldy, she told me, gpin' home, that
she hardly could keep from laughing two
or three times in the sermon when she
thought of old Tom standn' up with the
corn basket on his back.
Wal, next week, Hubby, she .jist borrow
ed the minister's horse and side-saddle,
and rode over to South Parish to her Aunt
Bascomes, widder Bascomes, you know,
that lives there by the trout-brook, and
got lot O. turkey eggs o. her and come
back and set a hen on 'em and said moth
in, and in good time there was as nice
lot O. turkey chicks as ever ye see.
Hubby never said a word to the minis
ter about his experiment, and he never
said word to her, but he sort o. KEEP
more to his books and didn't take it on
him to advise so much.
But not long arter he took it into his head
that Huldy ought to have pig to be fat
in with the buttermilk. Miss Pipperidge
set him up to it, and .iist then old Tim
Bigelow, out to Juniper Hill, told him if
he'd call over he'd give him little pig.
So he sent for man and told him to
build pig-pen right out by the well, and
have it all ready when he came home with
his pig.
Huldy she said she wished he might
put curb round the we'll out there, be-
cause in the dark, sometimes, body
might stumble into it, and the parson, he
told him he might do that.
Wal, old Aiken, the carpenter. he didn't