Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1871-03-08
Five Little Stitches.

Five little stitches And they were taken
more than twenty-five years ago And why
should they be remembered more than thou
sands of other stitches taken by the same fn-
gers? | will tell you.
Little Rose went to the infant school"
then 1t was very happy place for the little
folks. They had no hard lessons in arith-
metic or geography. The nearest approach
to lessons was saying over the " multiplication
table" in a sort of rhyming concert" Twice
one are two, twice two are four" while the
teacher slid along the little wooden balls on
the wire frame, to suit the words. No, but
when the marching and singing were over,
there were plenty Of busy fingers learning to
sew.
Rose was making blocks of patchwork
" nine ne-pateh, her mother called it, Roses
mother cut the small squares and basted them
neatly for Rose to sew over and over" one
block day. And it was Roses special
delight to show her mother the neatly finished
block each night, and be able to say, | did
it all myself" One warm June day Rose
found her needle rather dull, and the new
| pink chintz so hard her fingers trembled,
when she came to where the four corners met,
and she tried in vain, with her little thimble-
less finger, to push the needle through so
many thicknesses of cloth. She looked at
the little girl who sat next her on the long
bench-an older girl than Rose by two years
and rich in the possession Of "real silver
thimbe Rose passed the block to PoguC
Ia curious name, but her very own) aud
motioned TO the little hard corner, touch
ing her thimbe and nodding and winkinG
significantly. Pogue understood, and taking
the nine-patch sewed very neatly over tn,
hard place--Rose watching carefully lest she
should do too much. One, two, three four
FIVE stitches, and oh, SO neatly done Ros,
bowed and smiled her thanks, and put in
stitch or two as neatly as possible next to tn
{" five" when she stopped in dismay at
thought that popped into her conscentiou
little head. " can't tell mother | did it al
myself" 1t would have taken away half he
pleasure not to be able to say this. And ye
it was so uery little-only Just five stitches
/ " needn't mind that came the temptation
, 81 can say did it myself; that's almost notl
iag." "But it is help" another voice sale
& "and you'd better say did it nearly ALL
But Rose couldn't make up her mind to sa
this. Her mother would be sure to think,
b, Pogue sewed any of it, likely she made ha
@ the block at least one seam across. So 20
see it was real struggle. And how do 20
suppose she settled it? After looking at
; about as long as it has taken me to tell 20
this, Rose unthreaded her needle and yer
. deliberately picked out those five stitches, an
. then went to work and sewed them owe
@ herself And she is glad to-day that she dit
Il Not because it might not have been FOOLS
1 for her to be so anxious about the credit {
d doing the work all herself-ne but becaui
, it was her first resistance to the tomptatio
to tell falsehood And resisting ono
always makes it easier to resist again.
do not think Rose ever told deli6erat
c falsehood since that day when she came $
i near making black spot in her memor
, instead Of bright one. Does any little gi
think Rose made too much of such iHti
, thing2 Oh, no. 1t is just as much stealth
to take FIVE pennies from another's purse I
five dollars, and il would have been as muc
a ialsehood for Rose to have left Pogue's fS
.' little stitches in her work and said she di
l. it all, as il Pogue had sewed half the blocl
q and she had said the same thing And Ro'
! knew it, and is glad to-day, as she was thel
- that if she must have credit for doing all Ii
i work, she picked out those five little stitches
y Mrs. Julia p. Ballard, in Christian Unioi