The Portland daily press., 1871-11-04
SELECTED STORY.
The Minister'S Housekeeper,

their eyes open on providence-lookip' out
who's to be the next one.
"Now there was Mis- Amaziah Pipperidge.
a wilder with snappin' black eyes, and hook
nose-kind o like hawk-and She was one
O. them up and down commander sort O.
women. that feel that they have a call to be
SEEM to everything that goes on in the par
ish, and specially to the minister.
Folks did say that Mis- Pipperidge sort o.
sot her eye on the parson for hersef-wal-
now, that might have been, or it might not.
Some folks thought it was very suitable
connection-you see she had good property
of her own, right nigh to the minister's lot,
and was alters kind o active and busy-so,
takin' one thing with another, l shouldn't
wonder if Miss Ppperidge should a thought
that providence pointed that way. At any
rate She went up to Deakin Blodgett's wife,
and they too sort O put their heads together
a mornin' and condoin' about the way things
was likely to go on at the minister's now Mis-
Carryl was dead. You see the parsons wife,
she was one of them wom.n who had their
eyes everywhere and on everything. She was
a little thin woman, but tough as h.jer rub
Der, and smart as steel trap, and there
warn't hen laid an egg or cackled, but Mis-
Carryl was right there to see about it, and
she had the garden made in the spring, and
the medders moved in the summer, and the
III,
pies got in the fall, and the doctor had moth
inc to do but jest sit stock still medtatin'
on Jerusalem and Jericho and them things
that ministers think about-but Lordy massy
he didn't know nothin' about where anything
he eat or drank, or wore, came froEl or went
to-his vile jest led him round in temporal
things and took care on him like baby.
Wal, to be sure Mis- Carryl looked up to him
in spirituals, and thought all the world ON him
for! WaTn't smarter DlinjStar mr.
where round. Why, when he preached on
DEGREES and election, they used 10 come clear
over from South Parish, and West Sherburne
and Old Town to hear him, and there was
SIGH low o. wagons tied along by the meet
in house, that the stables was all full, and all
the hitchin' posts was full, clean up to the
tavern, so that folks said the doctor made the
town look like eineral training day, a Sum-
day.
He was great on texts, the doctor was.-
When he he'd pint to prove he'd jest go
thro' the Bible and drive all the texts ahead o.
him like flock O'sheep-and then if there
was text that seemed agin him-why, he'd
come out with his Greek and Hebrew, and
kind O. chase it round spell, jest as ye see
TELLER chase contrary bell wether, and
make him jump the fence arter the rest
tell you there want no text in the Bible that
could stand agin the doctor when his blood
Was up. uG year diJGT l0c DOCTOR was
appointed to preach the lection sermon in
Boston, he made such figger that the Brattle
street church sent committee right down tc
see if they couldn't get him to Boston-ant
then the Sherburne folks, they up and raiset
his salary-ye see there amt ANYTHING wake
folks up like somebody else's wantin' wha
you've got. Wal, that fall they made him
doctor O divinity at Cambridge college, an
so they sot more by him than ever. Wal, 20
see the doctor, of course, he felt kind O. lone
some and afflicted when Miss Carryl wos oont
but rally and truly, Hubby was SO up to ey
erything about house that the doctor didn'
miss nothin' in a temporal way. His shir
bosoms was pleated finer than they ever was
and them rutf1es round his wrists was ker
like the driven snow and there warn't a bracl
in his silk stockings, and his shoe buckles wa
KEEP polished up, and his coats brushed, an,
then there warn't no bread and biscuit Xix,
Huldy's, and her butter was like solid lump
o. gold, and there warn't no pies equal t.
hers, and so the doctor never felt the loss O
Mis- Carryl at table. Then there was Huldy
alters opposite to him, with her blue ewes an(
her cheeks like two fresh peaches, she wa
kind O. pleasant to look at, and the more tn,
doctor looked at her the better he liked her
and SO things seemed to be goin' on quit
quiet and comfortable eff it hadn't been tina
Mis- Pipperidge anu MIS- DeaKIn BToGgett, an
Mis- Savin got their heads together talki1
about things.
'Poor man." says Miss Pipperidge, "wha
can that child that he's got there do towar
taking the care of all that placer" 1t takes
mature woman, she says, to tread in Mi
CarryPs shoes.
''That it does" said Miss Blodgett, san
when things once gets to runnin' down hi!
there amt no stoppin' on 'om," says she.
Then Mis- Sawin, she took it up. I'VE SCI
MIS- SlwlD Used to mt 1rpcc lyip'
was sort g jealous, cause folks sot more b
Hubby than they did oy her.) SWELL" say
she, "Huldy Peters is well enough at he
trade; never denied that, though 1 do say
never did believe in her way O. maxim butto
holes, and l must say, if twas the deares
friend had, that L thought Hubby, tryin' /
fit Mis- Kittridge's p'um-colored silk was
clear piece o. presLmption-the silk was jus
spilled, so 'twarn't fit to come into the meet
in house. l must say that Huldy's ga
that's always too venturesome about takn
'sponsibilites she don't know nothin' about
"Of course she DON'T" said Mis- Deakip
Blodsett. "What does she know about all
the lookin' and SEEM to that there ought 10
be IN guidin' the minister's house? Hudys
well meanin' and she's good at her work, and
good in the singers seat, but Lordy massy
she haln't got. no experience. Parson Carryl
ought to have an experienced woman to keep
house Tor him. There's the spring house
cleanin', and the fall house. cleanin' to be seen
10, and the things to be put away from the
moths, and then the gettin' ready Tor the as
ISOLATION, and all the minister's meetin's, and
the maxim the soap and the candles, and set
lin, the hens and turkes, watchin' the calves
ana seem after the bired men and the garden
and there that are blessed man list sets
there at home as serene, and has nobody
round but that gal, and don't even know
now thlngs must be runnin' to wastew
wal, the upshot ont was they fused and
iuzzled and wuzzlsd till they'd drinked MP all
sne Yea IN me teapot, and then they went
uoWn and called on the parson and wuzzIed
MN all up talkin' about this, that and tother
mat wanted lookin' to, and that it was no
way TO leave everything to young chit like
iHuldy' and that he ought to be looking about
!or an Inexperienced woman. The parson, he
thanked .em kindly, and said he believed
further. He diden't ask Miss Pipperid9e to
come and stay there and help him, nor moth
IN OF that kind, but he said he'd attend To
matters hlmself-the fact was the parson had
so' sucn llkin' for havin' Hubby round that
ne co1iaen,t think O. such a thing a swappin'
heT OH Tor the wilder Pipperidge.
But he thought to himself, Hudy is a pood
girl, and l oughtent to be leavin' eyerv-
thng to her-its too hard on her. fought
to be instructor, and guidin' and helpin' her
cause faint everybody could be expected to
know and do what Miss Carryl did, and so
at 1t he went, and, Lordy .massy, diden Il
Huldy hey time ont when the minister be-
gan 10 come out of his study and want to
Tend round and see to things? Hubby, you
see, thought all the world of the minister. and
she was most afraid to laugh, but she told me
she coulden't, for the lite of her. help IL when
ms back was turned, for he wuzzled things
up III the most singular way, but Huldy.
sne d Just say, yes, SIR and get him off into
MS study and go on her own Way,
hlldy, says the minister, one day. "you
amt experienced outdoors, and when
you want to know anything you must come to
me" 0'--' "
Eyes, sir" says Hubby.
Now, Hludy," says the parson, "you must
be sure to save the turkey eggs so that we
can have a lot of turkeys fol. thanksgiving. %
Yes, sir" says Hubby, and she opened the
pantry door and showed him a nice dishful
s sue been savin' up. Wal, the very next day
Va tne parsons son hen turkey was found killed, up
i ~ uiI iin ocroggs's barn-folks said Scroocs
h.ieu ~, though Scroggs he stood To if he
dldeht; at any rate the Scrogges thew made q
meal ont, and Hubby she felt bad about -
cause she,d set her heart on raisin' the tur-
keys-anu says She, oh, dear, l don't
her." 'e'
"Do, Huldy?" says the parson' "wbv
there's the other turkey out there by the
door, and fine bird, too, he is"
Sure enough, there was the old Tom tur.
key strutin' and slidin' and a quitterin'
and 1ountin' his tail feathers in the sun, like
lively young widdower, already to begin life
over agin'.
on eggs.n