Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1872-12-13

| dressed her In on of Kits clean white
night.gowns, and h, I'd her upon her lap
till the wan cheeks n " rosy In the warm
fire-light, and poor wee Nancy fell into
the sweetest sleep she had known since
her mothers arms had sheltered her.
BY and by Sadie laid her in bed
and got her basket of patching.
Rob was trying to save money enough
cut OF his wages to get new roof put
on the old house, and one end of II
weather-boarded, for it was dreadfully
hard to keep warm, even now in the
early November weather and so they
couldn't buy new jackets and aprons,
and Sadie had to sit up nights and mend
and mend, till her eyes grew heavy, and
her fingers and her back ached like some
poor little old woman with the rheuma-
tism.
That night, when Rob came in,
they talked about Thanksgiving while
Sadie mended his jacket. Rob thought
he could certainly, get the milk and
pumpkins he wasn't sure about the tur-
key but roast chicken would be excel
lent, and the stutflng always helped out
the dinner wonderfully. They agreed
not to tell their mother anything about 1t
till the time came, but to just draw her
out into the room in her big chair, "for
a change" and have the dinner table
standing there, with all the good things
upon it, and the minister waiting beside
it to ask the blessing.
Sunday was delightful day for Nancy.
She and Kit had ginger cakes to nibble
at all day long, and Johnny cracked
pan full of hickory nuts and picked out
the goodies for their special benefit
and they looked at all the pictures in his
primary geography, just as long as they
| nlnAca6 and had n fof doll hoh ohxr
made out of a pillow and Johnny made
them two great long panoramas on ribbon
paper, and let them look over his shoul-
der, while he worked at the pictures with
his stubby old lead pencil. And you Just
ought to have seen those panoramas :
= Che @ltg5r+he @ltg5 st house that Jack built"
with the cat, and the dog, and the COW
with the crumpled horn, and all the rest
in one long procession, and the maiden
all forlorn had a chignon that was per.
fectly fearful to look upon, and nose
almost as long as her arm. Johnny's spe-
cialty was noses, always. The longer he
made the noses, the funnier they were, to
his mind. The other panorama was the
} Garden of EdeD," with an introducing
} view of chaos, looking like huge brush
heap, and a picture of Eve dressed up
elegantly in tlounces, holding out to
| Adam little branch with an apple on
the end of it, and Adam happened to be
, so much smaller than she was, that it
looked exactly like woman going to
switch her little boy. But Johnny and
Davy thought it was all magnificent and
r appropriate for Sunday amusement.
, Rob was up bright and early Monday
morning, ready to go to his work, and
r Sadie wrapped Nancy suugly up in a
shawl of her own for him to carry her
: home. Her feet were almost we'll, and
just that one day in the midst of love
: and care had wonderfully frightened up
} her puny face.
But it wonld have done your heart good
| to see Sadie the day before Thanksgiving.
5 She did such wonderful things in the way
, of baking you might have fsncied the
mantle of some old New England cook
t had suddenly fallen upon her, and once
: her mother called out of the bedroom.
( Sadie, what are you pottering around
: that cooking stove all day for? One
t would think you were baking for dona
| tion party. l know that cake must be
, browning all right. l can tell by the
| smell"
. Sadie stopped at the minister's on he1
} way up to the store after cinnamon, and
, invited him to take dinner with her and
, the poor, respondent man was so pleased
! at the sight of the round, eager face smil
ing up at him, that he almost laughed out
| loud, and said:
6 "Why, yes I'll come I'm very glad
you thought of me-"
4 When she was gone he sat down, with
: the surprised, pleased smile still lingering
f on his face, and began to count over the
vi things that he ought to be thankful for
Il and by and by he found himself humming
an old Thanksgiving anthem, "It is good
q % give thanks, to give thanks unto this
8 Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name
o, Most Highestp' And the dear old
a time words and music filled his heart with
: strange warmth; and presently he called
l. to his housekeeper:
), "Ruthl Ruth l believeI shall preach {
II Thanksgiving sermon tomorrow, Tel
a everybody you see."
:, Then they both told everybody they
e saw, and somehow the news that they
a were really to have a Thanksgiving ser
|, mon kindled up the chilly, church. goinl
@ souls of Budgeton, and they said, one t.
,, another:
d do let us give the preacher something
o to be thankful for" And that very after
o noon they brought him provisions ans
Vi enough good hickory wood to last til
&c after New Years, besides an elegant new
k overcoat.
Rob came home the night before tn,
Ie great day, of course. And what do yol
n suppose came walking composedly alOnl
e the road in front of him, and stopped By
,r the gate as if she'd always lived there
Not Nancy. Dear, no. But glossy re,
1t COW, with mild eyes and beautiful whit
8 horns. She was present to Sadie from
" strange man, who had come from ava,
Ie in the widest of the west to find his deal
s. sisters baby, and that baby proved to b
g nobody more nor less than Nancy heI
o SELF And when he found out how kim
d Rob and Sadie had been to the poor, neg
lected little thing, he just invited Rob /
- come out and choose for Sadie the yer
W finest COW in Farmer Frost's whole pas
J, ture.
N "And next week he's going to have
4. man put new roof on our house." adde
e, Rob, when he had told about the COW
ct "He says he had hard row to hoe once
s. and a little help doesn't hurt, and h
y feels like showing his gratitude to folk
y that's been kind to that motherles
g baby"
r. AS if to make Sadie's Thanksgiving PEE
y feet success, such a magnificent "sleigl
~ ing snow" fell that night as had never b.
" fore been known in Budgeton, and the da
broke pure and sweet, and still as a white
ie sunlit lily. The people thronged to hes
III Father Steene's sermon, and he had eve
9, so many hearty invitations to dinner, bu
81 he answered every one with:
q q "Thank you, thank you! I've promise
a., to take dinner with little Sadie Willis.
a. And there he was, standing by Sadie
.u shining table when she and Rob DIRE
y their mother out in her great chair, 'jui
~ ~ to see the sunshine" and when they wei
Is all seated, he bowed his white head an
ID thanked the Lord that He had given Hi
~ dear Son to die for their sakes, had give
sS s' them life, and love, and health, an
10 strength, and had saved them from c.
10 lamities of fire and food, and drouth an
w pestilence.
n After dinner Father Steene sat by I'll
w fire and held Kit on his knee and talke
us to Mrs. Willis about old times, till som
ne body stopped at the door with big do