Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1872-12-06

dressed her in one OF Kits clean white |
and held her upon her lap |
till the wan cheeks grew rosy in the warm |
flre-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
out Of his wages to get new roof put
on the old house, and one end of it
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 stufflng always helped out
the dinner wonderfully. They agreed
not to tell their mother anything about il
till the time came, but to Just draw her
out into the room in her big chair "for
change" and have the dinner table
standing there, with all the good things
upon it, and the minister waiting beside
1t 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
pleased, and had a great fat doll baby,
made out of 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
One was the 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 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 Eden," with an introducing
view of chaos, looking like huge brush
heap, and a picture of Eve dressed up
elegantly in flounces, 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
appropriate for Sunday amusement.
Rob was up bright and early Monday
morning, ready TO go to his work, and
% RI in .rrlxv
shawl of her own for him to carry her
home. Her feet were almost well, and
just that one day in the midst of love
and care had wonderfully frightened up
her Duny face.
But it wonld have done your heart good
to see Sadie the day before Thanksgiving.
She did such wonderful things in the way
of baking you might have faneied the
mantle of some old New England cook
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
would think you were baking for dona-
tion party. l know that cake must be
browning all right. 1 can tell by the
smell"
Sadie stopped at the minister's on her
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:
"Why, yes I'll come I'm very glad
you thought of me-"
When she was gone he sat down, with
the surprised, pleased smile still lingering
on his face, and began to count over the
htYNor hot u t,,rlf 4N !, Gel G.
and by and by he found himself humming
an old Thanksgiving anthem, at is good
to give thanks, to give thanks unto the
Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name
o, Most Highestw And the dear old
time words and music filled his heart with
a strange warmth; and presently he called
to his housekeeper:
Ruth! Ruth! believe shall preach q
Thanksgiving sermon tomorrow. Tell
everybody you see."
Then they both told everybody they
saw, and somehow the news that they
were really to have q Thanksgiving ser
mon kindled up the chilly, church. going
souls of Budgeton, and they said, one to
another:
''Do let us give the preacher something
to be thankful for" And that very after
noon they brought him provisions and
enough good hickory wood to last till
after New Years, besides an elegant new
overcoat.
Rob came home the night before the
great day, of course. And what do you
suppose came walking composedly along
the road in front of him, and stopped by
the gate as if she'd always lived there9
Not Nancy. Dear, no. But glossy red
COW, with mild eyes and beautiful white
horns. She was present to Sadie from
strange man, who had come from away
in the widest of the west to find his dead
sisters baby, and that baby proved to be
nobody more nor less than Nancy her
self. And when he found out how kind
Rob and Sadie had been to the poor, neg
lected little thing, he just invited Rob to
come out and choose for Sadie the very
finest COW in Farmer Frost's whole pas.
ture.
"And next week he's going to have a
man put new roof on our house." added
Rob, when he had told about the COW.
HE says he had hard row to hoe once,
and little help doesn't hurt, and he
feels like showing his gratitude to folks
that's been kind to that motherless
baby"
AS if to make Sadie's sThanksgivinga per.
| feet success, such magnificent "sleigh-
! ing snow" fell that night as had never be-
fore been known in Budgeton, and the day
broke pure and sweet, and still as white,
sunlit lily. The people thronged to hear
Father Steene's sermon, and he had ever
so many hearty invitations to dinner, but
he answered every one with:
"Thank you, thank you'll I've promised
to take dinner with little Sadie Willis"
And there he was, standing by Sadie's
shining table when she and Rob drew
their mother out in her great chair, 'just
TO see the sunshine" and when they were
all seated, he bowed his white head and
thanked the Lord that He had given His
dear Son to die for their sakes, had given
them life, and love, and health, and
strength, and had saved them from ca,
lamities of fire and flood, and drouth and
pestilence.
After dinner Father Steene sat by the
fire and held Kit on his knee and talked
to Mrs. Willis about old times, till some
body stopped at the door with big dou,
| IL u = \