Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-12-03
HEpZIBAH,s TURKEYS.
CHAPTER 7.
rxrpor,tTopy

INTRODUCTORY.
Ir Is all sixteen years ago. Had the lives
os the turkeys been spared, as they were not
they would all now be sweet seventeen. They
might have rivaled In size the sixty-pound
turkeys which Josselyn saw here two hundred
years ago.
But their lives were not spared.
The first heard Of the turkeys was as
came down from the pulpit on the Sunday
morning before Thanksgiving. Miss Maria
Jennings had worked her way to the neigh.
borhood Of the pulpit stairs, and beckoned
81 wanted TO ask II you remember Hepzi'
bah Brown
aOf course do" said I; "the girl with
the blind mother
ssThe same,n said Miss Maria. "You know
she is in my Bible-class ] had though. snat
TO the other girls, who have not the
slightest idea OF what hardship Is (as how
should they ?)---to suggest TO them that we
would surprise Hepsic and her mother with
a Thanksgiving dinner. Poor souls, do not
know how else they should have one. You
do not see any harm, do your
Harm? Not the least" said /; but a
great deal OF good, rather" :,
"5he will not be offended or hurt, Will
sheY
al never saw that she was a fool" said !.
"If she is we had better all of us find II out.
/ should say, though, that never anything
can be amiss when simpleness ana duty ten-
der IT,"
Miss Maria laughed and went her ways;
and, when the Bible-class gathered, she pro-
posed her little plan TO those Of the girls who
came In before Hepsibab Brown did, and
babe them propose 1t TO those who came In
after her. They were all pleased with the
proposal. and as Monday and Tuesday passed
they brought round TO Miss Maria more
money for their contributions TO the turkey
than she really knew well what to do with. l
met her Wednesday morning and she told
me So But she said she had bought her
turAey and had ordered home with him
squashes and apples and cranberres and
a bag OF -four. Then, as cranbcrrles
were useless without sugar aud pies
proftlcss without cheese, she had added
twenty pounds Of sugar and five OF cheese.
She had little money left, and she was going
TO send little tea TO the old lady.
CHAPTER II.
THE TURKEYS ARRIVE.
Hepzibah Brown was most briefly described,
"a the reader has seen, "as the girl who had
the blind mother" Her mother had lost her
sight long, long before ! knew anything
about either Of them; nor do know how she
lost IT, | first found them living In two
rooms, of which Hepzibah had to pay the
rent weekly, and for which she provided the
ways aud means by the most difficult
and trying works and days. She went
out to "days' works." technically so
called She occasionally contracted TO take
in babies by the month, In which case she
invariably spent on their milk much more
than all the money paid her; and in sharp
strain abe took In slop-work 10 sew upon. But
we all knew that times were indeed hard when
she came TO this resource.
For her mother there were several sources
OF revenue which required nursing and tending
worthy of Huskisson or VanstIttart There
was the monthly payment OF one dollar ana
sixty-two cents TO each Of the descendants OF
Jairlis Hotchkiss You had TO go for this
money ut quarter before eleven on the second
Friday before the third Thursday In the month.
at would derangc my accounts" said the
lady treasurer, f" II they came at any other
time Then there was dollar and half a
month from the Widows Association. This
you went for in the afternoon Of the first Sat
urdav In the month. II was steady pay; but
il made IL necessary for the old lady to stay In
Boston through all the summer, for
fear she should lose her residence
The Overseers OF the Poor Of Boston
have similar rules. The old lady drew two
dollars month from them. ] think her hus-
band had been pump and block maker; and
the Seamcns Society,"" seeing that by viz
tue Of the pumps he dealt In water ana by
virtue of the blocks he was conyersant with
running rigging. took him on their lists,
with a loyal Indifference to red tape, for which
blessed them. That brought In a dollar
and quarter month more.
Did bear you grumbllng, my dear Tyrus,
because the Goiconda and CrGsusberg divid-
ed only 519 per cent. In September, while
You had per cent. every six months before
since you can remembers Please spend half
an hour then with bit OF paper arranging
your monthly personal expenses on such a
scale Of debit chat little balance will be left
TO you when you have added up these four
credits:
Or,
City Of Boston ..'''s...''.''.''..S ~
JAR. Hotchk. ,..s...,...'''.'.''-.'.'''. ! psn
Wdows' Association. .....,............... J 80
Pump d. Block. ....................,...... 70
ask you TO make out this little monthly
statement Of expenses-including your share
of two dollars week rent-because the cal
culation of these figures, arranged In differ
ent ways, took ur most Of the waking hours
Of Hepzibah Brown, when she lay awake
at all.
For Hepzibah Brown herself, she tried hard
not to beg, and liked to avail herself OF the
public means OF culture and enjoyment. She
was much more cheaply dressed than any ol
the other girls In Miss Marias Bible
class. But che Loyalty came TO the Bible
class, and / honored her for IT., and
so did Miss Maria. She sometimes INDUCED
herself In tickets to a course OF Lowell lee
lures on the "Non- metallic Bodies or the
"Correlation OF Forces" She could get the
tickets by standing In the street In queue