The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1874-12-17

came III, Out We were db Tue ldDlcs
How do you do?' says father
'stinging cold, amt it? Won't yol
set up and take a bite p
No, but I'm much obliged, say
Jabez.
DO set up said mother, Il hahn
got any thing fit to eat, but maybe
you can make out if you try
"After a good deal of urging Jabei
drew up and father heaped his plate
and mother said as she passed the ry,
cakes and biscuit, They amt nothing
like so good as your mothers, JabeZ.
'But Jabez said they were the bes
he ever eat. What are you smiling q
child ? 1t was considered good man.
ners then to say you hadn't any thing
fit to eat, and for the other company
to praise il, and JabeZ was always
very polite to our house, and mother
thought him proper nice.
'sThey talked about threshing and
shedding and his mothers rheumatis
so it was some time before he got /,
chance to ask if we were going to tb'
Junket at Squire Doolittle's.
"I don't know what possessed me tC
do as diG, but said right off, Yes, VIZ
are all going. am going with Abel
and Keturah is going with Ephraim
if she don't change her mind, and ST.
las Dean has asked Thankful
$50 he had, but Thankful refused
because she expected TO go with Jabez
and l knew it as well as anyone, only
/ liked mischief.
'The girls looked mad and so dc
JabeZ when mentioned Silas, because
Silas wanted Thankful, and Of course
Jabez was jealous and he took it that
she had promised 10 go with Silas, land
so never asked her himself.
"Father scOlded and Kcturah said l
ought to be made to stay at home to
punish me, but Thankful never said a
word, only l know she felt badly.
When L got a chance so Keturah
wouldn't see me l told her was sor-
ry. She said it wasn't any matter.
'Silas heard somehow that she was
not going with Jabez, and so he asked
her again, and Thankful said yes this
time. She didn't seem to care about
going, but she was very anxious to
| look well. didn't understand it, but
she was beautiful when she was dress
ed for the party. Her gown, as told
you before, shone like satin, and the
stars woven on il seemed 10 twinkle.
1 suppose you think they must have
looked real dowdyish, or would now,
but the dresses are made very much
now as they were then. They wore a
kind of tunic, very much like your
oVerdresses, and the sleeves were
made tight to the arm with deep ruff
| fes over the hand and round the neck.
Thankful wore mothers silver comb
in her hair, that was rolled to the top
of her head, and blue ribbon was
tied around her neck. She had dark
brown hair, and large, sad eyes, a lit
tie mouth, with white, even teeth, and
her form was tall and slender. She
would be called beautiful now, but
then Keturah was considered the
handsomest, for her hair was black
and curling, her eyes bright and spark.
ling, and her cheeks as red as roses.
She wore gold beads around her neck,
and her hair in curis, but aside from
that they were both dressed exactly
alike.
al thought myself grand in my
white gown, but when Thankful lent
me her red shoes 1 felt proud, 1 can
tell yOd, and there never WAS a hap
pier girl than the one mounted behind
Abel on old 'Dobbln' to 90 the Junket
at Squire DOolittIe's.
"When we got there l was almost
| bewildered. There seemed nothing
but lights and girls and brass buttons;
but after little my mind got settled
enough to look about. The long kitch-
en- was cleared, and around on the raj
ters were nailed wooden candle sticks,
two or three in place. The strings
of dried apple aud pumpkin had not
been taken down, but were festooned
overhead, and the crooked necked
squashes hung by the fire place. Black
Jack, the fiddler, sat in chair placed
on the table at one end of the kitchen
and the Squire and his wife sat just
outside the door, she with her knit
ting, and he just watching the young
folks, for he liked dancing as well as
ever, and was amazing spry, too.
Pretty soon they ledonto the floor
for -Four Hand Reel,D and saw that
Jabez had Sally Viking, a pretty
girl enough, but dreadful disagreeable
and pert. 1 never liked her, but
when she looked at Thankful in the
way she did l could have boxed her
/ ealf anu enJOyeO uolHS II.
"But la, how Silas danced! The
walls were low in those days, and he
was as light as top When he was
casting off right and left or going Ia
dies chain, 1 can't just remember
which, his chin, some way, caught
on string of dried apples, and be
pulled down two or three yards of it
right onto the floor. They joked
him, of 0our: e, and some one said
his heart and heels were pretty light.
Almira Bean, she was always saying
something disagreeable, said she
didn't know about that, but his head
must be. I danced with the old
Squire and Abel, besides Silas and
one or two others. Jabez asked me,
and although [ wanted to refuse him,
l didn't because he was so handsome
and such = nice dancer. He never
asked Thankful the whole evening,
but was very attentive to Sally, aud
| you may believe Silas was just as
much SO to Thankful.
"Ab0ut ten o'clock we had supper.
Mrs. Doolittle was beautiful cook,
and the beans aud roasted beef were
done to a turn. The chicken pie was
| atia MCfC luE dDHtG DAEcf
pumpkin pies, and mince, dOughnuts,
rye cakes, riz bread and biscuits,
sweet cakes and gingerbread, and
Fever so much besides. But Mrs. D09-
little must be polite, so she urged
every one to make out, and she said
she hadn't anything to eat.
'I hope you'll set up says she,
and take off the edge OF your appetites
though my victuals is just as poor as
they always are. These beans are
dreadful bad baked. Take some
chicken, do, maybe 'taint so bad.
! Thankful, do have some beef, you
hain't eat a mOuthful, nor you neith-
er, Silas. Jerusha, child, you cant
find anything you can eat, can YOU
Well | don't wonder, when yOuI
mother is such q nice cook. Try
some of this sweet cake. It's dreSd
ful heavy, though. l declare vol
don't eat nothing"
"Of course we all did eat, and prais
ed every thing just as much as sht
run it down. and then asked for re
ceipts, which she gave, but our mind:
being so full of the beaux and dane
ing We eouldn'tTemember them, and
so didn't try.
"After supper we went back Il
dancing, and how light our hearts
and feet were. At least mine
were, and so 1 know were Silas
and Sallie's. We didn't dance theI
as you do now-fancy dances, yoI
call 'em-but 1 don't see why
for to my mind fHull's Victory
and 'Roy's Wife were deal prettiel
and more respectable certainly. w;
were not so lazy about our danzing
neither, for Jacks arm few lik,
lightning and so did we. almost; anC
my how the floor shook when al
'chassied,u and Jacks face shone lik'
black bottle with pride and perspira
( tiOn.