Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1876-11-02
,he didn't want any one to speak to

, she didn't want any one to speak tt
her.
.Well, Friday came, and by thre'
o'clock we was mostly all at the par
sonage. Mr.. Ormsby looked dread
full sober, more as if it was a funera
than a merry-makin', I must say
but his wife was awful. She was jest
as huffy and short as she could bt
with every one, and she went and
locked the study door and put the
key in her pocket right before Us all
as if she was afraid we'd touch some
of Mr.. Ormsby's papers or books.
"Bimby we began to think about
settin' the table; SO Aunt Betsy,
Mandy Jones, and me went out into
the kitchen to unpack the contribu.
tions. There was some pertaters
and turnips (them we put in the sui
ler), piece of corned beef, two or
three billed hams, a pot of butter,
some apple sass, big cheese, and
such a lot of biscuits it would have
taken all night to count 'em.
II began to be scarf when we took
out painful after painful of biscuit
and no cake to speak of. At last
we come to Miss Jones' basket, and
there we found lection cake, as well
as great batch of molasses cook
les.
81 was glad enough I'd sent pound
cake and crullers; but somehow when
the table was ready, there was more
biscuits on it than any thing else,
though we did the best we could.
"Mr. johnson sent tea and coffee
from his store, besides sugar and
crackers; and Amos Hull he brought
a bag of nuts and some apples for
the young folks after supper, he said.
"There was so many there that we
had to divide 'em into three lots, the
dinin' room bein' small; and it was
most seven o'clock when they got
through eatin'.
sAunt Betsy staid with me to clear
up some; and 1 thought 1 never
should get all the biscuits put away,
for they most filed the pantry.
"For all there had been so many
eaten, yet there was piles and piles
left, and, as Aunt Betsy said, they
wouldn't need to bake for month
to come.
at happened so that l didn't go
out much the week after the donation
party, but, the second Sunday after,
I started off good and early for
church, aud as / turned the corner
by the parsonage, 1 saw something
that most took my breath away.
Every one of them sharp-pointed
pickets round the house and garden
had a good biscuit stuck right atop
of it! Yes, Miss Harwood, jest as
sure as you live, there was Aunt
Betsy's nice raised biscuits-I could
tell hern by the shape-and Miss
Hulf's rusks, and Miss Stills soda
biscuit, and every one of 'em wasted
in that shameful way.
"Well, stood and looked hadn' t
the strength to move-and pretty
soon some of the ladies came along
and jined me; and there we all stood
till the last bell began to ring, talk
in the matter over, and feelin' pret-
ty mad, / can tell you.
"Mr. Ormsby had good sermon
that day, but l cor Id hardly hear a
word, my mind was so full of the
biscuits.
"Miss Ormsby warn't there, and as
soon as the last hymn was sung, he
got up and said that he had had a
call from a church in the far West
and that he had made up his mind
that it was his duty to accept it. He
went on to say that he would like to
go that same week, and then, without
so much as tellin' us that he was sor-
ry to leave us, or offerin' to wait un.
til we could get some one else, he
gave the benediction and dismissed
us.
81 can tell you there was talk
enough when We got out that morn
in, and some of the folks thought we
ought to pint a committee to ask
Miss 0rmsby about it, but brother
Ralph said, No; if they was goin'
let 'em go peaceable;' SO they al
agreed to say nothin' at all.
"We heard afterward from little
Johnny Hall, who was playi' near the
parsonage late on Saturday after
noon. that Mr.. 0rmsby he brought
the biscuits out in big basket, anG
then Miss Ormsby she helped him t.
stick them on the pickets, and she
laughed all the time as If it was ,
good joke.
81 don't want to judge any body
but 1 never did think that woman
was fit for a minister's wife, and dom
think so now.
"Well they moved of, bag ant
baggage, on Wednesday of tina
week, and we've never heard iron
Mr.. Ormsby since, and don't know
as we want to, sein' he hurt our feel
in's SO. though we've never found a
good preacher as he was, and neve
will"
And this was Miss Melissa's story
Mrs. E. I. CoRBErT, in Harper
Magazine for November.
/
THE SOUTH.