Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-11-18
THE WII.LOWBR00K PARTY.
A Story that Church Members who
StarVe their Preachers should
Read.
Mrs. e. t. Corbett. in Harper's Magazine
for November.

80 many confused and contradictory
rumors have been circulated about that
last donation party that (who have
heard the whole story from my friend
and neighbor Miss Mix would like to
give the world plain, unvarnished ac-
count of the whole festivity.
Let me, then, introduce my inform
ant, Miss Melissa Mix, spinster, own
ing to forty, moderately we'll endowed
with this worlds goods, housekeeper
and care-taker for her only brother
Ralph, some years her senior, both of
them prominent members of the
WilloWbrook church-and thus her.
aided, she shall tell you the story she
told me.
. "Of course we can't give our minis
ter much of a salary, you know, Miss
HARDWOOD but we've always calkilated
to get man whose heart WASH t set on
filthy lucre, as the 'Postle says.
/ must own we amt had much
success, for, would you believe it !? out
of five candidates that preached here
the year we built the church, not one
was willin to say and do the Lords
work.
-" Why. there's only about sixty fam
lies IN our church, and it was settled
that FIRST winter that six dollars fam
lily would be fair tax, maxim nigh
onto four hundred a year, you see:
yet it's wonderful what trouble we've
had to git pastor.
Brother Ralph thought that meb-
be If we had parsonage it would
hold US so he and the other trustees
bought that nice little cottage where
Miss Gray used to live, with a whole
rod of land beiongin' to it; but law
'twa'nt't Of no use; none of 'em staid
the year out and / was clean discour-
aged.
three years ago, he seemed more
reasonable than the rest, though he
asked if we couldn't furnish part of
the parsonage for him, as they was
only new beginners, and hadn't much
housekeepin' stuff.
Well, the ladies was so well pleas
cd with him that they took right hold
, of the work Che was to come back in
fortnight) and got lots of things to-
gether.
There was handsome pincushion
made for each of the bedrooms
there's three ON 'em in the house-and
half dozen tides for the parlor, and
a case for his Shawn paper, and all
sent in the first week ~ a.
You've herd him preach, Miss
Harwood, and You know how interest
in he was, and what beautiful reader
and singer, too. Why, l declare [
. took real comfort goin' to church and
sittin' under such preachin'; and SO
we all did, I'm sure. 81 -s-E
But was tellin' you about what
we gave him. Well, Deacon Stiles
daughter Sally made a DRAWN of the
e church and framed it in pine cones, to
hang in Mr.. Ormsby's study, and the
deacon hesent us cookin' stove out
of his own kitchen. He'd just bought
new one for Miss Stiles, and he come
over and put it up himself, which |
thought was uncommon kind.
Then we took up contribution to
buy some furniture, but ready money
was skurse just then, so we only raised
enough to git pair of chiny vases and
an inkstand.
q But Silas Hart, that sold e'em.to
us, was one of our members. so he
threw in a chiny dog for the baby and
a matchbox for the parsons wife.
Miss Jones and Uncle indian sent
in new painted bedstead and kitch-
en- table, and so [ told Ralph L d
give 'em a couple of kitchen chairs
and our cradle, the one we was
both rocked in. So 1 did, and |
pieced a real handsome little quilt
for the cradle, with a sunfower pat
tern, all out of spiek and span new
calico too. ...-.-------.-..---a
Well it's most too bad to tell, but
Mandy Jones, who went to help Miss
Ormsby git to rights, told me that she
did act dreadful, and not bit becom-
in a minister's wife.
She went all round the house look
in as if she was ready to cry, and at
last she set down in the parlor on the
trunk and began to laugh at the vases
and the instand, and then wound up
by fndin' fault with the stove, which
she said looked as if it came out of
the ark. -----.---
I've always thought she made her
husband disconnected; for Mr.. Orms-
by was such a meek, quiet, unselfsh
man that he never would have made
trouble if she hadn't been always COM
plainin' and putin him up to grumble
But m wanderin' off from my
story-I started to tell you about the
donationparty. You see, the first year
we got along splendid with it, and
must say never saw a better tea-table
spread than we sat that night for Miss
Ormsby.
But that woman never could be
satisfied. and she said afterward that it
wouldn't take more than two such
parties to ruin any family! .--
=" 1t seems she found fault because
we all staid to tea with 'em, jest as if
we hadn't right to our tea after send
in in all the victuals for it.
But don't know as Aunt Betsy
did do exactly right, for she took Miss
Ormsby's preserves Oput on the table,
and they was all eat that night, and |
s'pose that put her out some.
Well, as | was sayin', the second
year come around, and it was read out
in meetin' that the donation party
would be given the next Friday.
Mr.. Ormsby red the notice, and
then he looked all around and cleared
his throat two or three times, as if he
had sOmethin' partickler to say, but
after waitin' a minute he changed his
mind and sat down.
| thought he acted kinder queer,
but was quite taken up with noticin'
Miss Ormsby. She got as red as could
be, and when meetin' was dismissed
she Jest hurried out as if she didn't
want any one to speak to her.
Well, Friday came, and by three
o'clock we was mostly all atthe par
souage. Mr.. Ormsby looked dreadful
sober, more as if it was a funeral than
n merry maxim, ] must say; but his
wife was awful She was jest as huffy
and short as she could be with every
one. and she went and locked the
study door and put the key in her
pocket before US all, as if she was
afraid we'd touch some of Mr.. Orms-
by's papers or books.
Bimeby we began to think about
settin' the table: so Aunt Betsy, Man
dy Jones, and me went out in the
kitchen to unpack the contributions.
There was some pertaters and turnips
Chem we put in the Suller, piece of
corued beef, some apple sass, big
cheese, and such a lot of biscuits it
would have taken all night to count
EN-.
| began to be scarf when we took
I'll Il. a. !