Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-04-02

/ money ana all your uiVidend8 amt N
that comp'ny."
"Well, there's other uses for money
this year besides bunnits."
" You can't 20 10 meetin's
81 can stay to home. v" r"
"Why, Beulah Larkin, I'll trust YOU
and welcome,n
"But 1 won't be trusted. / never
was, and never viii be. What II j
should up and dieP'
"rd sue the estate" practically re.
marked Miss Beers.
" No: out Of debt, out of danger,
mother always said, and l believe int.
/ shall hate to stay to home Sundays,
but l can go to prayer-meetin' in my
slat bunnit well enough"
"Why, the churchill deal with We,
Beulah, If ye neglect stated means Of
grace"
Let 'em DEAL" was the undaunted
answer. Miss Beulah had faced the
situation, arranged it logically, and
accepted it. She had promised Sarah
fifteen dollars in June; she had lost a
dividend of twelve dollars on which
she had reckoned with certainty; five
dollars was due to home missions; and
with her increased family, there would
be no margin for daily expenses. There
weDe twenty dollars in the savings
Cank over and above the five hundred
she had laid up for rainy day, and
left in her will, made and signed but
last week, to little Janey. On this she
would not trench, come what might,
except in case of absolute distress, and
the twenty dollars were sacred to Sarah
and home missions. But this was her
private affair; she would not make the
poverty of her niece known abroad, or
the nature of her will. If the church
chose to deal with her, itmight, but her
lips should never open to explain. A
commonplace martyrdom enough, and
less than sanity, because so much of
human pride and self-will mingled in
its suffering, yet honesty and upright
ness are so scarce in these DAYS as to
make even such sturdy witness for
them respectable, and many woman
who counts herself a model of sane
tity might shrink from a like daily or
deal. But Aunt Beulah set her face as
a flint, and pursued her way in silence.
June came and went, and with it went
Sarah to her eXpectant bridegroom in
Chicago, from whence a paper with due
notice of her marriage presently re-
turned. Aunt Beulah strOve hard to
make both ends meet in her house.
keeping, and being close manager,
succeeded.
But while Aunt Beulah toiled and
moiled, and filed her wide measure of
charity toward these widowed and
fatherless with generous hand, the
church, nightly scandalized at her alb
sence from its services, was preparing
to throw a shell into her premises. 1t
was all very well to say to Miss Beers
that she was not afraid of such vista
ton, but a trouble at hand is of quite
another aspect than trouble afar off;
her heart quailed and fluttered when,
one July afternoon, Nanny ushered into
the dark cool parlor Deacon Morse and
Deacon Flint, come to ask her why she
had not attended church since the mid
die of last May, when she was in usual
health and exercise of her faculties.
Miss Beulah, however, was equal to the
occasion. She faced the deacons stern
ly, but calmly.
"It is so" she said when they had
finished their accusation. 81 hain't
ben to meetin', for good cause. You
can't say I've did anything that's give
occasion to the enemy more'n this.
I've attended reg lar to oprayer-meetin' S
and sewin' circle; I've give as usual to
home missions; you cam tsay I've made
any scandal, or done nothin' out o. rule,
save an except stayin' at home Sabbath
days; and my family has attended pune
locally"
But this did not satisfy the deacons;
they pressed for reason.
If you would free your mind, Sister
Larkln, it would be for the good of the
church, said Deacon Morse. ...
Mabbe 'twouldn't be altogether to
your likin', deacon, if l did free my
mind. Seems as though stayin' at
home from meetin' wa'n't no worse N
sandin' sugar an waterin' rum, and /
never heerd you was dealt with for
them things"
Deacon Morse was dumb, but Deacon
Flint took up the discourse.
"Well, Sister Larkin, we didn't
know but what you was troubled in
your mind"
"I ain'tr' snapped Miss Beulah.
90 Or perhaps was gettin' mite
doubtful about doctrines or suthin."
No, amt. l go by the 'Sembly's
Catechism, and believe in every word
ont, questions and ALL"
"Well, you seem TO be leetle con-
tumacious, Sister Larkin, so to speak;
if you had good reason, why, of course
you'd be willin' to tell it."
This little syllogism caught Miss Beu-
Ian.
"Well, if you must know, I hain't
got no bunnith ...e.
The deacons stared mutually, and
Deacon Morse, forgetful of his defeat,
and curious, as men naturally are,
asked, abruptly, "Why notP"
"'Cause Miss Blake sot on it.n ID
The two men looked at each other in
blank amazement, and shook their
heads Here was a pitfall. Was il
proper, dignitied, possible, to investi-
gate this truly feminine tangle2 They
were dying to enter into particulars,
but ashamed to do so: nothing was left
but retreat. Miss Beulah perceived the
emergency, and chuolxled grimly. This
was the last straw. The deacons rose
as one man, and said, Good-day," !"
with an accent of reprobation, going
their ways in deep doubt as to what
they should report to the church, which
certainly would not receive with proper
gravity the announcement that Miss
Beulah Larkin could not come to church
because the minister's wife had sat on
her Sunday bonnet The strife. of
tongues, however, did not spare Aunt
Beulah, if the deacons did, and for a
long time Miss Beers, who had the key