St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-11-04
Mrs. Purdy's Parquisites.

One day the writer was summoned
to the parlOr to see a visitor who had
sent up neither card nor name. AS
entered the room, an understood, wiry,
active, elderly, quaint-loOking woman
rose to greet us. l was struck at sight
with the brightness of her dark, hand
some eyes, and the russet redness OF
her thin, brown cheeks. Her dress was
of calico, starched and ironed to a mir
acle, and she wore an indescribable air
of independent Out-Of-fashiOn-ness,
which took our fancy at the start.
She was living on a ranch not very
great way from San Francisco. She
was born in England, had come over to
this country in her girlhOod, had spent
some years in Connecticut, had married
in Pennsylvania, had tried her fortunes
in the west, and had finally drifted to
California-all of which we learned in
the course of after-cOnversatlon, and
noted that her speech bore evidence OF
her wanderings. She stood for mo-
ment confronting me, while she darted
forth a keen look from under the great
round hat which was tied down, Cana
da fashion, at the ears, and projected
immensely fore and aft.
"Be YOU the woman that writes III
the Pacific ?" 49,.
81 take charge of column in the Pa
cifc for the Woman's Board. Won't
you sit down 7" The interview prom
ised to be interesting.
She dropped suddenly into her chair,
and revealed, as she did so, good
sized covered basket, which stood by
her side.
"Wall, now, l am mighty glad |
have found YOU! NV old man he takes
the Pacific, bein' brought up COngre-
gationaI, and l read it for my Sunday
readin'-leastways your part OF 1t par
tikelar, and very often permiskus, too.
So felt kind O. 'quainted with you
like; and thinks | to myself, the very
fust time | go to San Francisker III
take run over to HOakland and see II
| can make her out"
~ am very glad to see you-very
glad you like our column so well we
want all our friends to like it,"
"Wall, when you fust begun that
column, all about the missionaries and
sich, it kind o. took me, and L determ
ined would do all could to raise a
little money. I've knocked round the
world considerable myself, though not
doin' it for the heathen-which amt
sayin' haint never found none; but
that amt neither here nor there. But
| know by my own feelin's what 1t is
to be in a strange country, and every
thing queer and hOmesick llke-le'
alone the language, which must De
powerful discOuragn,' especially ii .
body's hard to learn, which l don't
s'pose the missionaries is, but some Oh
'em may be. We live on ranch here
aways"-with jerk of the head-''anC
my old man he's tOlerably close; anC
no wonder, bein' we've twict beeI
burned out, and moved three times
and haint no children to look arter u'
bimeby, and old age a-comln', II WE
live, and our sheep dyin' off the las
year or two"-and she made a suddeI
halt, looking at us intently.
Here was evidently warm heart
one that had learned sympathy for 9th
ers by its own experience; one tina
was too loyal, likewise, to cast refiec
ton on any one else in doing its owl
duty.
81 dare say" | replied, seeing that (
reply was expected, and not KNOWN!
very well what else to say.
"Wall,n she resumed, in a tone o
good-natured toleration, 81 know h'
had enough to see arter, and so l de
termined to raise what money | cOul'
myself, and give him no trouble abou
it. And of course | makes my own but
ter. So, arter that, when | churned,
puts away little each time in mis-
sionary jar, which | called Mexico, ant
we neither on lis ever missed it AM
arter awhile Mexico was full of butter
and we no wuss off. And bimeby
sold it, and put away the money. Say
| to myself'-and a smile came int
her eyes ''that's my parquisites
Everybody has parquisites in thes
days and why shouldn't 7" WhicI
it was all the same about eggs-o
T course we lay our own eggs. And say
| to myself, NNow, shall l parquisit
two eggs ont of every dozen, or tw
; layin' hens 7" which concluded to pre-
empt two young layin' hens, me namil
/ 'em Japan and Turkey. And beir
lonely like out there on the ranch, an
: no one to talk to, | cOnvarsed wit
: them as if they was folks. And de
: clare fort, rally think they understoo
), me; for arter told them two or thre
; times they was parquisite hens, an
. must lay accOrdin', and shouldn't hav
no excuse about grain and grave
cause | would give 'em plenty of bOtl
them two hens went to layin' to thu
q degree that | couldn't have done bette
a myself; and they cut-cut-ca- da- cut-e
me out to them nests that much, an
a that reg'lar, that it really seemed as
they had the missionary on the brazil
And they laid me forty dozen of egg
Il did Japan and Turkey, last year, and
got two bits a dozen form all round
!, which was pretty good parquisiting fl
rs two hens-and the money put ava
= with the fust-dO You see 7" And 81
rs came to the usual sudden stop, al
s waited for us to speak.
!. "Certainly. What wonderful hel
RS you must havew
eyes, that was pretty good. Al
then there was my calf, which my hu
1imT band, bein' so keen for money, of cOur
we doesn't eat our own calves, but sci
P1 'em. And one of our cows she dropp'
AZ calf that was a poor, puny, lit
ia creatur', and the butcher he wOuldI
e 1 give nOthin' for it, and my husbal
e. he said it would cost more'n it wOu
co come to to raise it, and he was
- knOckin' it on the head and sellin' t
pelt, which | begged him ag'in it, al
said | would raise it on skim-mil
ar which wasn't good for nOthin' to n
body, if he would let me have it al
he said | might if | wanted to, and W
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