Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1881-04-21
GaIes ano Sketfbes.
SISTER wEEDES's PRAYER.
BY SHERWOOD BONNER.


an the six-mile, an the nine-mile, an
from down in the timber, and Their was
even pretty smart sprinklin' o town
folks kind of apart from the rest. with a
plenty OF artificial flowers in Their hats an
an air of gentility that differed 'em from
the farmers women with Their sun -bonneis
an babies. Itwas four clock of a Sun
day afternoon, an they was all assembled
to see young Roland Selph baptized by
Preacher Powell. who expounded the
word four times year at Big Muddy
meetin' house.
It was almost like a miracle. Roland
was hard case. Nv husband, -wbo. be-
in one o. the "swearin Walters" as they
was called in Grandpa Walters day. had
a sort of ancestral talent for usin' strong
words, an better that than for usin'
strong drink. says ] when twitted.-for
what is words but slap dash thrown to-
gether Of letters? an ii man chooses
'em hard like goose-quills insteand o. soft
like goose down. an nObodv's hurt, then
where's the harm?-well. my husband 10
allays said that Roland was the .'darndest
man to cuss on the prairie" He never
had no bringin up was the trouble. Iii
father, n rele active, nice man, was killed
an his mother she took on so that she
didn't have no strength to git him even so
far along az tcethin'. So his grandmoth-
or she raised him on sleeps milk an a
peach-tree switch. Kicks and cuffs were
sandwiched between the poor child's
meals, until the old woman died an left
him, kithless an kinless in the land. A
wild-lOokin' lad he was, with shock o
IL l...- tL.t IIt,-t hn
with wool-car!, an big eyes bold rs the
hub OF wheel, an clothed summe
an winter in rags, He was nightly in
demand at harvest-time, for he was as
strong as a horse an hadn't had a chill
since his grandmother broke 'em on him
at the age of fourteen with black pepper
an molasses an santoine an bag o.
camphor at the pit of his stomach. But
people was powerful shy of associatin'
with him. He was druv to the saloons
for company; an they said he could drink
quart o. whiskey as if 1t was springwa-
ter.
How it had come about nobody knew.
Brother Powell never was counted to have
much influence. an he looked powerful
little an meachin' like beside Roland, tail
an broad-chesied an as handsome as
dnyDOty III Il DTdll new sui v DIoWu
Jeans an a white shirt clean as clean.
As he went down INTO the water the
men took off Their hats with Il soft loose
sweep. an the women hushed ther babies
at Their breasts. The sun shone out broad
an mellow; everything seemed to listen,
somehow, rs the words was uttered over
that wild, iorsakcned one that made him
member o Christ's great family. Then
what n crowdin' ROM an Il ham shakin'
rs he came out drippin' an castin' a
glance round halt bescechin' an half
a-darin', 1t was with comm long way
Jest to see that poor sinner a-welcomed
inter the fold.
But noticed one curious thing. Mrs.
Biscoe was there with her two daughters
Leila an Jenny.-Rosc an Lily we used
TO call EN-. seem rs how one was n red
beauty an one a white. Jenny-she was
the fair one--was the most help TO her
mother. Leila. for all her rosy cheek :
an black eyes, was a lazy little fittergib
bet. Mrs. Biscoe she was n widow; a lit
tie, straight. dark woman, with plenty of
snap 10 her, who took IN SEWN for a
Twin an was much respected in the Bap
fist society. Well. she gave quick little
nod to ards Roland jest before he was
dipped, an she said in Kind of an under
tone, They do look nice. girls. don't
thcy?' ! studied quite spell over this
speech. but | couldn't exactly make out
what she meant by it.
Some DAYS after the batizin'. Mrs. Wys-
nicker of the iour-mile invited all the So
cicty to wool-pickin' There wasn't any
destinations, for Mrs. Wysncker was a
master-hand for dinners. Never did she
sit you down to her table unless she
had "fresh," an maybe couple o
chickens besides; an her pie-crust
would break inter honest flakes if
YOU so much as p'nted knife at it..
Furthermore. we wanted to see il her
wool was so much finer than anybody's
else. She had boasted considerable about
il. an we understood that she had shear
ed fourteen pounds to sheep. SO il was
candle-light breakfast all over the prairie,
an by seven o'clock we were mostly
assembled in Mrs Wysnicker's sittin'-
room. ready for work. The wool was on
sheet in the middle of the floor. an
apowerlul big pile it was seemed rs if it
reached nearly to the ceilin'. We was all
a-settin' around it. pretty prim. a-waitin'
for the stiffness To wear off.
Their was one person | was surprised to
see in the company. an that was Florindy
Daggeu, 'Twan't often anybody sighted
her at wool-pickin's or apple-psrin's or
rag-tackin's. for she was set up for
genteel. an always washing dishes with a
mop. She was a powerful dressy woman.
too. Husband he ,,llays said she was the
kind that nd gin u mans pocket the
swinney. But she loved tafk beyond dress
II was joked around that old man Daggett
told her once that he'd nuss her cheerful
through twenty-years' spell. if her dis
ease jest happened to be PARALYSIS of the
tongue. Theirs apt to be mischief, too. in
the tongues of these talkin' females. Thar
she set. her mouth a-puckered up. three
sand-colored curls ahangin' rs tur as her
nose on each side. an. as last dvin' touch
kid giorcs. We didn't none of Us take
much notice of her. but we started out
pickin' wool pretty peart. After a while,
Florindy she Sithed an said. ''Sister Wv
smoker. what's the duty of one sister in
tine society. when she s discovered another
sister in the act o. back-slidiu' ?''
..P'raps she might make her present
of Brother Throckmorton' Serious Re-
view of Infant Sprinklers. =" SAYS Sister
Wysnicker. who gifts 4 laugh on, of most
things goin'.
.sThiS Is no matter for iokin'." saws