The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1881-11-25

purring of the great gray cat and the
quick, light steps of his hostess. as she
hurried about opening oven doors and
lifting the lids from kettles, out of which
soon issued bubbling odOrs, suggestive
to the hungry appetites of youth. Pres
emily she drew out the littleround table
and spread it with a white cloth and
mulberry plates whereOn were land
scapes, with attenuated ladies and gen.
tlemen walking over impossible bridges
under the shadow of most wonderful
trees. But very handsome was that
time-worn crockery in Mrs. Comforts
eyes. Had not Abram brought it packed
in tea chest all the way from Albany!
Had it not graced many a meal when
little heads gathered around the board.
and she had dreamed of q future when
men and women they would gather
there again with their little ones! And
furtive tear dropped for the vanished
picture. But how few break their bread
on festal days without the flavoring of
bitter herbs. Happy they for whom it
is therosemary gathered from cherished
graves, and not the rue of vain and
passionate regret.
But while Mrs. Comfort Nicols has
been making ready her simple dinner,
and laying the Drowned chicken in its
gravy and rounding up the mashed po-
tatoes to smooth oval, and cutting
slices of white bread, and putting on
glass dishes of preserved ounces, fat
old gray horse, drawing q roomy
Rockaway carriage, in which sits a
plump white-haired little woman in
widows black, joys gently down the
frozen road. urged on by mild "g'long
Ben's" and shakes of the lines in the
mittened hand, and she has just set the
chairs to the table when the sound of
slow wheels rolls on the long covered
bridge, (there is no need of cautions
and fines against trotting for horse OF
his wears and discretion) and she steps
to the door to take the toll, Joel Pea
tiers. impelled by an active mind, fol-
lowing. 1t took the old lady in the car
riay some time to tumble her purse out
of her manifold wraps. So Joel had
time to look from one to the other sew
eral times, and finally burst out with.
"Well, never, Miss Nicols. Talking
of twins, if YOU and she don't look nigh
enough alike to be twins, I'll give up"
els that sop said the strange old
lady. Il had a twin sister once. but
Comfort must have been dead these
many years. And the wistful look in
her eyes, as of one who had been long
and vainly seeking, dimmed.
Comfort" echoed the other, look
ing up from the change she was making;
"why, how strange, my name is Com
fort, and 1 too had twin sister; but
Content"
She was interrupted by a little cry.
81 am Content, but you'-an almost
frightened look on her face-''you can
not be-you are not-you are Comfort
Bradfort."
What followed no one ever clearly
knew; nor the long separated sisters,
for they were crying and laughing and
clinging to each other and saying
.'Could il be possible?" and 1T was too
good to be true" and asking each other
a dozen questions in a breath; nor Joel
Peaters for he had all he could do to
hold old Ben (who had not the slightest
idea of stirring) and pick up the scat
tered change and attend to the sudden
ly developed cold in his head. And
when they had come to themselves a
little, and gone into the house, but still
keeping fast hold, as though afraid they
should lose sight of each other again,
and had told of their long, vain, mutual
search and mutual love, and longing
that years or change had never dimmed,
and Mrs. Content had said she should
always regard it as a special providence
that her Comforts husband had bought
the Motif farm that fall, though she had
opposed their going across the river,
for the river might rise and the bridge
be swept away, and then how could
they get to each other. But she would
never say another word, for if they had
not she and Comfort might have lived
and died without meeting, and only ten
miles apart! And Mrs. Comfort had
answered that for her part she should
always think there was providence in
the impulse that had prompted her to
ask Joel in (though she wasn't in right
state of mind considering it was Thanks
giving Day and all the mercies she had
received), for if it had not been for Joel
they might have passed and never
known who the other was.
After all this, Mrs. Content insisted
that Mrs. Comfort should put on her
things and 90 with her to see her name
sake, to whose house she was on the
way, and as Joel Peaters insisted that
he could tend the toll gate and eat all
the dinner alone. there seemed no
reason why she should not, so after she
had loaded the table with more than
two men could eat for fear he would
not have enough, and they had both
told him oyer and over that they should
never forget what he had done for
them, assurances that he had accepted
with the calmness of man amazed at
his own brilliancy. they hurried off to
to be in time for the dinner that await
ed them.
And what Thanksgiving Day that
was all around! What a surprise to the
young Comfort and perplexity to her
children, who protested they couldn't
tell one grandma from the other!' And
what recounting there was of events
that had filled the long years that had
changed them from careless children to
white haired women. What stories of
the goodness of the Abram" and