Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1881-10-19
Mrs. Purdy's Parquisites.

starched and ironed to a miracle, and she
wore an Undesirable air of independent
out-of-fashion-ness, which took our fancy at
the start.
She was living on ranch not a 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 Con-
necticut, 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 INSTRUMENTATION, and noted
that her speech bore evidence of her wander
ings. She stood for moment confronting
me, while she darted forth keen look from
under the great round hat which was tied
down, Canada fashion, at the ears, and pro-
iected immensely fore and aft.
Be you the woman that writes in the
Pacific? :"
Il take charge of a column in the Pacific
for the Woman's Board. Won't you sit
DOWN." The interview promised to be in
teresting.
She dropped suddenly into her chair, and
revealed, as she did so, a good-sized covered
basket, which stood by her side.
oval, now, am mighty glad I have
found you My old man he takes the Pacific,
bein brought up Congregational, and
read it for my Sunday -leastways
your part of it partikelar, 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 I'll
take run over to Hoakland and see if
can make her out"
Z" | am very glad to see you-very glad you
like our column so WE'LL we want all our
friends to like it,
oval, when you fust begun that column,
all about the missionaries and SIGH, it kind
O. took me, and ! determined | would do all
could to raise little money. I've knocked
round the world considerbl myself, though
not dom it for the beathen-which amt
sayin' | haint never found none; but that
amt neither here nor there. But know by
my own feelin's what it is to be in strange
country, and everything queer and home
sick hke-let alone the language, which
must be powerful discouragin', especially if
body's hard to learn, which | don't s'pose
the missionaries is, but some on 'em may
be. We live on ranch hereaways with
with jerk of the head" and my old man
he's tolerably close and no wonder, bein'
we've twict been burned out, and moved
three times, and haint no children to look
arter us bimeby, and old age a-comin', if we
live, and our sheep dyin' off the last year or
two"-And she made sudden halt, looking
at us intenty.
Here was evidently warm heart-one
that had learned sympathy for others by its
own experience one that was too loyal,
likewise, to cast reflection on any one else
in doing its own duty.
Z" dare say" | replied, seeing that re.
ply was expected, and not knowing very
well what else to say.
oval" she resumed, in tone of good
natured liberation, 4" know he had enough
to see arter, and SO | determined to raise
what money could myself, and give him
no trouble about it, And of course l makes
my own butter. So, arter that, when
churned, puts away little each time in a
missionary jar, which | called Mexico, and
we neither on us ever missed it; and arter
awhile Mexico was full of butter, and we
no wuss off. And bimeby sold it, and put
away the money. Says to myself and a
smile came into her eyes" that's my par
quisites. Everybody has parquisites in these
days; and why shouldn't II" Which il
was all the same about eggs-of course We
lays our own eggs. And says | to myself
"Now, shall ! parquisite two eggs out Of
every dozen, or two layin' hens ?" which
concluded to pre-empt two young layin
hens, me namin' EN- Japan and Turkey
And bein' lonely like out there on the ranch
and no one to talk to, convarsed witt
them as if they was folks. And / declare
fort, rally think they understood me fo
arter told them two or three times the,
was parquisite hens, and must lay accordin'
and shouldn't have no excuse about grail
and gravel, cause l would give 'em plent,
of both, them two hens went to layin to tina
degree that | couldn't have done better my
self and they cut-cut-ca-da-cut-ed me on
TO them nests that much, and that reg'lal
that it really seemed as if they had the mis-
sionary on the brain. And they laid m
forty dozen OF eggs, did Japan and Turkey
last year, and got two bits a dozen forn
all round-which was pretty good parquisit
ing for two hens-and the money put ava
with the fust-do you see ?" And she cam
to the usual sudden stop, and waited for u
to speak.
Certainly. What wonderful hens 20
must have"
"Yes, that was pretty good. And the
there was my calf, which my husband beil
30 keen for money, of course we doesn't ca
our own calves, but sells 'em. And one {
our COWS she dropped a calf that was poo
puny, little creatur', and the butcher b
wouldn't give nothin' for it, and my hu
band he said it would cost more'n it woul
come to to raise it, and he was for knockil
it on the head and sellin' the pelt, which
begged him ag'in it, and said | would rail-
it on skim-milk, which wasn't good ft
nothin' to nobody, if he would let me ha,
it, and he said | might if | wanted to, an
was a great fool for my pains. So took il
and the rains came on, and / went mission
aryin' out TO the shed every mornin' an
every evenin', and het milk to carry to it.
which it almost sucked the end of my fing
of larnin' to feed-and wet my feet, an
slipped down into puddles, and got raint
on tremenjus, and had the rheumatic drea
full, me feelin afraid all the time shouldu
make nothin' of her, but determined 10 tr
And after some months of such work 81
took a start.
Sand the way that calf growed when 81
set about it beat all you ever see. And
named her Parquisite," and shortened h
into "Parkie" and she growed into a han
some heifer, and began to knob out on Il
forehead, and me tellin' her how goo
lookin she was gettin', and she lookin'
me kind O. Gurus like, as if she was
thinkin' on it over, and runnin after n
whenever come where she was, and ru
bin her nose on my shoulder and me a +
lin her how much butter she would be
givin' me bimeby, and what a stidy hincor
she would be for the missionaries and o
day man rode up to the door, and Jump
down from his horse.
"Wall, my husband he took him all oy
the ranch, and they looked at the wheat a
the vineyard and the fruit and the stoc
and they looked at Parkie long time a
seemed to be talkin' her over and | "
awful proud (gre't fool }, cause | thong
they was admirin' her. Then the man
staid outside, and my husband he came
and went through the kitchen where W
and says he careless like Pm thinkin'
sellin' the young heifer Says /, jun
ing up, never thinkin' of nothin', 'Wh
my calf ? and says he, mighty SEQ
full, Your calf It's my calf, I'd have J
know" and then he went out to the n
agin.
81 sot down and bust out cryin'.
husband is awful sot when he is sot and
knew it wasn't no use to say nothin', an
Just cried like a great baby; and with To
all runnin' down, watched the man dr
my Parkie, and she a hangin' back, and
whippin' her-and she never struck bel