The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1882-12-01
Christiana' Wedding-
.
Dress.
Mrs. SCHUYLER B. Horton in The Century.


fat and lazy mare, home from meeting one
mild September night, with his mind full Of
thoughts, perhaps should say thought,
that had been blindly growing there ever
since he had first read in newspaper about
the Michigan fires, but which-he was slow
man-had not fairly struggled to the birth
until that hight when Mr.. Owen, tn lister,
had made an appeal from the pulp behalf
Of the sufferers
DeaconJo kept up his thinking and Suke
kept up sham trot, which amounted to lit
tie more than walk, until she had passed
the north road that led by the pond and up
to the parsonage; then, suddenly, she stopped
It was a way she had.
@Whoa!" said the deacon promptly, rousing
from his abstraction. When she stopped
the deacon always said whoa" They under
stood each other perfectly, still they always
kept up this pleasant little farce between
them. When the deacon said whoa" he al
ways looked around, partly to see If any one
was looking and partly to discover Suke's rea-
SONS for stopping, which were, of course, his
reasons for stopping her.
He never would allow that Suke baked; he
said she always had reasons. He was wont
to tell with great zest how once he went into
the village and forgot to stop at the store and
get some red flannel that Mis- Eben, his
housekeeper, wanted for her winter shirts
q hadn't got forty rod by the store" he used
to say, with a sly twinkle in his eye, "before
Suke stopped, and she wouldn't bulge an
inch, all could do, till I remembered Mis-
Eben's flannel. The creetur knew if 1 hadn't
ha' found it out till got home I'd druy way
back again before I'd ha faced Mis- Eben
without It'll"
Probably no one will appreciate this story
as Deacon Joel's townspeople did, for they
knew "Ms' Eben," and they knew that no
body in Middleport but Deacon Joel could live
in the same house with her
@The deacon won't stand Mis- Eben moren
a week, Middleport had said when she went
to keep house for him after his widowed sis
ter, who had lived with him since the death of
her husband, died and left him alone But
eight years had gone and there she was still
"Mis' Eben, now" he was wont to say re-
fectiyely swell, now, Mis- Eben ant so hard
to get along with as some folks seem to think
if you only know how. When she gets a-step-
pin purity high all you've got to do is to lether
have the house to herself and go it as hard as
she's a min to- !"
But to return to Suke: as l said before, she
trotted by the pond that mild September night
and then stopped
"Whoa" said the deacon, and looked
around
"Well, well, Sukey," he said, unable to find
her reasons for stopping in any outward cir
cumstances, shave you stopped to wait for me
TO make up my mind? dunno as I'd advise
you to wait for that" he continued with quaint
humor, "for | amt very fast about maxim up
my mind, and you might get tired"
Suke tossed her obstinate head and stood
still, and Deacon Joel fell away into thought
again.
"That was good letter Mr.. Owen read from
Uncle Sings granddaughter" he said to him
self. at made you see how things was out
there so plain. I've read the papers, but [
amt half realized how things was before
Jest as purity a letter as I want to hear, that
was" Then, rousing himself from his alb
straction "Come, come Sukey! will you stay
here all night if | don't make up my mind?
Well, guess it's about made up-l think I'll
do Come come, Sukey gal, geddup," and
Suke started off
"Settin' up for me, eh?" said he, when he
went into the house, after making Suke COM
Portable for the night
Mrs Eben White, widow, looked up from
the book she was reading, memoirs Of Seven
Religious Men Renowned for Their Piety," and
shut it with decided movement.
"There was tramp around yesterday; 1
want a-goin' to leave no doors unlocked for
tramps," she said, shortly,
Deacon Joel stopped to stroke a Maltese
tabby cat that had come rubbing around bis
legs as soon as became in.
"'Pears to me Mr. Ovens a-growin' uncom-
mon lengthy" said Mis- Eben, holding
twisted paper in the blaze of the lamp 81
ought o gone to bed an hour ago. I've got to
stir around early III the mOrnin' to get the
washin and ronin' both out the way to-mor-
row, so s | can get dinner for the thrashers
Tuesday"
Il dunno said the deacon, mildly "Meb-
he the service was a leetle bit lengthy. But
Suke took her time comm home; you can't
hurry her any, you know
Mis- Eben gave grunt as she lit her can
die.
I'D hurry her once if 1 got behind her with
good apple-tree stick. Spare the CAD, an
spoil the nag, | say. But, laws! you wouldn't
CAD her no soonern you'd drown kitten an
land knows I've had to drown every blessed
batch that hussy of Tab there's brought to
town myself, or they wouldn't ha' been
drowndedln
That's true, every word of it, amt it, Tab?"
said Deacon Joel, when the door was shut be-
hind Mis- Eben
she amt ever left you the satisfaction of
one little kit, has she? Not even one little
kit, poor Tab"
He sat still few minutes, absently strokng
the cat and then as if suddenly thinking of
something else he gotup and, lighting d small
lamp, took it into an adjoining ROOM and set
1t upon large old-fashioned chest of drawers
Il b heve LII look at the things right away"
he said. 81 We got box ont in the shop that
II Just about hold en- and / can pack it to-
night, and take it out there without Mis-
Eben's KNOWN anything about it, can take
1t down any time happen to be goin to the
port
So saying, he took key from his vest pocket
unlocked the drawers, and took out their
contents with clur>sy, but careful hands.
They had heen untol,tned since the same
hands had placed Il EN- there the day after his
sister 5 funeral eight years ago, despite all
Mas Eben hints as TO moth" and "airin,"
There We're three comfortable dresses, a
good supply of neat, whole under-clothing
and warm tianneis, aud in the top drawer
some small garments yellow with age and
Old-fashiohed, that had belonged to Chris
tiany's little girl, who had died before her
mother
There ant so very many of EN-, he said
as he laid them out upon the bed; "she never
was no hand to make mp stock o things and
lay EN- away idle in a bureau drawer She
was sllus givin' away things. There's three
nice warm dresses that'll mebbe be god-send
to some Michigan woman. This one" he
went on slowly, taking up q soft, blue merino
I'm half mind to put back in the drawer
No, won't" he said, more decidedly mot
when l know there's poor creeturs out there
with hardly more'n rag to their backs
She wouldn't want me to--Christiany
wouldn't"
He shook ont the folds of the blue dress,
his gentle heart vibrating to tender memories
1t had been "Christianys" wedding dress
"Spose she'd ever come to such need as
Uncle Sings granddaughter spoke of in that
letter, he said; ito have to hide away cause
she hadn't clothes to cover her poor cold body /!
s'pose many another Christiany may be suf-
terin' there"
lie stopped and thought minute, and then
he did thing born of his soft-heartedness,
t"i the memories which the lreath and the
If 'N't'.'' iYr,',-h' a. '0,. 10
wrote this on little slip of paper, and put 1t
in the pocket of the dress:
IF there is any woman named Christiana
among the sufferers where this box happens
to go please give this dress to her The wo-
man who wore it was named Christana She
is daad II was har waddinp- dreSS