St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-07-14
The DeacOn's "Pep'mint"
Drops.
BY MARGARET SIDNEY,

/ ITOIil Ills ldIIltI. anu
dab from his father, Hiram and so on
away back, don't know how far.
Deacon Highly, the present occupant,
was exactly like the old house-as
much as "a man could be like a house !;
and all the ways of his father and
grandfather he would adhere to, good
or bad, with the tenacity of life itself.
Because his father had driven an old
fashioned plough, heavy and lumber
ing, across his fields, Jotham would
drive one as near like it as he could
get, across his fields. He would have
used the same plough, if it had not
been worn out i'll the service.
| And since he always remembered
that when, as Il little boy, he saw his
father on Sundays, during the long
preaching, take red and white pepper
mint drops from the pocket of his best
coat, to drive away sleepirtess, and
help him to digest the arguments and
dOctrines-so now, when he had risen
to deacOn's position, peppermints of
an identical pattern and hue must go
into has pockets for the same purpose
And here comes the tale of one such
provision of peppermints, and how it
worked confusion to the good deacon.
1t was always Mrs. Deacon Higby's
place to see that there were pepper
mints in the deacOn's pocket, for the
good man thought that Il good wife
was from the Lord" whose duty it was
to have the personal oversight of ev-
erything pertaining to his comfort and
well-being. He, therefore, always al
lowed her foil liberty, and thoroughly
/ nll ha,. CORA of him,
~ declare!' said Mrs. Highly, com
ing in from the bedroom to the ''keep-
in'-rOOm," one Saturday morning, "Fve
been a-lOokin' over your pas Sunday
clothes, an he haint got no pep
mints ~
Just then Sarah Highly, the deacOn's
eldest daughter, thought she smelt
bread burning. So she ran into the
kitchen in great excitement. Johnny
flung down the kite he was patching in
the corner, and clattered after her to
see the fun and hear her scold.
"Mirandy Jane" said Mrs. Highly,
knowing full well that the bread would
he attended to under Sarah's energetic
hands, and feeling wholly absorbed in
thoughts of the deacOn's comfort, ''you
run down to the store an git an ounce
no, you better git two ounces of
pep'mints." Then she went out to the
kitchen.
II wish pep'mints was in the middle
of the Red Seaw calculated Mirandy
Jane, out of temper with trying to
twist up the black velvet bows on heI
straw hat, i'll some new way calculated
to delude everybody into the belief
that it was not the same old trimming
she had worn for three years. 81
might as well go first as last, | s'pose
an git through with it!'
So slap went the bonnet and its
half-cOmpleted trimming on the old
fashioned table, and grasping her sun
bonnet, Mirandy Jane was soon on heI
way to the village store.
Having obtained the peppermints
she hurried home to get to work again
on her bonnet, and almost ran through
the "keepin' room" into the big from
entry. There, on an extremely higl
nail, hung the deacon's best coat, thai
was never taken down except for Sun
day, or Il wedding or a funeral. Mi
randy twitched open the paper of pep
permint drops in her hand, saying t,
herself =
|
he can't make such an awful racket an
scratching sound as he did last Sun
day, when Jimmy Beans laughed ou
loud"
So she shook the contents of her pa
per into the big left-side pocket of TIN
deacOn's coat, and flew back to he
work.
While the family were enjoying thei
\ Saturday dinner of boiled corned-beef
: cabbage, and Indian pudding, mes
+, senger drove up post-haste for Mrs
:, Highly to go the next town to COusil
= Ann Maria EmersOn's, who had falle
/ down the cellar stairs and broken he
leg.
! All was now CONSERVATION at tin
deacon's. The cOrned- beef and cab
bage were forgotten, while one and al
n n crowded around the bringer of ba,
f news, clamoring for IA repetition q
II each and every detail. Mrs. Highly
bonnet and best shawl were hurried
IT brought, and with many hasty direc
d tiOns to Sarah to attend to the house
|. and sundry warnings to the yOunge
I I children to behave themselves, she wa
n bundled into the big green wagon, an,
drove OFF on her errand of mercy.
Goodness me ~ cried Sarah, some
- where about half past three in the al
ternOOn. "If mother haint forgot ther
pep'mints! Its lucky | thought {
, 'em !"
She drew herself up with very re
= face from the irOning-board, where sh
/. was busily engaged, and looked at tn
clock.
- Twenty minutes past three,
she muttered. 'I've good mind t
wait as ever | had to eat-therell L
time enough :" Then she thought
all she had to do before supper-time.
!. "There aint no peace for livin' sol
in this house ~ she declared, imp3
i tiently, "nOt a single minute! | sha
y have to go right straight off. Mirand
.s James streaked over to Hetty Fletch
er's, an | might as well look for
needle i'll a hay-mOw, as to find one ,
the children. OF course they won
come in till it's time for supper. VIII
a don't father git his own old pep'mint
himselfG When Tn married, | guei
won't wait on man so to every Ii
- tie thing ~
Nevertheless, she left the collar 81
was ironing to its fate, and went dow
the village street to the store.
"TwO ounces of pep'mints, red al
white" she said, mechanically, to Il
grocer's boy, who only tended store
the afternoon, because his errands keI
him going pretty fast over the COUNT
roads in the morning. When she can
back, she passed into the entry to Il
deacon's coat, hanging like a sentin
behind the big, unused front door, al
then noticed that the paper around h
delicacy was torn, and that the pc
permints were sitting through so s.
turned them all out carefully into Ii
= hand.