Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1882-12-21
A CASE OF COINCIDENCE.

A CASE OF COINCIDENCE.
A Christmas Story.
She was n queer old lady, was Grand
mother Grant; she was not bit like
other grandmotherS; she was short and
fat and rosy as winter apple, with
great deal of snow white hair set up
in big puff on top of her head, and
eyes as black as buckle berries, always
puckercd up with smiles or laughter.
She never would wear Il cap.
81 cant be bothered with emf she
said and when Amelia Rutlcdgc, who
was determined her grandma should,
rs she said, "look halfway decent "
made her two beautiful little mob caps,
soft and fluffy, and each with a big
satin bow, one lavender and one white,
put on to show where the front was,
Grandma never put them on right the
bow was over on one car or behind, or
the cap itself was awry, and in the end
she pulled them off and stuck them on
. china jari the parlOr, or tin canis-
ter on the kitchen shelf, and left them
there till flies and dust ruined them.
"Amelia's as obstinate as pig!'
said the old lady: "she would have me
wear 'em, and | wouldn't ~
That was ali, but it was enough not
q grandchild ever made her another
cap. Moreover Grandmother Grant
always dressed in one fashion she had
calico dress for morning and black
silk for the afternoon, made with IN
old fashioned surplicc waist, with u
thick plated ruff about her throat she
sometimes tied large white apron
on, but only when she went into the
kitchen; and she wore pocket aS big
as three OF yours, Matilda, tied on
underneath and reached through slit
in her gown. Therein she kept her
keys, her smelling-bottle, her pocket
book, her handkerchief and her spec
tacles, bit of llag-root and some
liquerice stick. / mean when ! say
this, that all these things belonged in
her pocket, aud she meant to keep
them there but it was one popularity
of the dear old lady, that she always
lost her necessary convenienceS, and
lost them every day.
maria p she would call out to her
daughter in the next room, "have you
seen my spectaclcs ?"
"No, mother; when did you have
them ?"
"Five minutes ago, daning Harry's
stockings; but never mind, there's an
other pair in the basket"
In half an hour when Gerty came in
10 her room for something she needed,
Grandmother would say
"Gcrty do look on the floor and see
if my specs lie anywhere around y
Gorty couldn't find them, and then
Grandma w lld say:
"Probably they dropped out on the
grass under the window, you can see
when you go down but give nc my
gold pair out of my upper drawer" ="
And when Mrs. Maria went to call
her mother down to dinner she would
find her hunting all about the room,
turning her cushions over, pecring into
the wood basket, shaking out the silk
quilt, and say "What is it you want,
mother ?"
my specs, dear. can't find one
pair" =,
but there are three on your head
now |" and Grandma would sit down
and laugh till she shook all over, as if
il were the best joke in the world to
push your spectacles up over the short
white curls on your forehead, one pair
after another, and forget all about
them.
She mislaid her handkerchief still
oftener. Gerty would sometimes pick
up six of these useful articles in one day
where the old lady dropped them as
she went about the house but the
most troublesome of all her habits was
q way she had of putting her pocket
book in some queer place every night,
or il ever she left home in the daytime,
and then utterly forgetting where she
had secreted it from the burglars or
thieves she had all her life expected.
The house she lived in was her own,
but Doctor White who had married her
daughter Maria, rented it of her, and
the rent paid her board she had a
thousand dollars a year beside, half of
which she reserved for her dress and
her charities, keeping the other half
for her Christmas gifts to her children
and grandchildren. There were ten of
these last, and the ten always needed
something. Gerty White, the Doctors
daughter, was twelve years old she
had three brothers Tom, John and
Harry, all older than she was. Mrs.
Rutledge, who had been Annie Grant,
was widow with three daughters
Sylvia, Amelia and Anne, these latter
two now out in society and always
glad of new dresses, gloves, bonnets,
ribbons, lace and tho thousand small
fineries girls never have to their full
satisfaction. There were Thomas
Grants two girls of thirteen and fif-
teen, Rosamond and Kate, and his lit
tie boy, Hal, crippled in his babyhood
so that he must always go on crutches,
but as bright and happy as Grandma
herself, and her prime favorite.
Now it was Grandma's way to draw
her money out of the bank two weeks
before Christmas, and go into Boston
with Mrs. White to buy all the things
she had previously thought over for
these ten and their parents and one
winter she had made herself all ready
10 take the ten o'clock train, and had
lust taken her pocketbook out of the
drawer when she was called down.
stairs to sec poor woman who had
come begging for some clothes for her
husband.
"Come right up stairs, Mrs. Slack, :"
said Grandma. 81 don't have many
applications for mems things, so
guess there's coat of Mr.. Grants put
AWAY in the camphor chest, and maybe
x.o,, e,t ,,;s.tt d.,,,,, h,, ~, y,