The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1883-04-19
THE STOCKINGS GRANDPA KNIT.
A sketch for n SUNDAY Lecture that Will In
woke fearful Memories Of the Dead
Old YEAR,

In these busy days, grandmas occupation is
gone. The noisy, whirring, breathless machine
has quite drowned the soft, irregular click of
her knitting needle, and while the dear old eyes
are looking for a dropped stitch, lost because
some youngsters restless pate bobbed against
the patient arm, the tireless machine has fin
ished n long-legged stocking, and is clamoring
for more yarn. Grandma still sits on the south
porch or in the warm chimney corner and knits,
but who waits now for the stocking TO be fin
ished. The rattling, clicking, noisy old mill,
with its smell of dyes, its whirr Of machinery.
and noise of steam, pOurs a steady cataract of
socks and stockings on the market while grand
ma rounds the heel of little one for Harry, or
points off the toe of big one for Fred. Who
waits for grandma's stocking now. All, we'll !;
all wait for them now and then. The noisy
old mill doesn't make them warm, after all.
Does ever the breathless, swapping machine
stop to teach a bright-eyed urchin to knit a
straight row a pair Of chicken quilts. The
wrinkled old hands, how softly they patted the
cheeks of the romping grandchild, not half so
soft in their childish curves rs the touch of
grandmas hands. The stockings grandma knit;
how much love went into every stitch how
many prayers were wrought into every round.
Somewhere once read about a nun who bent
over her needle work. and as oft as a tear fell
from her eyes upon the snowy fabric, she
wrought about it, and worked il with her deft
needle, until at last the strange design wrought
ont touching story of her loneliness and sor-
thoughts. and prayers, that grandma wrought
with those patient needles, we would wear the
stockings she knit on our hearts, rather than on
our feet. For here is a dream of John, and
there is n tear for Chris's Robbie, and here is a
plan for Will, and here comes creeping in
quivering strain from some old, old hymn. that
is hallowed to now because her lips blessed
it SO often; see how prayer quiyered all along
this round here the stocking was laid down
while the old hands turned over the leaves of
the Bible that seemed never to be out of her
lap; here the old eyes looked ont across the
pasture and the mowinglot, down to the wood
ed hills, where the birds are answering winds !;
here the old eyes slept for a few minutes, and
here is a knot. All, yes, Phillie and Annie are
home, this week, and the house is full of their
children. There Will be many more knots in
the yarn before the stocking is finished. Who
is the boy whose fate it is TO hold on his extend
ed hands the skein of yarn while grandma
winds it off after the romping youngsters who
taunt him with shrieks of laughter as they de-
Sert him But never mind, grandma comforts
him with splendid stories of Uncle Docs pranks
when he was boy. and went to school at Car
miehaeltown. until the hoy wishes the sken
was five miles long. And then he is rewarded
by q great big eoOkey, sweeter than honey, he
cause he was such good boy. The only thing
that took the edge of this reward was that all
the other children got Just as big cookies as he
did, because somehow grandma's rewards for
the good boys and girls managed TO include all
the other boys and girls. To grandma, all chill
dren were good; some thildren were better than
Others. hut there were no bad children. A
Thousand blessings a thousand times told, on
the dear old face, and the silver hair that
crowned the placid brow; on the wrnkled
hands and the work they wrought; on the dear
lips and blessed old hymns they sung: on the
dear old book that lay in her lap, and the life
that drew so much of love, and faith, and help.
from its pages. In every household and every
nook of the land; IN the city tenement and in
the roomy old farmhouse; in the mansion on
the avenue and in the cottage down the lane
God bless grandma and the beautiful memories
her figure always invokes.-BariiRJtOR Harkeye.