Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-09-05

l :
they're well named crazy quiltsf9
Yes; but you sec must leave you Friday,
SO there is only one day more for us to work
on the quilt Dear child, pleaded Mfne Pun
pernickel, earnestly, aud laying her hand on
yonr quilt is finisledn
"Not even to eat and sleepea
''Oh,- ] suppose You'll be obliged to stop for
those tnings," returned Nine Purnpernickel
half in Jest half IN earnest: shut you ninss not
let anything else hinder you. Delay wouid be
fatal. Your ardor would soon cool
But Mr.. Batterby, in the goodness of his
heart, brought home theatre tickets for that
night, and the ladies' tore themselves away
from their rags and accompanied him, but the
play being society drama, gave great display
of costumes, end afforded the two deaented
creatures many occasions to whisperssides,
| such IS:
'Look that elegant brocads she has on
wouldn't [ just Ikea piece Of that in my
''See that rich purple velvet in that pages
cloak! Wouldn't that show IN your square,
I'D just like to snip piece of that lady's
bonnet strings. We haven't any green TO light
up at night"
Fortunately Mr.. Batterby did not hear these
remarks or he might have feared for his wife's
menta! condition, and as he sat between the
ladies' in tho car returning home they were
obliged to make an attempt at least to speak
on other topics besides crazy guiits. The
next day to the great delight OF the ladies' It
stormed.
''We shall have no callers, and we can't 60
ont" they said So they sat in the midst of
rags, shipping, clipping, basting TOO busy to
comb their hair or change their morning dresses
until the daylight began to wane=
40, dear! It's to bad [ have TO stop, hut !
suppose we must" said Nine PuD,perHickel
! ''We must make ourselves 1ecent before 3r
Batterby comes"
And Jest then there was s. ring at the door
and telegram from Mr.. Battarby that enE.
ness would keep him down town till between
Q and 10 o'clock.
''And now We needn't dress" ioyorsiy cried
| Nine. PrmpernickeL u shall finish this
square before go to bed | am determined
on it
But it did seem to Mrs. Dat.erby as if the
children were never so worrisOIne before
What was the reason 3 year-old Edith shoI4d
be so tiresome about getting TO bed: And then
after she was there she wanted the pillow fixed,
and the sheet sInoothed, and . drink OF water,
| and at the last moment she called her mamma
back because she hadn't said her prayers
Then when the patient mother again reached
the stairs the little voice called;
Mamma, mamma Edie wants dollie."
The usually gentle mother, becomes frantic
at separat on from hex cray quilt, returned,
and snatching, up the battered, bald h"aded
IIbject Of Edie's affections tossed It into the
| crib
''There, dollio, get into bed with you" she
said. GROSSLY ''iou haven't gOtt say any
prayers, because you haven't got any soul "
Edie snatched up her child and turned on
her mother with flashing eyes.
'"rce hab dot tuIn toul tool" she roared
| Mrs Batterby, snitten with remorse, kissed
her child and smoothed her, and yet it did not
occur to the mother how strong and DalefnI
must DO the influence which could render her
thus hard and retllanE TO her darling Edith.
patient AID tender and cOnslders.e of the
! feelings Of dolEes mother she generally
was.
The next day Nine Pump ernicke! departed,
buJ the evil which she had disseminated re-
manned Mrs. Batterby grew worse da. y
until she became a hopeless crazy quilt ma
MAC The devoted husband, lis attention now
| drawn to the subject, Has alarmed to observe
| how fxed o. hold the terrible mania hal
| taken upon his poor wife's abarrated
| mind. 1t was only Sunday she
! abstanci from creative work upon this De
stroyer Of domestic unhappine$s. Butit Was,
after all only a physical abstinence, for her
husbaa d marked her long memOriling gaze
upon the illuminated texts above the pulpit
wherein the grayhalred minister was impress
ing upon his hea rers the spiritual darkness Vi
the Jews He noted her rovuG, distracted
gaze over the congregation and he divlneri the
envy and covetousness Ill her soul as her eye
caught the beauty Of some new tint IL bonneJ-
| trimming
One cold morning Mrs Batterb}'s mother
came In from the g burbs, and surprised her
daughter with q visit But no sooner were the
old ]ady's Wrappings Oh than the crazy quIlt
was brought to notce, and the dang liter could
| not be induced to make any but 4 nOmantarv
depression on any other subject bat there she
sat, only stopping Reluctantly for lunch ';feath-
er-stitching' on her 'sGuar@' as if her next
days bread depended on getting 1t done be
fore night
well, goodbye" said the old lady at part
ing. ''If they conclude tn send yon TO the
asylum at Batavia, tell them 10 let me know
| Immediately
And she vent back to the suburbs with little
chill Of disappointment at her bearT
But while Mr. Butterfly was racking his
brain to know how he could surreptltously
minister to his wife's diseased mind, q kind
Providence was sending q blessing IN dis
guise 1t was something Ike the sensational
society drama where the sickness of the child
recalls the erring wife back 70 virtue.
Little Philip fell i'll. It was only the chicken
pox, but az the family physician said, 1T was
not once in a hundred times that there was
such severe case"
The morning of the fourth day of his Illness,
as the mother sat holding in her gentle arms
the little sufferer whose swollen face was Gov
cred with the continent eruption, and whose
beautiful blue eyes were closed By the disease,
little Edie came and looked at her blind baby
brother very tlloughtfuliy.
''Phihp dom 10 die" she lisped.
80 no, mamma hopes not"
Mamma wouldn't feel 60 very bad, Mamma
could work all re time on her tazy tBilt zen >
| rejoined Edle Srayaly.
The unconscious roproach went strai ght to the
mothers awakened conscience
| AS soon as her arms were temporarily freed
| from their beloved burden she gathered up all
the material of her crazy quilt and put them IN
, q bureau drawer III the sewing Room In the
| drawer lay the tive yards Of dark green
plush for the border; for the squares were sIi
ready to be put together. Five yards afTSO
dollars a yard, ten dollars And now there was
all the expense Of Philips sickness % meet
She half regretted the spendiog Of the ten dol
lar gold piece GustsTe had gwen her he had
told her to buy comfortable house dress with
it. Not that he would ever ask what she did
with it. But TOW she really needed the dress.
And ten dollars just for the border of the quilt
seemed good deal Satin would have been
cheaper, of course. But then, plush IVES the
I thing stu sne sighed htue perplexed sign
The next Monday morning Bridge left her
. wash In the tubs, declaring she was sick and
must so home TO her aunt's
San shure ye wudn't be kapin' back week =
pay for o weeks warniu' whin I'm that sick l
cant stand on MY two fate"
So she got her full pay and she went, ard
| when the the strange washerWoman hired TO
finish the wash was gone, it was found that all
the towels and handkerchiefs and stockings
had vanished
Then the intelligence Office began to send iss
Bedouins through the kitchen OF poor Mrs
Batterby.
It was the same old tribe. In the courae Of
three weeks they had them all---Ehe girl .hc
broke everything from thslargest platter down
to the handle of the furnace door, the girl who
served her hair up with various dressings at
each meal, the girl who put her potatoes or to
cook when she heard Mr.. Batterbys veice III
the hall, and baked all the gTiddie- cakes before
the breakfast bell rang. And so forth and so
on.
But they lived through it all. as people do
and nothing ever really came OF it all EXCEPT
secret change Of DIR. Bastsrby's views on the
subject of Purgatory, and his growing con-
| viction of such place as a necessary adjunct
to celestial housekeeping.
In the meantime the crazy auilt was alnost