The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-09-12
you must be- dreadfully disappointed Oh

You must be dreadfully disappointed! Oh,
they're well named crazy quilts!
30 there is only one day more for us to work
on tho quilt Dear child, pleaded Inv PUN
perniekel, earnestly, and laying her. hand On
your quilt is finished!"
ooh, / suppose you'll be obliged to step for
those thines.s returned Nine. Pumpernickcl
half in jest, half in earnest; s'but you must not
let anything else hinder you, Delay would be
fatal. Your ardor would soon cool ~,
But Mr.. BAtterby, in tho goodness OF his
heart, brought home theatre tickets for that
night. and tho ladies tore themselves away
from their rags and accompanied him, but the
play being society drama, gave great display
Of costumes, and Afforded the two demented
creatures many occasions TO whisperasides,
such as:
sLook that elegant brocade she has on.
Wouldn't I just like q piece OF that In my
guilt"
cloak! Wouldn't that show in your square,"
aid 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
mental condition, and as he sat between tho
ladies in the car returning home they wore
obliged to make an attempt at least to speak
on other topics besides crazy quilts. The
next day, to the great delight OF the ladies' 1t
stormed.
eve shall have no callers, and We can't g,
out, y 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.
so, dear! It's to bad / have to stop, but I
suppose we must" said Nine PunpernickeL
"Wo must mako ourselves decent before Mr..
Batterby comes"
And jest then there was n ring at the door
and a telegram from Mr.. Batterby that bust
ness would keep him down town till between
. and 10 o'clock.
aAnd now we needn't dress, " ~joyously cried
Nine. Pulnpernickel 81 shall finish this
square before / go to bed l am determined
on
But it did seem to Mrs. Batterby as if the
children were never SO worrisome before.
What was the reason 3 year-old Edith should
be SO tircsome about getting to bed? Andthen
and the sheet smoothed, and 3 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 separatioa from her ''crazy quilt" returned,
and snatching up the battered, bald-headed
object of Edie's affections tossed it into the
crib.
"There, dollie, get into bod with you," she
said, Grossly. 'You haven't gotto say any
prayers, because you haven't got any soul"
Edie snatched up her child and turned on
her mother with flashing eyes.
sTee hab dot tum tout tool" she roared.
Mrs Batterby, smitten with remorse, kissed
her child and smoothed her, and yet it did not
occur to the mother how strong and baleful
must be the influence which could render her
patient and tender and considerate Of the
feelings Of dollie's mother as she generally
was.
The next day Nine. Pumpernickel departed,
but tho evil which she had disseminated re-
manned. Mrs. Batterhy. grew worse daily
until she became q hopeless crazy quilt mo-
MAC. TIL devoted husband, his attention now
drawn to the subject, was alarmed to observe
how fixed q hold the terrible mania had
taken taken upon his poor nn,v wifs Sab .berra Ssa
abstained from creative work upon this de-
stroyer Of domestic unhappiness. BUTT was,
after all only a physical Abstinence for her
husband marked her long memorizing gaze
upon the Illuminated texts above the pulpit
wherein the grayhaired minister was Impress
ing upon his hea rers tho spiritual darkness of
the He noted her rowing, distracted
gaze over the congregation, and he divined the
envy and coyetousness in her soul as her eye
caught the beauty of some new tint in bonnet
trimming.
One cold morning Mrs. Batterby's mother
came in from the suburbs, and surprised her
daughter with . visit. But no sooner were the
old lady's wrappings Off than the crazy quilt
was brought to notice, and tho daughter could
not be induced to make any but . momentary
depression on any other subject; but there she
sat, only stopping reluctantly forlunch, "feath-
er-stitching' on her Square as if her next
fore night
"WelI, goodbye" said the old lady at part
ing. 'sf they conclude to send you to the
asylum at Batavia, toll them to let me know
Immediately
And she went back to the suburbs with q little
chill of disappointment at her heart
But while Mr.. Batterby was racking his
brain to know how ha could surreptitiously
minister to his wife's diseased mind, a kind
Providence was sending q blessing in dis
guise. 1t was something like the sensatiopl,
society drama whore the sickness of the child
recalls the erring wife back to virtue.
Little Philip fell i'll. It was only the chicken
pox, but as the family physician said, at was
not once in q hundred times that there was
such q severe CASE
The morning Of the fourth day of his illness.
rs the mother sat holding in her gentle arms
the little sufferer, whose swollen face was Gov
cred with the confueEt eruption, and whose
beautiful blu eyes were closed by the disease,
little Eide came and looked ut her blind baby
brother very thonshtfully.
"Phillp dom to dies" she lisped.
go no, mamma hopes not" 4
Mamma wouldn't feel 30 very bad, Mamma
could work all re time on her tazy twill zen"
rejoined Eide gravely.
The unconscious reproach went straight 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
. bureau drawer in the sewing-room. In the
drawer lay the five yards of dark-green
plush for the border; for the squares were ali
dollars a yard, ten dollars! And now there was
all the expense OF Philips sickness to meet
She half regretted the spending of the ten dol
lar gold piece Gustave had given her. He had
it Not that he would ever ask what she did
with it. But now she really needed tho dress.
And ton dollars just for the border of the quilt
seemed a good deal. Satin would have been
cheaper, Of course. But then, plush was the
thing. Still she sighed 3 little perplexed sigh
as she smut the drawer.
The next Monday morning Bridget left her
wash in the tubs, declaring she was sick and
must go homa to her aunt's.
AN shure ye wuldn't be Fapin' back a weeks
pay for q weeks warnin' whinI I'm that sick l
can't stand on my two fate!"
So she got her full pay and she went, and
when the the strange washerwoman hired to
finish the wash was gone, il was found that all
had vanished.
Then the intelligence Office began to send it's
Bedouips through the kitchen of poor Mrs.
Batterby.
three weeks they had them all-the girl who
broke everything from h elargest 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 on to
cook when she heard Mr.. Batterby's voice in
the hall, and baked all the griddle-ca cakes before
tho breakfast bell rang. And 80 forth and SO
on.
But they lived through it all. rs people do,
and nothing ever really came Of it all except
n panrat chaDYR nj Mr. Gattarhv'a viotyu m IT.
subject Of q Purgatory, and his growing con-
viction of such q place as o necessary adjunct
to celestial housekeeping.
In the meantime the crazy quilt was almost