The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1884-05-29
THE FESTIVAL AT WILLoRBRooK.

! Cue COuiSo VI True love, SeeulS uoSGlueQ
not to run smoothly at Willowbrook.
Asnew complication: has arisen since
our memorable donation party-a COM
plication which bids fair to end in the
withdrawal of the new minister, Mr..
Ormsby's successor, staid bachelor of
a doubtful age.
It had been decided that the church
needed painting, and to this end a
peach festival was suggested and agreed
upon with great unanimity.
Much to my own regret, [ was absent
from the village at the time of the festi-
| val, SO as soon as possible after my re-
turn I ran over to see Miss Melissa,
feeling confident that I should find her
as usual, faithful chronicler, nor was
I disappointed. A few questions soon
brought out the whole story.
1T was too bad, as you say, Miss Har-
wood, that you couldn't have been here,
but law! the festival was terrible dis
appointment after all, for we didn't
make anything to signify. could have
told 'em so beforehand, for I knew jest
how it would turn out when those girls
took the management instead of lettin
Aunt Betsy and me he at the head, as
we'd always been used to DOM
cts no wonder we felt kinder hurt
about it, for don't remember death
! or weddin' or :. christenin' in the vii
lage that we hadn't had our say about
in time past, and to see ourselves made
of no account in that way was enough to
provoke saint.
"Of course I knew it was all done for
Mr.. Aliens sake-that comes of havin'
bachelor for minister, Miss Har-
wood-though why girls should want to
set their caps for man old enough to
be their father [ can't understand. If
Mr.. Allen wanted wife land it's my
opinion that every minister does want
wife to look after him) he ought to have
had chance to choose for himself
among those that was suitable, and
goodness knows there amt many to pick
from in this village! But instid of let
tin the man alone those girls have act
ed shameful from the very first-goin'
regular to Sunday school and singin'
class and what not, and stoppin' every
day to ask about Miss Bruce's sick child
jest because the minister was boardin'
there-no, [ never saw sech forwardness
in my ife.9.. And he (men is such fools)
took it al for pure goodness! Didn't I
hear him talkin' one night at Deacon
Stiles about the sympathies of young
hearts, and the sweet mission of the
fair comforters, and all the time [ was
sendin' jelly and soft crstard to the
house and Miss Bruce too ungrateful to
mention it again!
"But this amt neither here nor there,
so I must jest get back to the peach fes-
tival. 1t WIS mostly settled before you
went away, Miss HARDWOOD, that we was
to hold it in the schoolhouse, because
some of us thought that mebbe it wasn't
solemn enough to hold in the church,
but fafterwsfds we had a meetin', and
agreed to take, up the carpets and take
out the pew cushions, and so lave it in
the church after oil. aEssezs Tts5H hEt
Z: IL was held on the last Thursday in
= ngiasb; You know, and every one WAS
TO- send . cake, or ice cream or peaches,
aceordin' to theirs ability, and We scali !
lated to make considerable on the sell
lin, as we should, if Aunt Betsy and me
had been let alone.
"But when went over to the church
that Thursday mornin' to go to work,
there was Sally Stiles, and Lyddy Hall
and the two Davis girls, and that red
headed Mary Jones and her cousin
Mandy all there ahead of me sweepin' |
and dustin and movin' things round as
if they was the head of the church
themselves. When began to tell 'em
what to 90, Lyddy Hall jest laughs and |
says, says she: You needn't trouble
yourself, Miss Melissa, we young folks
will take charge, and let the old folks
rest SPELL (That girl thinks every
body's old but herselfD Sure enough
they wouldn't let me have thing to
say about settin' the table, and they
each had big rosette made TO pin on
their shoulders! Great managin' they
made to be sure. However, I made 'em
know I wouldn't give up the tea and
coffee, so Lyddy says: well then, you
can help unpack the dishes if
you like, and Aunt Betsy may
dust 'em off, That to me!
"Just then Aunt Betsy come in, and l
can tell you, Miss HARDWOOD it was all that
we could do to keep things straight and
get the cake cut even and the peaches
all peeled. I told Ralph that night
when I was gettin' his supper, that I
didn't know as I'd ever done a harder
days work in my life, but for all that
hurried and dressed myself, and was
back to the church in time to light the
lamps, for I knew we'll enough that
those girls would prink and prink, and
so they did.
"Well, by eight o'clock everybody'd
got there, and the sellin' begun very
brisk, and as I said before, if Aunt
Betsy and ME had been alone it would
have gone on brisk to the end, but
law! those six creatures just spoiled
everything.
"When Mr.. Allen come in he walked
right over to where I was pourin' tea
and coffee, and made as though he was
goin' to set there spell, and with that
Sally Stiles and the two Davis girls jest
crowded themselves down into the same
corner and began to talk so fast that no
one else could get word in edgeways
But when Mandy and 'Miry Jones and
Lyddy Hall jined in jest told 'em
their room was better then their COM
pany, thinkin' they'd take the hint.
Now you'd hardly guess what
they dld-they went and sot ON
the platform in front of the pulpit,
takin' the minister with 'em of course,
and there they kept up such a laughin'
and chattern' as you never saw, preten-
din to wait on Mr.. Allen, bringin' him
plates of peaches and ice cream, crumb-
lin up good slices of cake and wast1n"
EN- until I could have slapped every
one of the six.
II got SO nervous at last, watchin' their
doin's that poured tea and coffee into
the same cup, and when our big dog,
Growler, came creepin'in and pu this cold
nose into my hand, dropped cup and
saucer and broke it into twenty pieces.
[ told Grower to go out, but instid of |
mindin' me he walked over and lay down
at Mr.. Aliens feet, and in minute that
Lyddy Hall screams out: See there,
Mr.. Allen! Miss Mix has sent GROWER
to take care of you, aren't you obliged
to herr? and felt my face gittin' as
red as fire, I was SO mortified.
L think the minister was partly to
blame for what happened next, though
there's no KNOWN, for those girls KEEP