The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-11-26
THANKSGIVING STORY.
How Joy Trod Upon the Very Heels
of Sorrow.

How quickly joy treads upon the very
heels of sorrow, or vtce rersa!
Never was this truism more fully il
Illustrated than on a certain Thanksgiv-
ing Day at Grandpa Ashton's.
All of the young and most of the mid
dle-aged people of their church and
neighborhood called Mr.. and Mrs. Ash
ton by the endearing title of Grandpa
and Grandma" SO l am taking no
liberty whatever.
The day before the one appointed by
the Governor as national holiday was
bright and cold, and with just snow
enough on the ground to make fair
.sleighing; and merrily indeed the sleigh
bells jingled as the good people OF
Rushville went hurrying about on
thoughts OF business or pleasure.
Grandpa and Grandma Ashton were
old and poor and sad. 1t is surely bad
enough to be old and poor without hav-
ing business worries besides; but Grand
pa Ashton had been dreadfully worried
everything looked blue enough to the
dear old man, and Grandma, suspect.
ing something wrong, was beginning to
sigh very frequently, and watch Grand
pa with tender, sorrowful eyes; so the
business trouble was really taking all
the quiet peace from their old age, and
if not actually unhappy, they were like.
" to soon become so.
When Grandpa came in from milking
cows on the morning before Thanks.
giving Day he brought big rooster
under his arm. and opening the kitchen
door said as cheerfully as could be tc
Grandma:
Sec here, mother! Is this fellow to
be eaten tomorrow? l 'spect WEI
ought to make a little preparation
hadn't we, now? Nothin' great, Of
course, fur jist us two, but suthin' lit
tie out of the ordinary run-ard with
one of your eatry nice cream pies. and 8
few other little fixin's, guess well
do"
YES" sighed Grandma, 81 dom
care much any way; but as you say, we Z
ought to take some kind of notice of thu
day, seein' the Governors been and ap
pointed it. L hadn't made no calcula
tions about the dinner. father, cause
felt so certain some one or other of TIT
children would insist on us comm t.
eat dinner with them. You're SUR
there wasn't no letter in the postoffict
last night, amt you, father?"
'Yes. sure; but l reckon I'd bette,
chop this young feller's head off, nov
I've got him safe and sound. 'Tain't Sc
easy catchin' 'em when you're stiff with
rheumatism and hard on to seventy, y
'twas forty years ago, kin tell ye"
The simple breakfast didn't seem t.
taste good to Grandpa; he nibbled a
one thing and another. and slipped hi.
tea, and finally he said:
I've got some bad news for YOU
mother, and dunno when I've hateG
TO tell anything as do this"
Grandma raised her head SO suddenl,
that her snowy cap border stood straight
out. framing pale face, and she raised
one hand as if to ward off blow.
(which one is it father?" she asked
her thoughts. mother-like. fiying to hel
children. II thought something wa
wrong somewhere. jest felt it some
way"
The children's all well and happy,
fur as l know" replied Grandpa, chap
pier by long sight than their old father
who's got to be turned out of house and
home. Pretty hard, mother. amt il
after all the savin' and pinchin' we've
done for the last fifteen year or more?'
Grandma began to sob in a weak sort
of way. She asked no questions, know
ing well enough what he referred t.
without further explanations. There
was mortgage on the little house ant
rocky farm, which they lad been vainl,
trying to cancel for mauy years. TIL.
holder of the mortgage had told Grand
pa that he was going to foreclose on i
the next week and the property would
be sold at auction to the highest bidder
81 wrote to Ezra and Abram about i
some time ago and l 'spose you've told
Hammer and Liddy. out they haint got 9
word to say. it seems. / don't expec
they'll II let us suffer, mother-don't or,
so-but it'll be kind of hard to be de
pendent even on q child of your own
and I'm awful afraid they don't none o
am want us, they're all SO silent lately