Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1885-08-13

bonnet Mis- Plympton had jest come here
from the city then, and some liked her bon
nets and some didn't; but old Mis- Cressy,
who had made bonnets for forty years, was
paralyzed, and folks that couldn't make
their own had to have Miss Plympton's.
"I'm certain twas as much as four years
since Prudence Hathaway had had new
bonnet. Tommy Streadley's mouth and
eyes must have opened even wider'n he
commonly kept 'em when Mis- Plympton
said to him, late one Saturday night She'd
hired Tommy for extry help because her
little errand-girl was all beat out). This
green bandbox goes to Miss Prudence Hath
away, up by the Three Corners
cat the same time she gave him a brown
bandbox for Mandany Wheelock, the
squire's daughter.
'"'I can't stop to mark 'em, but you can't
make mistake, OWN to the difrunt colors
Now, remember, which is which" says Mis-
Plympton.
5Tommy promised that he would, and he
always declared that he kept sayin' goin'
along, Green, Hathaway; brown, Wheel
ock; but if he did he was like a hotel-boy
that was readin' about in the paper, that
was sent with some boots to lord that was
stoppin' in the hotel, and they told him to
say, My lord, the boy has brought your
boots,' but sayin' it over and over to make
sure, he got mixed up, and says he, My
boy, the lord has brought your boots ~
And Tommy Streadley, by the time he'd
got to the Three Corners, was sayin',
Brown, Hathaway! Forhe left the brown
bandboX to the HathaWays, and carried the
green one to Mandany Wheelock!
"And when Prudence opened the box in
stead of the sensible, middle-aged plain lace
bonnet that she'd ordered, there was a jaun-
ty little mite of bonnet, with pink feath-
er on the front! Twas black-lace bonnet
to be sure, but that pink feather made it
look so pert and coquettish, it hadn't no
more sobriety than ed-winged blackbird.
prudence looked at it kind of scared at
first, as if twas something that would bite
her. Then she took it out and held it at
arms length, and looked it over.
"'What was the miiliner thinking of?'
says she. 1T isn't mite like the shape [
ordered! And think of a pink feather for
me, mothern
est don't look as if twas meant for you
certain said Mis- Hathaway.
az must have it changed ! said Prudence,
decidedly; but as she put it back into the
box she fetched little sigh. Twas mas
ter pretty bonnet. Mis- Plympton had a
knack for maxim 'em if there's anything
in this world that can be done we'll without
a knack, it ain't bonnet maxim.
"Prudence put the bonnet back into the
box but that night she carried the box up
stairs with her, instead of putting it away
in the sittin' room closet, as she materially
would.
"And when she came down the next
morning dressed for meetin', as true as you
live it was minute or two before her own
mother knew her! She had her hair all
crimped over her forehead-'tWas pretty,
light colored hair-and the little bit of
bonnet, with the pink feather atop of it !!
She had on black silk dress that she'd had
for the academy exhibition the year before,
and never thought Of wearin' anywhere
else, and she'd been and got some beauti-
fel lace that was her grandmother's, out OF
an old chest and put it into the neck and
sleeves.
"'I don't know what possessed me, moth
err says Prudence half laughing and half
cryin'. But felt young. think thepink
feather must have turned my head. You
know how fond of pink | was when L was
little girl
"Mis' Hathaway told me afterward that
it seemed to strike her all at once that Pru-
dence was young, and twas hard to have
the youth crushed right out of her, as it
had been and she never said a word, only
jest took off her spectacles and wiped 'em,
and Prudence hurried off as if she was
afraid somebody would try to stop her.
"GOin through the yard she picked up
bunch of blossoms and fastened EN-
in her belt. I don't suppose she'd picked
an apple blossom before sence she was a lit
tie girl, she's got so thrifty.
II saw her goin' by and she actually had
little pinky color in her cheeks; whether
she'd caught it from the apple blossoms, or
the pink feather, or from feeling young [
can't say. 1 couldn't scarcely believe my
eyes that twas Prudence Hathaway.
"How folks did stare at her in church!
And most of them agreed that a prettier
girl hadn't been seen there for good
while. Pm glad to know that there wasn't
many that said, How ridiculous for that
old-maidish Prudence Hathaway to deck
herself out like thatn There's some such
people as that everywhere, you know.
"There was stranger in church that day,
q very fne-looking young man that had
stopped all night at the hotel; nobody ap-
peared to know who he was. AS they came
out of church, he went up to Prudence and
says, takin' off his hat:
"'I suppose you don't remember me ::
And am sure 1 shouldn't have known you
except for the pink feather! But hope,
as Johns friend-'
"'I am glad to see any friend of Johns
said Prudence in her quiet way. She
eyes on him. but she thought he might be
one of the village boys that had been away
for years, and remembered her childish fan
cy for pink. When he said he was a friend
of Johns, she remembered that John had
written that the young man who was to be
his partner was going into the country for
his health. But how could he know that
she liked pink? Prudence puzzled little,
but she thought she should find out, in a
minute or two who he was, and tWan't best
to let on that she didn't know.
"She was generally grave and reserved,
but to-day she seemed to have blossomed
out every way. | don't believe in settin'
too much by vanities but I don't suppose
that there ever was a girl that didn't ap-
pear easier in her manners for teelln' that
she looked we'll.
"Prudence chatted as easy and gay as
could be and the stranger walked along
home with her as matter of course.
"When Prudence introduced him to her
mother, she jest said he was friend OF
Johns, and kind of give him a chance to
up and tell her who he was, but he didn't:
and Prudence felt kind of mortified because
he didn't; and Mis- Hathaway was SO glad
to see stranger, bein' real sociabe and
talkative and seein' but few folks, that she
didn't care who he was, especially as he
knew John-that was her idol. He told
'em Johh was we'll, only workin' too hard,
which might have made 'em suspect some
tnin' was wrong, for tWan't mite like John
Hathaway to work too hard.
"The stranger staid to dinner. l don't
suppose they had anything more'n cold
pickup Sunday noon; but Prudence put a
great bowl full of lilacs and apple-bossOms
in the middle of the table, and the windows
were open, and the birds singing, and kind