News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-01-29

! toISEdto QuiuCSSs
The two ladies went through into the
parlor and the minister tugged and
pulled the great jar through into the
pantry and down the cellar stairs. just
then Trustee Jackson drove up with his
wife and six great pumpkins. "Them's
awfu! good pumpkins" said the Trus-
tee, as he set the golden globes on the
steps and drove away, saying he had got
to go down to the mill and would be
back by and by. The minister carried
the pumpkins down into the cellar aud
got back in time to meet Mr. Higgins,
the blacksmith. who Brought his wife
and set of very heavy tongs, shovel and
poker, which he assured the minister he
had hammered out himself. Mrs. Hig-
gins had tin pan full of caraway-sesd
cookies, paper bag full of pickles and
frosted cake. She also had her two
children, one of whom she told Mrs.
Crawford was probably coming down
with the measles. The other child mar
rowly escaped falling down the cellar
steps, disaster which Mrs. Crawford
judged from Mrs. Higgins's manner she
would have been held responsible for.
Mrs. Simmons, the grocer's wife, ar
rived next, carrying 10-pound package
of brown sugar, the sweetening power of
which her husband had said was unusu-
ally great. She had also worked tidy
for Mrs. Crawford's rocking chair and
was quite surprised to find out that Mrs.
Crawford had some tides already. Mr.
Winter, the hardware merchant, walked
over with his wife who had brought
some loaves of fresh bread and another
frosted cake. Mr.. Winter himself had a
large package OF tenpenny nails and
jackknife with gimlet and button hook
attached. Trustee Higbee unloaded five
more pumpkins which the minister car
ried down to the cellar. One of them
rolled against a dry goods box upon
which the jar of ounce preserves were
standing. The jar slid off and rolled
over the stones, and most of the pre-
serves ran out on the ground. Deacon
Wiley came in next with some celery,
which he told the minister he had un-
derstood was excellent for building up
the nervous system. Mrs. Wiley had
brace of chickens already cooked, which
she said would do for the supper. Dea-
con Hiram Blodgett brought bushel of
Spitzenberg apples, and his eldest son,
a lad of Is, had bushel of black wal
nuts. Mrs. Blodgett had some raised
biscuits and a pan of seed cakes. Mrs.
Martha Richards brought a couple of fat
irons which were too heavy, she said, for
her use, and her daughter had made
handsome holder for taking the irons off
the stove when they were hot. Mrs
said her brother-in-law Michael
would bring some pumpkins and another
squash or two, and just then Mr.. Rich
ards arrived. When Mr.. Crawford car
ried the squash down to the cellar he
slipped upon the spilled preserves, and
in falling slightly sprained his wrist.
Mr.. Richards's wife had embroidered a
pair of slippers for the minister, which
were found to be too small. Her daugh-
ter had made a chintz-covered chair
cushion, stuffed with corn husks, and
this was too large for any chair in the
house.
The druggists wife had an electric
belt for the minister, which her hus-
band warranted to cure any liver trou-
BILE known. Other ladies brought va
rious good things for the supper, and
the gentlemen, when they arrived, had
also great variety of gifts. Among
them was a horsewhip, a sawbuck, a
cord of wood, which was dumped out in
the street for the minister to carry to the
woodshed; lot of seed corn tied to-
gether by the husks, peck of dried ap,
pies, fail which was recommended as
being unequaled for thrashing out beans,
two homemade bootiaeks, curry comb
and brush, a pounding barrel" for
washing clothes and FOUNDER, a gallon
of soft soap, and some more pumpkins.
Some of the ladies brought strips of rag
carpet, some of which were more or less
worn, and one of them had a dozen balls
of carpet rags and some five pounds of
warp. There were also some newspa-
pers with scolloped edges, which were
suitable for pantry shelves.
But the most striking gift of all was
that of Deacon Thomas Jeffers. 1t was
after dark when the Deacon arrived and
the house was crowded. Mr.. Crawford
heard him shouting out in the street
and went out bareheaded. The Deacon
was holding the reins to his team with
one hand and rope attached to COW
with the other.
''There, Elder" said the Deacon,
"there's COW brought you. She's
an awful good COW; been in our family
more than 20 years. My father gave
her TO me when 1 was married. She's
farrow and don't give any milk, but
she's an awful good cow"
"I'm very much obliged, I'm cure,
Deacon" said Mr.. Crawford. Then he
took the rope and, wading through the
snow. led the COW around to the wood
she'd and tied her up there. The Pastor
hardly knew what to do with the COW,
which had but one horn and seemed un-
commonly vicious for one of her age and
good bringing up. The supper was a
great success. There were several little
articles such as eggs and spices wanting
among the gifts, but these Mrs. Craw-
ford supplied from her own store. After
supper the Spitzenberg apples were
eaten and SO were the black walnuts.
The Pastor and his wife were very tired
when their party was over, and went
lirectly to bed. When they arose in
The morning, they found their dry wood
had all been burned up the night before
in an effort to keep the house warm.
now had fallen and after the wood
which lay in the street had been cut up
by the minister, it was found difficult tC
make it burn. The COW manifested g
desire for something to eat by frequent
appalling sounds, and the minister, aftei
trying her with the dried apples which
she rejected, meanwhile endeavoring tc
hook him with her one horn, gave her 9
couple OF the twenty-odd pumpkins in the
cellar. Every article of cooked food in
the house was gone, and the stores were
closed. The brown sugar still remained
and there were the winter sduashes anC
all the articles which could not be eaten