The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1886-04-07
INTERESTING STORY.
AUNT ABBY'S PATCHWORK

!" Our folks amt littery, s'pose," said
Miss Abby, an that's the reason hev so
much trouble"
Miss Abby was right. The Hopknses
were not literary family. There was q
quarto edition of Shakespeare, family
Bible, +" Complete Physician, and care
fully preserved file of the weekly news
paper, kept ON tae table in the best room,
but, as a general thing, the Hopkinses
neither read nor wrote. They had not been
brought up to it. There was the squire, a
rotund, rubicund parsonage, who was much
given to going about in his shirt sleeves,
and to smoking comfortable pipes on his
back porch there was Mrs. Hopkins, who
was great on picking and preserving, and
had on her tongues end certain cure for
all the neighborhood ills; there was Lefty,
whose pink cheeks and bronze brown hair
awoke the admiration of every young man
in circuit for ten RIFLES around and there
was Elihu, sturdy, black-browed young
man, who was already beginning to disturb
his fathers conservative mind by hints as
to steam plows, patent reapers, and progress
siye farm machinery Of every sort.
" What's good enough for your grand
fathers good enough for me-" said the
squire.
:" But the world moves, father" said
Eiihu.
That amt no reason that / should move,
too" said Squire Hopkins, settling back on
the hind legs of his chair and looking
around for light for his pipe.
And Miss Abby Hopkins, the maiden
aunt of the family, had devoted oil her life's
energies to the manufacture of silk bed
quilt in pieces of velvet, satin, brocade.
rich stuffs of every imaginable hue and pat
tern, cot into tiny octagons, each one
stretched over piece of stiff writing paper,
and fastened with almost invisible stitches
to its neighbor. And II was O. the extreme
difficulty of finding foundations for the
same that Miss Abby planned her little
plant.
Betsy Ann Meacham made hern entirely
outen the parsons old sermon-papers," said
she. " I've often thought what sight of
theology there must hev been back o. that
there quilt. And Mrs. DIR. Parsons, she cut
up all her daughter Almiras school compo-
sitions. But our Lefty, she never was much
ON compositions and it's all can do to
lind an old envelope or a piece o. paper
with Elihu's calculations on the back on ~
And Miss Abby, whose sight was failing
fast, peered here and there like jaclsal in
search Of food for it was the highest ambi-
ton OF her heart to finish the silk bed-qult
in time TO exhibit il at the county fair in
September.
Consequently when she came across an
unsealed letter on the bureau in Lettys
room, she bounced upon it with delight.
' It's been read or II would be sealed up"
she said 10 herself land 1t amt wuth
while for me to wait till Lefty comes home
from the picnic to ask about it. If I don't
get this ere quilt done it II be fair time be.
fore know it,"
And straightway Auas Abby's big steel
shears sealed the doom OF the letter, and
without loss of time il formed a background
for velvet and silken octagons.
Scarcely week aftsi words, however, abe
was stitching diligently at her window,
when the voice Of Howard Perth, the young
doctor, fell upon her ear, as he talked to
Elihu Hopkins.
+" It's no use, said he. 81 told you so,
Hopkins. She don't care for me. She
never will"
How can you tell whether she does or
not until you ask her ?" said Elihu. Now,
Perth, don't be fool"
az have asked her wrote her letter,
only few days ago, in which told her all.
And she hasn't seen fit to take any notice
whatsoever Of IT,"
Elihu whistled a low whistle.
Perhaps" said he, " she never got it,"
"She did, for it was placed on her bu-
reau. And 1t was taken away, and il must
have been read ~
I'm sure, PERTH" said Elihu, "there
must be some mistake"
"There isl" said Perth, moodily.
There was a great mistake when suppos.
ed your sister could ever care for strug-
Cling young doctor like me! !"
viii you let me speak to her about it ?"
Not for the world" cried Perth.
g Promise me, Elihu, that my unlucky Sc
cret shall be buried in your own heart
Promise me, upon your word of honori"
And then the voices receded further down
the grayeled path, while Aunt Abby sat
aghast
"oh, law!" groaned the unhappy spin
ster. "Whst be Igoin' to do' What will
Lefty say And I've cut it all mp and
stitched il under the velvet bits, because it
was such good stiff paper Well, there amt
but one thing TO do, an that ID TO make a
clean breast ON T. I'll go to Lefty, the very
first thing she comes back from Lizzie
Whites tea party, and tell her the hull story
from A to r."
With thi audable resolve, Aunt Abby
started mp thu minute she heard Letty's
light feotstep on the stone doorstep below,
but, fastening down, she caught her foot in
worn place on the carpeted landing, and
fell headlong d ,wn the stairs.
Aunt Abby was neither young nor light.
Az her age and avoirdupois fall signifed
no light matter. She was taken up senseltss
and carried to the best room bed, firm
which she never rose. Oaly oncs during the
twenty-four hours, during which the spark
of life fingered in her bosom, did she evince
any signs of intelligence, aud that was VII N
Lefty was bathing b r forehead in s. emit d
waters
Lefty" she said, family; Lefty, Is
that your didn't mean to do II, Lefty"
Hush, dear Aunt Abby" gently soothed
the girl, who had loves magnetism at the
end Of every one of her slim young fingers.
81 The silk quilt, faltered Aunt Abby
:" it is there! It's in the silk quilt You
must take ii, and-and-"
Then she stopped. A Aim came over her
eyes-the lids dropped.
" Hush ~ said DIR. Perth, authoritatively.
I" Don't let her talk any more now. II she
can sleep"
Lefty looked up at him, with large, visit
full eyes. In her estimation, Howard Perth
was like q strong young archangel, who