The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1886-01-14
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Nanny's Doings.

| htr nnErr~ KEPT on III the work. While her eye
! looked at her husband, and her ears listened 70
what he had 10 say ''What is beating nater?
In the fust place, TO begin with, sech fami
| ly as Aaron Pettibone hed!'
Mrs. Comstock laughed that mellow, shak
| ing laugh, peculiar to very stout people, unit
the tiny Green globes dropping into the shinin!
| pan in her lap, danced Il merry JIG from shce
| sympathy. Upon the occasion Of each success
| >iye birth in the Pettihone family, Uncle Eph
RAIN had made the same remark; it had moth
in Of novelty for his wife. yet She laughed.
"Well. Eve hearn you say that afore, Eph
raim'
"Wal. il i true enough to be said again,
was the reioinder. lit is Il terrible family
seven ON 'eln, and all gals; and not boy t(
| kinder keep the name when Aaron is gone, a.
| he is now, poor man. Time was when the Pet
tlbones was as prosperous as any family in til,
county. | do say it goes agin mater, Betsey, ant
| You can jest laugh, ef you want to-
| Bet>cy smiled into her pan of peas.
Il am thinking some of them Pettibone gal,
| won't hey great sight of trouble about keep
ing the nalne,H She said.
'Wal, whatever they are going to do is more
| than | know continued Mr.. Comstock mcd
tatively Snapping pea pod, and shelling it,
contents into his capacious mouth. They hey
got the house >cch a. it is, and half an acre OF
| ground: but thai won't feed and cothe seven
on 'rnl-all gals, Now ef there was a boy -
(which there amt" Interrupted Mrs. Com
stock. land mebbc it i Il good lining. Only sons
amt mostly dependcnce being too fond OF
Themselves.
Meanwhile, in the small, o-cplorcd dwelling
which with the small half acre Of land, com
pri>ed Aaron Pettbonc's sole legacy to lii
daughters, the seven Misses Pctthonc We're dis
cll>sing ways and means: though to be sure
there Wa> very little choice Of ways. and nc
means to speak of. They We're all alone i'll the
world now, since the death Of their father a
fortnight before, the mother having died ycal
or more previously. Each one of them Wore =;
Tiny knot Of Grape in her hair.
We haven't ANY money, 80 we cannot afford
to buy mourning. Nanny, the fifth Miss Petit.
bone, had explained TO Mrs. Deacon Parmalee
"A neighbor. "'rhere are so many of us, you
know; and am not sure papa would have de-
sired it, anyway, perhaps it is just as well'
But it was her own idca-the wearing OF
| these badges of black--whch seemed to give
some outward recognition of their bcreave-
mcnt. and the others fell in with her.
They were assembled in the >tting-room, thai
>unshiny, summer day. 1t was small room
and very property, Since the furniture. being OF
the most meagre description, might have been
quite lost in Il larger apartment. But the cur
| tains, the metanorphosiS Of a muslin gown
| ancientIy belonging to Miss Abigail, the eldest
of the seven, blew airily out from the windows
in at which the climbing roses peeped; the lit
tie old-faShioned fire place was filled with
branches Of evergreen, held up by pair Of
brass andirons polished to resplendency; and
there We're various dainty devices formed of
pressed fern and autumn leaves together with
4 great many co>t-nothings, (else they would
scarcely have found a place there,) feminine
nick-nackS- disposed about the room, really re-
deeming it from the poor, comfortless appear
ance which it must otherwise have presented
There had been a silence of some minutes
following Miss Abigail's declaration that,
something must be DONE
IT was broken presently by the youngest OF
the family, bright little maiden in the first OF
her teens, with a very decided talent for music
''If-if papas salary could 90 on, we might
DO just a, we have
My dear Bessie" said Angelina, with the
not unusual touch of sarcasm in her tones, ''do
be sensible. There is no if in the matter"
Angelina was the second Miss Pettbonc, and
She had long since turned the first cold maids
corner Bessie expressed herself. She stood
beside Abigail, now. Abigail was short and
brown, with snapping black eyes, and hair in
which threads of gray We're beginning to show
Angelina was tall and blonde. with certain
thinness of form and voice which gave fair
promise of sharpening into anguarity and sour
ness.
Bes>ie's brow contracted, and there were
| signs Of an approaching storm. Nanny put al
arm around her
Never mind, baby" she whispered, and
just then Miss Abigail cleared her throat tc
speak.
Deacon Parmalec has offered me the school
at -Four Corners for year, she said. ''The
salary is very small | can manage nicely fol
| myself but ~"
''lou can't help support the rest of us" said
Angelina. with no small degree of acerbity
| "We. it is each one for himself, as the chill.
dren say. And | shall marry Mr. Briggs"
For an instant there was a shocked silence
like the lul which always precedcs the tempest
and then the chorus of cNpostulations began:
"Oh, Angie"
''That old widower!'
''And those six childrenr'
81 wouldn't, Angena.' said the eldest sis.
ter, shortly.
'HNo, | presume not" retorted Angelina
''Nether would certain quasi-historical per
| sonage, commonly denomnated Jack, partakt
of his evening meal, Abbie'
| Miss Abigail, though she reddened, smiled
| little contemptuously
''Well, you must please yourself" she said
eve must all do what we think for the best ,
| "1es,' Gertrude, the third sister, tall
| dark-haircd girl of twenty-four years, broke
| in, land Bertha and | have spoken of going
| down TO Scovill Mr.. Howe has advertised fol
| girls to sew on pants and coats. He gives three
dollars week, at first, and we thought, Bertha
and / that we could hire a room and get along
| on that until we could do something better. We
| used to see Mrs. Howe, you know. She was
Marie Illsley. And Bertha .
| Bertha spoke then. She, too, was tall and
| slender, and dark-haired; and she was Ger
trude's junior by three years.
| thoupht--I think I will trv .utbnrah;,>
| writing Tor the papers, she said. 81 am sure
| | would like it,"
81 hope you may succeed" said Miss Abigail
but with an expression of doubt in look anc
tone. She was not interested in literary pur
suits, herself; the school at Four Corners woulC
| require little beyond a general knowledge Of
the three RS. Then she cleared her throat
again. II am sure we might do very well fol
| ourselves, but there are Nan and Bessie-and
| Jeanette"
! There was pause-a painfully long silence