Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-06-11
THE AUCTION SALE.
Lucy Randall Comfort in H.rper's Barsr.I


relief the little brook had burst its thick
crust Of ice and sang merriiy under the
velvet fringes of the pussy willows. and
NJ from the woods there came an indie
sCribable odOr of spring. A red Tag
rolled up and tied around its stick by a
hemp string lay Just inside the door
yard when Mrs Grigson came in with
the last pail Of water that she should ever
draw from the old well She sighed as
she filled the squat copper kettle and
hung ii over the ire.
The auction sale is TO be to omOrrow. :"
said she, and never was so glad of
ANYTHING in all nv born days Sech u
time aS I've had Cleanin up and sCrubbin
down and scourin and polishin' There
ain a bone in my body but aches.
II all time and trouble thrown away,
sepulChrall ob,crved Miss KetChum.
who had dropped in on her way from the
store. the old traps won't sell for siN
IenCe apiece YOU see if they dn
but the things amt no use 10 me y"
said Mrs. Grigson. and | need little
money 80 awful bad As for the poor
luck / We had. right straight through
there amt no Calculatiu' il IF was 10
tell YOU Martha ketChum, you wouldn t
believe it Even down 10 my last gold
dollar"
~Eh?" said Miss Ketchum Being of a
melancholy lurn. she liked to hear sad re
Citals a though personally her sympsthies
were enlisted on the Widow Grigson side,
Why. it was last week said Mrs.
Grigson. in the level complaining tone
shat ways reminded you of the little
brook down in the hollow. Brother Ly
man left his little Brazil monkey here
overnight. lie was a CalCulatin 10 sell it
% Mrs artrey little boy, John Henry
And cf You'll believe me the mis- able
critter swallcrcd the gold dollar I'd left on
my bureau to pay the meat peddlcr with.
and dropped my silver specs down the
we'll
- a said Miss Ketchum
y seen him champin it between his
laws, said Mrs Grigson. and shake and
squc" him as | would. | couldn't get it
out If him
We'll, l never did" remarked the
guest
1t did seem as if that was the last
straw that broke the camels back,
sighed Mrs Grigson brother Lyman
he was dreadful consarned about il, but
he couldn't do nothin for me. He offered
10 kill the mon ,ey. but | knOwed how
disappointed John Henry Gartney would
tt, itu. dllti Ill. lht NliNkSi idA OhiN
acted accurdin TO his natur, and they was
to pay Brother Lyman 81 80 for him
As for the specs, Brother Lyman tisheG
EN- up with long pole with II crooked
hin hitChrd on 10 the end ont The
glasses was broke but the frames is good
vet I'm Calkiiatin 10 get EN- mended
when
Wonder how much the feather beds
II 60 for" said Miss X etchum. breaking
in OF the monotOrous refrain
There amt no tellin said Mrs Grig
son. They re dreadful old. Aunt Nit
table she d KEEP house for forty year, and
never had nothin new | don spOSe an
auction sale will paw. but what else could
| do with all the old duds. Squire Dag
gett wants possession of the place al once
and
Amt gwine 10 sell these ere house
plants. be ye?" said Miss ketchum. nod
ding toward a green painted stand in the
corner
"Rrother Lyman thought they might
fetch few cents. said Mrs. GrigsOn
And the stand ought TO be worth a quar-
ter Of dollar. 1t had new coat Of
paint year ago | give one JrusaeR
cherry tree 10 Abigail Barton for hclpiD
me 10 clean out Old cupboards She's
been dreadful neighborly. and she
wouldn't take penny for what she did
More fool she Curtly observed Miss
Kctchum I'D like that thar monthly
rose with the striped blooms on it "
1t is pretty. said Mrs Grigson. ignor
ing the bread hint And guess it'll
sell chcal Id like some friend to hev
it. for tie slip it growed from was give
me by r.Eson the very first year We wa>
married
And as she was not invited to stav TO
tea. Miss netchum at last went away
leaving Mrs Grigson sitting SorrOwfully
before the fire of discarded barrel slaves
ruinOus IaCking boxes. ancient chair les.
ami wooden stools which had absolutely
refused TO be made capable Of further
service. Aunt Mittable which namt
was pcrversion of the good old
New England prpnomen VI liable
lind been all the moth she
had known, and it seemed resome
enough 10 lie sitting there in the empty
house with Aunt Mittabe tucked away in
a conner OF the frozen church ward. Her
husband was dead. and her three little
chidren were struggling up in the world
as best they could : he had had a posi-
tion as anilress in public school. but
she had lost il when she came to Mullen
ia: IN to nurse Aunt Mittahle in her last
illness and now she scarcely knew which
way to turn. Brother Lyman. her only
living relati, e. was poorer than herself
a good-hearted. empty pocketed man.
who occupied some position on a sailing
vessel which piled between Boston and
the Azores islands There was a mort
gage on he place which had swallowed
up all aspirations in the direction of sell
IN, opI hrs Erip Faintl.. hAn.l
that the auction sale might help to pay
the expenses of her old aunts burial
Otherwise she did not 10 Use her own ex
preston. see her way clear.
Mrs Grigsun was not a sentlmentslist
anitress in a public school building
with forctinger roughened by the Coarsesl
needle work and mind narrowed down
by the daily tread mill Of the most grow
cling cares has not much time for that
sort of indulgence but a. she sat there
drinking an infusion OF the weakest tea
and watching the yellow March moon
light lay the perfect pattern OF the unCur
tanned window on the ,arpetle,s floor
while the barrel slaves smOuldered int
carminc- tinted ashes she could but re
member the DAYS when she had hoped for
such different life
Il was a gal then" thought Mrs
GrgsOn. II didn't seem As if there was
anything impossible. Well. well. pose
most folks are dsapp Jest as bad a.
be. ef they live long enough
And then the poor widow went TO bed
to keep warm, aud all night long tb,
yellow moonlight flooded the solitary
room where Aunt Mittable had died ant
n solitary cricket sang on the hearth stonC
where the red ashes had 10. < since fadeC
into white dust
Il.
The morrow dawncd wild. bright. anu
windy. as March mornings often come
rushing over the black onnecticut hill
Crests The auctioneer arrived in a one
horse buggy from the vii aye the neigh
bors assembled from all points of thu
compass. For in feltvilIe -Four orner,
people entertained the same sentimen
toward an auction sale as New orker.
fee! toward a private view Of the academ'
of design OF a flower show at ths MadI |