The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1886-08-11

had not been too easy for Rilla. She held
it a movable festival, like rose day, and
no one will ever guage the degree Of sat
isfaction she felt in halng her flower
wreathed sister up to the vile-smiling
caldron to keep the stirrer going while
she set about other duties. Rilla honored
pioneer custom and her grandmothers
memory by performing her soap incanta-
tions in the oldest, mouldiest, most COM
pletely shattered garment she possessed.
This was red wool delaine, so abased
from its ruby tone that the drippings of
the lye gourd could find little remaining
space to burn or spot.
They boiled soap in huge iron kettle
in the chip yard. The blue wood smoke
would envelope Rilla and her tarnished
tatters as she ladled and tested, until she
looked witch-like to passers along the
road. Her unhappy victim, the slim
woman in gray, with a rope of roses
wound spirally around her from head to
foot, a burden of roses on her bosom, and
roses studded thickly along the band of
her hat, sat on the corded wood as far as
Rilla would allow from the soap, alter
nately inhaling their odor and rejecting
the alkali steam. If Infant had to stir
the soap, she would have a long-handled
stirrer. The hot sum- beating on the chip
yard and her huge hat, smote also the
roses, and amidst their dying fragrance
she had sad thoughts on the disappoint-
ments of life. SO there was nothing but
the morning of rose day which Rilla did
not spoil.
But this fiftieth anniversary Infant felt
sudden uplifting of courage within her
self when her twin announced the soap
orgy.
"My soap-boiling will not come any
more on rose day." she put forth,
strongly. ''And l think will pay Enos
Robb's wife to make up my share of the
fat and lye after this, Rilla."
81 would" said Rilla, sarcasticallY,
particularly as Enos Robb and his wife
and children don't batten on us already.
Give them the piano and the best parlor
chairs and the solid coffee service while
you are about it."
"Why, Rilla, 1 didn't propose to give
her my share of the soap. But it would
be cheaply got rid of that way. Yes"
exclaimed Infant, with sudden reckless
ness, 81 would rather buy soap, and pay
out money to have this dirty stuff carted
off, than ever smell it again while / live.
Let US make new rule, and give our fat
and ashes to the Robbs. They have
farmed for us ever since father died, !"
Infant pleaded, "and whatever you say,
Rilla, know you have the greatest con-
tidence in them"
"The poor house wagon is never going
to call for me, " said Rilla, decidedly.
G,o /,
kettle, while ] carry some more water to
pour on the ash hopper. That lye is
strong enough to bear up settingof eggs,
but we may need some more a little
weaker"
"Rilla, l am as firm as the ash hopper
itself. You can't shake me any better
than you could our brick smoke-house
won't help make any more soap-espe-
cially on rose day." added Infant to her
self. 81 don't see any sense in it"
"But you can see sense in spelling
dozens of good roses to load yourself up
with like mad Ophclia. You feel
above all the associations of wash day,
though the Princess Nausicaa didn't"
ooh, Rilla, don't feel above anything.
l merely feel under that soap kettle, and
as if it would crush my soul out, as the
shields crushed Tarpeia, if didn't throw
it off"
"Well, am going to make soap" said
Rilla, whitening with intense disapproval
of the liberty her twin proposed to
grasp. "You are not a minor, and if
you were, Pm not your guardian. But
if you propose to go to yourself and leave
me to myself, we both know what be-
longs to US, and it is easily done"
This time-worn hint, which in her girl
hood used to startle and distress Infant
so much, made but the slightest impress
sion on her hearing now, as she leaned
over the veranda railing to look at the
roses. There were such abundant stacks
of them: she might cut and pile them
into a pyramid almost as tall as herself.
Such smooth, sweet tea-roses, such Grim
son velvet-petaled Jacqueminots, blush
and white so fragrant you would be will
ing to drown yourself in a sea of their
scent; yellow roses piercingly delight
full, Prairie Queens creeping all over the
front of the house, old hundred -leaved
varieties, having always in their depths a
reminder of grandmother's chests and
long, long past days. There were eight
cen distinct families of roses, each fam
lily mighty tribe, marshaled before In
fant on lawn and dewy stretch of garden.
1t was rose day She would not let her
self think of anything else.
Rilla would not come to the embow-
cred dinner table which Infant prepared
so carefully, and to which she called her
sister exactly as the clock struck -.
Rilla turned her back on Infants sew
eral approaches, and dipped lye with a
savagely noisy gourd to quench Infants
voice Slugs and ants in the roses, and
even mildew, were no drawback at all to
rose day compared to Rilla. Habits of
endurance become proof armor to ones
sensibiities in the course of life, how
ever; so Infant wandered off and alb
sorb d the beauty of that day almost as
completely as if she did so with Rillas
approval. There was a tremulous heat
over the meadows. The huge and
strictly tended garden was a world by