The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-06-06
How the JOneses Went to Church.

BY a. NJ. 5.
1t was bright and lovely Sunday
morning-just bright enough and warm
enough-and the air was full of the per-
fume of flowers and the subdued noises
of quiet country life. Happy, well
dressed children found it hard to walk
soberly to church amid so much life
and beauty. The Joneses were late to
church that morning. They were very
apt to be late. Mrs. Jones said it was
because he did not get up in decent sea-
son Sunday morning. Mr.. Jones did
not say much about it. They did not
have breakfast as early as on week
DAYS, but for all that the children were
not half-dressed when they sat down to
it. Mamie, the eldest, was fourteen
and wore bangs, which she kept in
crimping-pins till the last moment.
They looked like horns and were not
ornamental. Her best boots were
minus some of the buttons, and so she
came limping in, with the tops flying,
and began to find fault because she
could find no buttons to sew on. Mrs.
Jones asked her why she did not sew
them on before and not wait for Sun
day, and what had become of the sew
eral dozens of spare buttons. Just
then Tommy and Susie came in and
were in hurry to be helped to their
breakfast The family were all in a
hurry this beautiful morning, and yet
could hardly have told why, unless it
was because they did not get ready for
Sunday beforehand. After breakfast
a chapter was read in the Bible and a
short prayer was offered by Mr.. Jones,
during which Mamie was feeling over
the contents of her pocket in search of
buttons and the two younger ones were
watching her to see what she was try
ing to find. Then the dishes were hur-
ried into the sink and Mamie was told
TO hurry up and dress herself and help
the children. Tommy slipped off to
see if his new mill-pond was all right
and was only found at the last minute.
Susie refused to be helped, so Mamie
sewed the buttons on her boots, ar
ranged her bangs in several different
styles and finished a story she had
commenced to read in fifty-cent-a-year
paper. Then Mr.. Jones wanted to
know where his clean shirt was, al
though he had seen it taken from the
same drawer every week for sixteen
years. Mrs. Jones could not find her
parasol and was asked why she did not
keep it where she could find it. Then
Susie could not find her gloves, al.
though she declared she laid them on a
chair only minute before, and after all
the family had hunted for them she
found them in her pocket. After they
had all got out of doors Tommy found
he had left his Sunday-school book be-
hind and Mrs. Jones declared she must
have wrap, as it was colder than she
supposed, and Mrs. Dea. Brown haG
just gone past wearing velvet mantle
So the door was unlocked and while
she and Tommy went back the rest
walked on slowly towards the church
When the Jones family reached the
church she had walked so fast to catcl
up that between that and the velve
wrap she was in fine perspiration
and her face was as red as a beet
They were late and as they went il
everybody looked around, although nj
one expected to see any thing unusual
The minister glanced aside at them il
a patient, long-suffering way he had
AS they walked home after meeting
Mrs. Jones declared Sunday was thu
most tiresome day of the week ant
Tommy and Susie said they wished
they lived where there wasn't any Sun
day. Mr.. Jones said he thought the,
came pretty near it as it was.