The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-09-12
HARRIET HUFF's LAST CARPET.

The clothes-line, stretched from the
June apple tree to the mulberry tree, ,and
on to the great oxheart cherry tree IN
Mrs. Gideon Huff's back yard, had for
several days fliunled strips of bright
green, orange yellow and dark crimson
cotton, newly dyed.
On Monday there appeared several
yards of pale blue, and on Tuesday
strip of bright red. When Mrs, Huff
hung the last strip on the line, she
stepped back with her bare, round, red
arms akimbo, nodded her pink sunbon-
ne' ed head to and fro III an approving
manner, and said
"Weli, I've mad good luck with ev'ry
single piece. If I'd made the aniline dye
Ieetle mite darker, iI'd mebbe looked
better along with the green an yeller in
the twisted stripe | callate OF having,
but iL'll Look mighty purity as lis. l
must git my logwood an copperas ready
for he rest Of my rsgs,an' get 'em ready
for the ragsewin' Friday, for they've got
to 90 TO the weaver a-Sattaday."
Mrs. Hutf's rag carpets had taken the
first premium at the county fair every
autumn for three years, and she was
laying her plans again this year to cap
prize. She had way Of getting up
"twIs' ed stripes" and c1loring and
warp;ng the chain, that no one could
initiate. Her neighGors often said that
they would rail her have ore Of Harriet
Hutf's stripped rag carpets tn n two
ply ngrain. She made great point Of
having her rags cut very fine, and some
times lay awake ut night planning some
thing new in the way of "hit-an'-niiss
tllin'."
"She cuts up our duds for carpet rags
fore we've half worn 'em out SAID Mr..
Gideon Huff, a little irritably. "When
woman gifts to maxim Tag carpets, a
man's red flannins aint safe minute,
unless he puts 'em in the bank in his
own name an my blue overalls gin'rally
20 into ball of carpet rags fore I've
wore 'em dozen times"
The carpet Mrs. Huff was now making
was to eclipse all her former efforts. She
had actually dreamed Of something new
in twisted s,ripes, and had risen in the
middle of the night to make fast and
safe in the dream-sent idea by winding
the colors in the right order around a
strip of pasteboard. Then she went
back to bed, saying TO herself I:
"Now, if l could only dream of some
thing new in film" ..
But such a dream did not come, al
though she was a great dreamer, and
stoutly maintained that she often
dreamed out things" and that her
dreams came true. Being thus firm
believer in dreams by overlooking her
stomach at night. ...
IF eat an ordinary light supper" /"
che said, II don't dream much; but il
eat pickles and cheese and cake, and q
lot Of stuff of that kind, i dream a sight
which was no doubt true. r.. .,..-..
She "made rsg-sewin' that week to
finish up ber hit-and.miss rags, but the
rags for that wonderful stripe were all
10 be sewed with her own hands. Eight
or ten of her neighbors came to the
.'rag-sewin'." Each Of them brought
her needle and thimble, and sewed car
pet rags and laughed and gossiped in the
most agreeable way all the afternoon,
and in the evening their husbands came
to supper. -.-.- .-.-.-- ...--
Not even to these ladies did Mrs. Huff
disclose the pattern Of her dreamed
out" stripe, although she informed them
that that they could confidently expect
to see such rag carpet as they'd never
before seen, when the fair opened two
weeks later. ....l.t... ....- ...
Her household duties occupied her
time more chan usual at that season of
the year 80 that she could sew only at
night, and each night she sat up until
very late sewing on the green and GRIM
son and yellow ami blue and black and
white rags for the stripe in her carpet.
It was after midnight on Friday when
the last ball was sewed and wound and
weighed ,and ready to go to the weaver's
on the morrow. .....a
"The stripe can't be improved on
Jest know" said Mrs. Huff, as she put
the rags away in stout grain bags, and
tied them up. "But can't decide Just
how to have the colors in the chain
warped, or whether to have the light
and dark rags all mixed up, or sep'rate
| in the hit-an miss part. do wonder II
/ can't dream it out tonight Pm all
tired out, and l dream best when Pm
that way. Mebbe il eat big piece of
gooseberry pie and piece OF cheese
Tore go TO bed, I'll dream something
uncommon.
81 read the other day OF great poet
who wrote half a poem, and couldn't
finish it to suit him, and he went to bed
and dreamed the other half all out as
plain as day, and got up in his night
gown and finished up. I'm sure IL
person could dream out a fine poem, I'd
ought 10 be able TO dream out common
rag carpet pattern"
Thus reasoning TO herself Mrs. Huff
ate her pie and cheese and went to bed,
and, being very tired, soon dropped
asleep.
She was sleeping heavily when her
husband called her in the morning. Her
first words when she arose were ::
"Well. it didn't doany good. didn't
dream anything about that carpet, al
though l did dream Of forty other
things. must hurry up my work and
have Gideon take me and the rags over
to the Widow Wattss, and see myself
that she understands just how that car
pets got TO be wove." "'''
But when, two hours later, she went
into her little sewing room to get her
rags and chain they were not to be
found.
Gideon" she called to her hushand,
who was putting the horses To the light
wagon in the barnyard, "have you car
ried them rags out 10 the wagon p lil
"No," called back Mr., Huff; 81 ain't