The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1889-07-04
PACKARD'S CARPET.
ny MARY c. HuNGERFoRp.

as "Priest Packard" lived in rough
border community, where religion was
80 highly disapproved of by the leading
spirits, that to profess it was to become
in most instances target for abuse. II,
was giant in size and strength, and hi;
prowess and bravery had won admiration
for himself, and, as II personal comph'
ment, some sighting liberation for the
doctrine he taught in his earnest, inlet
tered fashion.
His great age left his muscular Chris,
tianity simply matter of tradition, and
now he and his daughters were kept from
starving, chiefly by yearly pittance sent
them from humane society in the East.
Within large, cherries room, which
was the principal one in the barn-like
house they occupied, sat the pair of ell.
derly women, inaptly called by their IA
ther, "the girls" Idle moments were
rare with them, but some engrossing mat,
ter had made one turn from the dande-
lion greens she was washing, and i'm
PEELED the other to drop the shoe to
which she was attaching clumsy patch.
at seems a pint of duty for us to
write to brother Nathan's child" Lucin-
ds, the elder sister was saying.
"There 'aint been ink enough in the
house to drown q fly, sense father took
the shaking palsy" was Minerals an
swer; San eff there was, neither one of
us could write letter fit to go into a
public postoffice.
~ don't see," said the other sister,
fretfully, "what answer we could give,
anyway" 49,
"Well, settlin' on the answer don't
b'long to us; it's for father to say" said
Minerva, nodding her head sidewise to-
ward wooden rocking chair where
''Priest Packard" sat, with a pillow at
his shoulders, a pathetic figure, with his
long, attenuated frame and poor, worn
out clothes, which, in immaculate clean
ness and profuse decoration of darns and
patches, testified to his daughters care.
The soft June wind, coming in flower
scented from a window beside him, waved
the white locks lying on his thin temples.
One shaking hand lay helpless on the arm
chair; the other held loose grasp of re-
motely dated religious weekly. His blue
eyes, clear and bright, in spite of their
crape-like setting of wrinkles, were alb
sently turned to the cloudless sky. His
ears, only open to loud sounds, were closed
to the women's low talk, and he was say
ing softly to himself, again and again,
the line; "Must l be kerrled to the skies
on fowery beds of easel"
"No, no." he calculated at last, in
louder tones, turning toward the "girls. "
"Tain't fittin' fur private like me to
banker fur better things than the great
Cap'n he'd when He was Oh airth."
"What is it now, fathcr2"
ooh, the same old story. When I'd
oughter be praisin' God fur His goodness,
my mind wanders off to that carpet"
"Lor, father, can't you quit yearnin'
fur a carpet9"
eyes," contritely. ga body would
think tibet arter livin' twenty year on
stomped airth floors, an then gettin' SO
fine as to hev regular built plankin' floor
fur twenty year, I might furget Their ever
wu1 carpet"
'I'm sure I've forgot ever seem any
that Belonged to any O. my folks" said
Minerva.
"You was too little ter take notice,
but we always had 'em fore we moved
out this way. l often think of what yer
ma gev up to merry apoor circuit preach
or. En- when the call come for missioners
to carry on the work here, when 'twuz
wuss even than It's now, cause our lives
warnt scursely safe, she jes rose an
obeyed the call, en- lef' her fathers COM
Portable farmhouse in Yarmouth, where
we'd gone on Twin arter we wuz merried,
en- where you en- your brother wuz born.
Every floor in that house was carpeted,
an the best parlor where we was merried,
mad one on 1t tibet wuz jes alive with
big, red roses as large round as bar'l
head, an ground greener'n grass. No,
your ma never spent her time complain
in, but l guess she rely broke her heart
in dumb kline er way over her Oldest
our only boy, that we left with his gram
ma"
"An' she never seen him again." said
Lucinda, leading up to some news she
wished to impart
mo-" shaking his head sadly; 1--WE
never see our frst-born again, though he
hved to be man growed up and merried,
lore ne wuz SWEEP away to jine his
mother"
"Brother Nathan left widder en- child,
you know, pursued his daughter, getting
nearer the subject.
eyes; we got the news in letter.
Poor Nathan, he"
"Well, pa, there's another letter come,
an there's more news; the widder's
deadl"
The old man looked surprised; hardly
grlef-stricken; for he had never seen his
sons wife. "All gone" he said, softly,
them strong young folks, an I'm left
cum'brin' the ground
'They amt all gone" said Minerva /;
'there's child left
"Nathan's boyl" exclaimed her father,
joyfully. "But who's to look after him
now2"
'Taint boy; it's girl; and there's
been some encouragement of the prop
erty, an she's left without cent, an
she wants to come here TO lis. The doc
tor that tended her mother, free of
charge, is going to pay her way eff wen
take her."
"Of course we'll take her, AN be glad, y
said her father. ''But she'll find it kline
er roughish here. visit we could "a
made out to get a carpet fore she come. u
~ don't see how we're goin' to take
care OF her, anyway" said Minerva, sor-
rowfully. 'There's times when it seems
like we'd starve ourselves, en- / don't
know how we're goin' to fill another
mouth. Even with the Christmas bari
comm every year from that church in the
East, we hev a turrible squeeze gettin
along with the 'lowance from the Super
animated Ministers Fund Eff 'twarn't
fer Cindy's garden we'd die in our
tracks"
"But we couldn't refuse to take the
child in-our own flesh an blood" said
her father, pleadingly.
They could not indeed refuse. poor
though they were, the women agreed and