The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-12-06
THE GOLDEN TABLE.

1t was in the summer of 1925, in an out
OF the way cottage in a lonely New Eng
land town, that one might have heard the
| following conversation:
i tell sc what, mum, I'm a-goin' to git
| out O. this. I'm tired o. boein' an a-plant-
| In an a-cuttin' stocks in the fall, an
| a-thrashin' the fail half the winter I'm
| a-goin' to Furnaceville TO 90 inter the fac
| try where l can be somebody You'd orter
! seen how the fellers from there looki They
was just drest to kill last Sunday, when
ketched 'em a-stealiH' apples over'n our
back orchard. Shiny caps an starched
shirts ev'ry one on 'eml Some on 'em earn
three an four, dollars week sides payin'
board, an they say they live like kings at
the fact'ry boardin' house"
wall, Joe, you hev spelt Mebbe there's
more n yer head than think, but land O.
massy, yeou don't talks eff there was.
You RS big fool as yer Uncle Glib. He
never mounted to shucks, only sot round
on the aige o. Little Pond an dreamed
o. how to git that ere gold table, an yer
dad an jest dug the meat Off n our bones
to feed you young uns an him. To think
yer dad an should 20 to work an hev a
fool in the fambly," and poor Mum Her
ring seized a pail of swill which she had
been scalding, and went out of the little
doorway to feed the pigs, whose pen was
but portion of the back yard fenced off
cornerwise by a short strip of rail fence.
JOSH Herring sat silent. What was It
about this gold table? Surely he had heard
it before. "Mum" was so mad with him
now for wishing to get away from home
that he knew she would tell him no more,
lest it should make him good for nothing,
as Uncle Glib. But if there was a gold
table there might not that oe better thing
to go in for than to go to the factory?
When mum" came back from the pig
pen Josi was missing. She snif1led and
said, "Gone to the fact'ry; he's no count
anyway"
But he had gone to Neighbor Sanders to
learn about that table.
At the home of Neighbor Sanders this
anomaly, an ambitious Herring, listened
to a strange tale
Ages and ages ago one of the historically
lazy, non-working Herring family had
been possessed by strong passion for
money, piles of money, earned easily and
quickly. A travelling pack man sought a
nights lodging at Herring's cabin, disap-
peared mysteriously, or so the neighbors
thought when they were not visited by
him they next morning as they expected
Not to see the contents of his pack was
of itself deep disappointment to these
simple people, who rarely saw a peddler
more frequently than thrice a year, and
surely never indulged in the luxury of
trading with more than one out of that
thrice.
Jake Herring had made great deal of
talk about the cheating scamp who, he as
serted, had risen early while the family
were sleeping and gone away without pay
ing for his supper and bed. Yet the neigh
bors whispered their doubts to each other.
and in few months the Herring family
were suspiciously well dressed They
talked of presents from hitherto unheard
of wealthy relatives. But the neighbors
talked of the missing peddlerl They be-
heved the fine clothes came from his pack.
and wondered if lit would ever come to
light"
Some years afterward one Of the more
ambitious farmers of this locality resolved
to rid certain field of its tangle of bar
berry bushes. Jake Herring was resting
peacefully in his grave, as far as any knew
But there were grave doubts in the neigh
bOrs' minds when Neighbor Rand, to his
horror, unearthed from beneath "A barberry
bush the skeleton of man and long,
leather shoulder strap, such as peddler5
used for carrying their packs.
Murder will out" cried all the town,
"and Jake did kill that peddler, and must
have used the strap to drag the body from
his house to the field. where he buried is
under the thorny barberry bush"
Then followed the tradition that curse
came then upon the Herrings that all
should remain poor, and wherever they
went a barberry bush should spring up,
even where none could ever be made TO
grow before, so that the whole world should
know the danger-.hat a Herring was near
But as to all crimes some atonement is
permitted, or some expiatory achievement
Is allowed to wipe out the sin. so in this
case had it in some way become known
that in Little's pond depths lay golden
table, and if this could be secured by the
industry and skill of some one, compara-
lively sinless, all the sins of his ancestors
might be atoned and the curse pronounced
upon even the third and fourth generation
might be removed.
No wonder that Glib Herring had pom
dered long how 70 obtain it. and whenever
he heard OF white bull calf born at some
neighbor's had tried TO purchase it. Ira
dition said, Twelve yoke of spotlessly |
white oxen attached TO a grapnel iron and |
driven through the pond by brave, indus !
triOus, pure Young man would bring 70 |
light the golden table and lift the curse of |
ancestral sins from his own and future |
Were he sinful or indus |
trious only in pretense then he and the |
oxen would sink in the, to that day, IN |
depths Of the pond; while the /
heavy grapnel iron would against all laws /
Of nature) float for seven DAYS as a warn /
ing 10 all that the sin Of hypocrisy would /
never be permitted to prosper or advance /
1ne in life
Where the cultured can scarcely shake /
Jf superstition it is rot strange that tn-
ignorant cling to L. Josi Herring went 4
home in deep thought; twenty-four white
oxen he knew must first be trained and in 1
ais possession, and he must 90 steadily TO
work He went out late At night, and find
ng luxurisnt baTbsTry bush he dug it
lP with quick, vigorous thznsts Of the
ipade and shovel. Then, with his heavy
Doots, ne trzHlpled IL under foot, crushing
he blood husd berries At erery stamp Of
lis heavy, cuwhide number mines; then |
IDseiing down beside the gTayelike exca-
TRtion he had made ne sc.smniy vowed, |
WITH the moon for witness, thEt he would
49, rv7s slit - i-5Ss@ssS7 c~t- slsE s-.-5
able
Years were sP mt in the search, years of
laFd iabor, frSi on one farm, and then an
'ther. Twenty dollars mOath and board
or seven months in the year. and 80 in
ne winter for chores azd wood ehopping