The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1890-11-12

SAID FRED ana Harry, as they came
hurrying along, trundling the wheel
barrow piled high with the shining
yellow balls. don't believe we had
better find any more, though" said
Harry in low tone, " or the old dame
will catch us surely. | saw her old sun
bonnet come flying out of the shed just
as | got over the fence" AT last the
lanterns were done and the children
waited for evening to come and the
party to begin.
1t grew dark early and the shades
were all drawn and Mr.. Hildreth sat
reading the paper, and Miss Nancy,
who was hard of hearing, sat knitting
on dark blue sock. The children
slipped out, and with the help of
Hiram, the hired man, who was letinto
the secret, they lighted those gorgeous
ack-o'-lanternsl There were eighty in
all set about all over the yard, wher-
ever post could be put firmly to hold
one, and forty seed cucumbers adorned
the front fence, stuck in between the
pickets. The children thought they
never had seen such beautiful decora-
tons before. AT seven O'Clock the bell
began to ring and the guests began to
arrive. They came by twos and threes,
and finally by skies and sevens. Mr..
Hildreth greeted them with politeness,
but after awhile no words could ex-
press his establishment. Betty and
Fred were dancing about, and Polly
and Harry were cape1ing through the
rooms with delight Mr.. Hildreth be-
gan to feel as if the very foundations
of his house were being torn up; he
had pulled up a curtain and looked out.
and seen the jack-o'- lanterns and then
he felt as if he were suddenly growing
crazy. He stormed out into the dining.
room.
"Nancy Nancy ~ he called.
"where are you, Nancy? why don't you
come and help me receive these idiots,
Nancy !"
well, l amt deef," replied Miss
Nancy, slowly, as she came out from
her bedroom where she had slipped
away to change her cap; and they
went back to the parlor and Mr.. Hill
dreth made up his mind that it was a
party and he had got to be in it. Aud
the people kept coming, bringing plates
and baskets, while Jane was going
round and round the kitchen, declar-
ing that she was distracted and that
everybody's dishes were getting mixed
up. Tie two Misses Brownlow came
in, bringing a filigree basket filled with
tissue paper, and nine little cakes with
very crispy edges and very thin frost
ing. Dear Mr. Hildreth," they
said, "we are so glad to come and cele-
brate your natal day." and they held
out the little fiigree basket, and Miss
Euphemia crooked her little finger out
over the handle, as she said, "NoI
more than the muses. nor less than the
Graces, you see."
And then Mr.. Hildreth felt certain
thst he was going mad. And The
Brownlows tiptoed across the room and
sat down just as Miss Hepsy came in.
81 did intend to bring good sized
pumpkin pie with me, but | was pre-
vented by circumstances.
And at this Captain Jennifer, WHIT
was playing cribbage with Miss Flut-
terbucket, laughed so hard that he
shook all the pins out of the board and
they had to begin over again. The
Gibbons girls brought over their back
CANNON board and authors" and
the people played games and laughed
and chatted all the evening.
The DOCTORS wife knew at once how
this party had been arranged as soon as
she got there and saw the Jack
o'-lanterns. SO she went right up
stairs and found a large, white apron
and put it on and came down and set
the table and cut cakes and spread bis
cults, and by nine O'Clock supper was
ready. And if you had seen the gal
Ions of coffee and quarts of cream dis
appear, think you would have been
surprised, too. BY eleven O'Clock the
party was over, and the lights were
most of them out. Mr.. Hildreth sat
before the fire in the quiet parlor.
Betty and Fred crept in, and Fred
said goodnight, papa" and Betty
repeated goodnight, papa" and then
their father looked at them very So
berly minute, and this is what he
said; "lf you eUer, as long as you lire,
do such thing as this again, | shall
punish you in "A way you little think Of. "
And then he covered the lower part
of his face with his hand and looked
into the fire, and the children wols
dered what he saw, for he did not look
up again. The next morning Hiram
got up very early and fed all the seeds
TO the pigs; and then he loaded all the
jack-o'-lanterns into the blue lumber
wagon and carried them off. And he
rode, and he rode, over the river, and
through the woods, and when he had
passed the great oak tree by the cross
roads, he got out and dug a large hole,
and then he rolled the jack-o'-lanterns
in and buried them
And to this day there is a GER
tain place in Franklin county called
Punkin Hollow" and this was how
the name originated Helen Sheldon
Wells, IN Springfield Republican.
SAFE investment iS ono which iS