The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1897-08-14

lV lit is lovely morning, Don't
YOU want to go down to Porter & Grey's
and choose our new carpets? You know
we must get them down before Aunt
Dora comes next week"
YES, l will go with you; but 1 must
write some letters first. l will be ready
in an hour"
annie" said Grandma Belmont, who
was sitting by the fire, knitting, while
your mother is writing, don't you want
me to tell you how my mother got a
carpet?"
"Oh, yes, grandma! You know there
is nothing like so well as hearing you
tell an old-fashioned story"
We'll. my dear, you know rs years
ago carpets were not very common.
Very few people had them. There were
none made in this country, and an Eng
lish carpet was very expensive"
What did you have on the floors,
grandma"
"Nothing-not even paint; but they
were secured white as sand could make
them. My mother had only one carpet
in the house, and that was on the par
lor floor. 1t was green-and-black
English carpet. / suppose my mother
made the first carpet that was ever
manufactured in New Hampshire, or
even New England. Your great-grand-
father was lawyer, and at that time
Lancaster was not n shire town; the
courts were held at Haverhill. But after
awhile Lancaster was made n shire
town. When father came home from
the spring term of court at Haverhill
he said the next fall the court would
set u LANCASTER, and as there was no
fuitable place for the judges to board,
he had promised to take them.
They used to have three Judges.
the chief justice and two side judges.
I'm sure don't know what they were
called side judges for, unless it was
because one sat on each side of the
Judge who attended to all the business.
have often been into court with father,
and 1 never heard one say word. They
just sat there and looked wise. Mother
was surprised enough when father said
he was going TO board the judges.
"'Why, father she said, what are
sou VI ihNiN - NV 'S~''
enough in the house.
mo said father, Il know that; but
there will be by the fall. 1 am going
TO have an addition of two rooms built
on to the house.
81 don't see,' said mother, how we
can get carpets; but if you are going
to have the judges board here, will
see what can be done
1T was not very long before father
had some men at work on the new
rooms, and mother began to thing
something must be done about the car
pets. So she went up to see Eunice
Stockwell, and talk it over with her.
She was the best hand to weave there
was anywhere around.
''We had lots of sheep and plenty
of wool, so mother took 40 pounds and
had il carded into rolls. Then she got
Nancy Greenleaf and Lucy White to
come and spin it.
1T was spun into good strong yarn,
four skeins to pound. l was little
girl, but il seems to me can see Nancy
and Lucy now, just as they looked
spinning. They had their wheels up
in the great open chamber. 1t was in
summer time, and the windows were
open at each end of the room. / used
to go up there and sit on an old chest by
the window and watch them spin.
Nancy was tall and slim and had light
hair, which she wore done up in little
ball on the top of her head, fastened
with a big comb. She wore her dress
quite short, and, as she stepped back
and forth, turning her wheel, she was
always singing. Inever heard her vary
the tune or words:
Come, Philander, let's be march
ing
"She would como down heavy on the
ching Who Phila.f'er was, or where
he was going to mach, never could
find out. / used to ask her to sing
some more, but she said thatwas all she
knew.
Lucy was a real pretty girl; she
had black eyes and red checks; she
used to make fun of Nancy and her song.
Well, in few weeks the spinning was
all done; then mother had the yarn
carried up to Eunicc Stockwell to be
woven. and before long it was sent