The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-11-27
passed by a second hand store.

/ went back. She was standing there
looking at sheet-iron stove, and the
tears were running down her cheeks.
ooh, Lizzie, she said, this is just like
my old Evening STAR"
John Bascom blew his nose vigor-
ously.
"But, john" continued his wife. sit
isn't just the home things that mo-
ther misses-it is the home feeling.
Without meaning to do it, Sally
never let's her lose sight Of the fact
that she is living in her house. Old
people like to potter around and feel
that they are of use. Sally never will
let mother do thing. She says the
servants are there to do the work,
and she wants her to rest. And so she
rests till she is tired to death. She
says she just longs sometimes to get
hold of dishpan full Of dishes.
"Sally had told me before about
mothers putting on a gingham apron
and going into the kitchen the first
Monday morning to do the dishes,
and let the girl go at the washing,
and how she had had to tell her
plainly that she never let anybody
interfere with the servants work.
Think of making her feel that she
was interfering, when she wanted to
help!
Zone day l was sewing in her room.
She began cutting the scraps into
carpet-rags-from sheer force of
habit, l could see. 'Tve been doing
this all my life,' she said, when I
laughed, 'and forget. 1t is second
nature, l suppose, and love to do it.
have nice lot of white rags that l
can't bear to throw away, because
they would make somebody such
good carpet-rags.' Get them OUT I
said, and sew them for my carpet.
They are just what need
John, you ought to have seen how
interested she was. In ten minutes
we were in the midst of pillows of
rags and an animated discussion of
dyes. Just then Sally walked in
"'Why, mother, she said, what in
the world are you doing?"
"I'm just making some carpet-rags
for Lizzie, daughter mother said i,
deprecatingly.
"'I think | wouldn't do that sort
of work here, she said. The fuzz
gets in the carpet so, and Lizzie
doesn't really want them, know
"You ought to have seen mothers
face change-every bit of iterest faded
out of it. felt so provoked at Sally.
She put the rags away, and said: 4
won't do it if you think I'd better
not, daughter. hadn't anything else
to do
"And, John, Sally went down the
next day and got table cover, and
some rope silks and filoselle, and l
don't know what all, and gave them
to mother, and told her she thought
she would find that much nicer than
sewing ragsl And SO poor mother,
whose hands are trained to knitting
and darning and mending, is labor
ing now with filoselle, and yearning
for carpet-rags!"
And John Bacom's heart was yearn-
ing for his mother.
'L'zzie,' he said, with mans
helplessness, what can we do?"
"I've thought it all out, john"
John frightened. He had great
confidence in his wife's resources.
SWELL write and ask mother to
come and spend the winter with us,
arranged that before left. And then
if it is as think, and mother is hap
pier here than there,we'll just keep her
and Sally can't helpIherself. In that
way it will all be pleasantly settled
and nobody will have any feeling"
How easy and natural it seemed |
"I'll go down and get her myself"
John said. 81 am going to Jefferson
City next week, anyway"
And 80 it was settled.
A few hours later, as Mr.. Bascom
was sinking into slumber, his wife,
wide awake, asked, John, who bought
mothers old Evening Starr"
"Why-y, Mr.. Sam Driscoll, I think
I'm not sure. The book would
show"
"What Booki"
"Why, the account book that the
sales were put down in"
ooh. of counsel Where is it,"
SIN the lower part of the bookcase,
with my papers. Why?"
ooh, nothing. Go to sleep"
A week later John Bascom started
for st. Louis. He was to be gone
f0,r doys Thov uuora huav 10 nc for