The midland journal., 1898-07-29
THE SYRINGA HOME
By MAX BENNETT THRAsHER.
THE windows of the little church al

THE windows of the little church at
Pebbly Center were open, and the
soft, June breeze, passing through the
audience room, futtered the leaves of
the hymn book which rested on the
rack of the cottage organ in the choir.
The air in the church was sweet with
the perfume of flowers, for it was 'chil-
dren's Sunday" roses, syringa, jon
quils, from the farmhouse gardens;
ferns and clematis from the woods.
The pulpit, covered with mass of
greenish-white clematis, rose from
bank of ferns. On little stand at the
side some one had placed huge vase,
filled with mountain fringe, and the
long, delicate stems, loaded with trem-
bling pink blossoms, moved softly in
the wind.
The opening services of the day had
beeen gone through with, and hush
had fallen on the congregation. Pebbly
Center had only that one church, and,
as there had never been any of those
violent spiritual dissensions which keep
half the inhabitants of o place away
from church because the other half
goes, the wooden church, not over
large, was generally well filled.
The pastor, dear old man, with
benignant face, and voice which was
in itself a benediction, came down from
the pulpit to meet the little procession
which ranged itself in a semicircle be-
fore the fower-dressed pulpit.
1 do not remember much more about
the service except that, somewhere
among the number, the pastor poised
his hand to say: "Syringa May Elton,
baptize thee" The first name seemed
so odd that it attracted my attention,
and yet, in the ffower-decked church,
the yards outside, it seemed appro-
pirate.
was new to Pebbly Center then.
That was the first summer had spent
there, and at that time had been in
| the town less than week. l boarded
that summer with the Jehoram Fen
nels. They were always spoken of in
that way to distinguish them from the
family of Jehoram's brother Silas.
After dinner went out to sit on the
big front door step. There was trel-
lis built over this step, covered with
woodbine, and, barring the occasional
| descent from this of harmless green
spider, it was quite the pleasantest
place about the house. / had mag
azine in my hands, but it had been SO
much more satisfactory merely to lean
back against the trellis and gaze off
.ver the huge valley and the roll of hills
beyond, that had done nothing but
this when Mrs. Jehoram Fennel, having
cleared away the dinner and washed the
dishes, drew a cane-seat roekipg-chair
into the front hall and sat down to join
me. Her husband had already retired
to the.one bit of daytime rest which his
lcng, hard days work allowed him, and
his regular and not-too-loud-for-com
fort brea thing from the lounge in the
sitting-room showed how thoroughly
he was enjoying it.
Mrs. Fennel brought with her palm
leaf fan and the last number Of o re-
ligious paper. She had never read any.
thing but religious literature on Sun
day; and fancied she looked somewhat
askance now at the magazine in my
hands.
Perhaps it was to prepossess her
against my evident intention to read
this, by showing what good attention
had paid in church, that FASTENED to
say:
"What in the world made them name
that fourth baby in the row 'Syringa,
, Mrs. Fennel? Such funny name for a
baby. After all, though, it's rather a
pretty name.".
Mrs. Fennel gave a little chuckle, and
said: sob, that's the Elton baby! Her
mother was Sophie Ann Fosdick, an
they live to her home. That's the Eos.
dick place over there" pointing to a
set of buildings about mile away.
"It's the first grandchild the Fosdioks
have had"-Mrs. Jehoram Fennel was
the proud possessor of four. "Sophie
: Ann was an only child an she was al.
ways brung up to have her own way;
an they say that when it came to nam.
in the baby, although Mis- Fosdick was
dead set on calm it Charlotte PAMELA
Sophie Ann jest stuck to it that she was
) agoin' to name it Syringa May, after the
y bushes that was in blossom about their
house, an call it Syringa May she did. .
When l decided to return to Pebbly
! Center the next summer, and wrote tc
8 Mrs. Jehoram Fennel to see If she could
: board me, was disappointed to find
5 that she could not. The four grand
9 children were now five, and the mother
i of three of them was coming home to
3 spend the summer. After the cramped
5 shirography of Mrs. Fennel had ex
0 planned this, she added.
II think you could get boarded at the
y Fosdick place II you want to. The baby 4
!. over a year old now. and they are all quite
smart there; and Mrs. Fosdick said some
thing to that effect one day when she was
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