Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-09-28
THE PINCCSHION.

The HlNCUSHION.
Miss Peckitt was our drcssmakcr. She
wore brown dress and white lace col.
lar and was as neat and dainty rs little
bird. She lived in small square house
Mt the end of the village--a house with
green shutters and n green fence, white
face that always looked as though it had
been washed that very morning and shin
ing little eyes of windows. There WAS n
bit of garden round the house, in which
Miss Pcclitt grow tho most wonderful
flowers. Pansics forgctincnotS and wood
ruifc, wallfowers and dafrodils, roses and
lilies, sunflowcrs and nasturtiums, all in
their due season made blaze of color in
that garden till the late dark days came
lighted by the last chrysanthemum and
the garden settled down under its brown
coat to wait the news of spring that should
come with the first yellow aconitc.
Our house was larger than Miss Peck
lit IS, and our garden would have made
good score of hers, but somehow our gar
dcners never grew such flowers rs those.
Miss Pcckitt used to como to our house %
sew. She sewed my frocks and she sewcd
my pinafores, and sat among her tapes
stories that no one else cared about for
Miss Peckitt had no relatives and had al
ways, as she said, kept herself. And of all
her stories the one liked best was the ono
about the pncushion. 1t was large,
heavy cushion, and / wondered why Miss
Pcckitt always brought it with her when
she came for tho day.
81 will mako you a pincushion to keep
here" | said "and then you need not
carry that heavy thing about What makes
it so heavy"
ut has a brick inside to keep it steady
when pin my work to it, " she said, land
| carry it with me because it was the last
thing my young man made for me. :"
Miss Peckitt smiled and sighed, and
said;
ooh, did you ever have a young man?
Do tell me about him.
Al 10 years old one is not very discreet.
! suppose Miss Peckitt was not inclined to
be hard on youthful indiscretion, though
she would have been the first to resent it
in those of ripper years. She threaded her
needle and began
lit was when l was young girl.
She could not have been more than 80
at this time, but to me she seemed i'm
mcasurably old, so said:
Its long time ago, then" as sym
pathctically as could.
Yes" she said, "a very long time
He was the son of n farmer, and we was
counting ever since we was quite little
things and went to Sunday school And
Willie looked to be taken on to have a
share in the farm, and we was to have
been married in the spring. But it was
not to be"
What happened?"
why, his father died. my dear and
when it came to looking into things it
was found he'd borrowed money on the
land and the interest hadn't been paid
Willie told me it was because his father
would grow wheat, and that seems to be
always snare to farmers. So then my
Willie said he pay the interest and all if
they d only wait. But they wouldn't, and
the old place was sold up-house and
buildings and the beasts and the land, with
the standing crops. Thoy may say It'll
law, but it ain t Justice"
She bit off her thread sharply, and
said it was q shame.
$50 it was--a black shame. My Willie
would "a paid them every penny if they d
only "a waited. But no; they sold the old
place, and it fetched more than they looked
for, and there was near goo over, and
that they gave to Willie, rs was only fair,
! And after the sale was over l saw nothing
of him for two days, and then he came to
me looking like dog that the boys are
after with stones
is all up, Blossom, he said He al
ways called me that on account of my fresh
color" Miss Peckitt touched her faded
cheek with her thimble and sighed
" I'm off, says he. with this bit of
money II make a fortune over in America,
which is FREQ country and I'll come
home for you, my girl, or III write and
you'll come to me
If it was to the worlds end says l..
'"Then he gave me this pincushion. 1t
seemed funny present, being quite plain,
as you see, and it had big stitches but
sewed very strong, and L almost laughed
as | took 1t. | was glad after that hadn t
laughed, for Willie, he says:
Blossom, my dear, do you know what
makes it so heavyf'
80 | said no, didn't
" It's a brick out of the old south wall
at home says he, where the yellow rose
is, and where the apricots fruit so free,
my mother was married in-it's faded,
.
You'll keep it for my sake"
" So said l would, and he said, When
tho cover wears out, rip it off and put on
another. I've got the rest of the dress laid
by with the things my cousins keeping
for me at Maidstone against come back,
"Then he kissed me a great many times,
God bless him, and off he went"
"Well?' l asked, for Miss Pcckitt had
stopped abruptly
well, that's all, " she said shortly. "He
never camo back. But / know he was
true, and he would ha' como back if he d
been living, and the Lords will be DONE "
She added resentfuly.
Ibid you keep the piece Of the OLD
dress" / asked, "when 1t wore out and
you ripped it Off l should like to see it. u
Il never ripped it off, A." she said. IL
covered it over with bit of damask,
meaning to show it him fresh and bright
when he come home but / dare say it's