The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1902-04-10


tally the present company, when she
came to ox1ect her silver, with a view
to washing and putting it away with
her own hand, as her careful custom
was, she found spoon missing, one
Of her holly sprig spoons.
Nobody attended much, for Wampler
was really doing very neat job. None
Of the men of the circle was a bad
carver, and all of them would have
deemed it shame beyond words to
have been, but Wampler had rather
the deftest and surest hand. In rivalry
with him Mrs. Gears was but beg
ging performer. At the conclusion of
her recital two or three ladies murmur-
ed perfunctory 'That was too bad!'
and DR.. Dudley asked in his blunt way,
what is holly sprig spoon?' But
he gave no outward sign of listening
to Mrs. Gears explanation that holly
sprig was the design and that the
loss was especially grievous because
it occasioned the first break in a set
given her at her marriage by her moth
er, who had brought it at an early day
out from New Jersey, sewed up for
safety in her petticoat, gift to her at
her marriage from her own mother,
Mrs. Gears grandmother, and to the
latter previously at her marriage from
her mother, Mrs. Gears great-grand-
mother, for whom it had been express
~ made by London silversmith, the
only set of it's design ever seen or
heard Of. At the words "grandmoth-
er" and "great-grandmother' the doc.
tors head nodded slightly, but his eye,
like all other eyes at the table, even
Mrs. Gears, was on Wampler's knife.
Wampler shaved away the last bit
of breast and raised his instrument for
the master stroke through the flank.
The guests dipped forward little far
Their. The knife descended, pierced,
then stopped abruptly. Wampler's face
grew red, like burn. Mrs. Wampler's
grew red, too, out of sympathy. "You
must have struck a tough turkey,
MOTHER" said he.
'Its young turkey" protested Mrs.
Wampler, ''and it seemed very tender
when was dressing it,
'"Then you didn't cook it enough"
urged Wampler.
Il had it in the oven four hours"
said Mrs. Wampler.
The other ladies averred that if the
oven was right four hours was long
enough.
BY pushing and saving like an am
ateur with dull blade Wampler final
~ cut through and sought to retrieve
himself by special dexterity on the
other side. But again the knife, after
entering keenly, came to a sudden halt
and had to be driven on by main force.
Wampler finally wrenched off the
breastbone and resumed his chair in
sweat and pant.
There was perhaps more than the
usual movement of relaxing interest
around the table as he finished, but
there was less than the usual outburst
Of talk. The serving Of the plates be-
gan in comparative silence. In the
course of this office Wampler thrust a
large spoon deep into the mound OF
stuthng. There came metallic click
which everybody distinctly heard and
again fixed eyes on the host. Then, on
bringing up the spoon, he turned up
with it the handle of another, a smaller
one, which everybody saw. Since there
could be no concealment, Wampler
sought escape from the misadventure
by popularity, and saying, "Well, we'll.
mother, you must have run short of
breadcrumbs for your stuffing,' he
drew forth the spoon and held it up in
full view.
tits my SPOON" cried Mrs. Gears,
fairly shrieking, "the one I lost, my