The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1903-11-30

Nv.
oossIPING HUMBUGS AND THE
QUILTIN' BEE.
Continually

Hofeou ft0Id0U THO Hnnouncol tnat tnorc
would be a Gufltin' party at our house
Wednesday afternoon OF that week, the
proceeds OF the sale OF the quilts to go
20 ths Foreign Missionary society, to
which the ladies were invited TO attend.
and no also announced that the men folks
sf the church were invited to come in
the evening and close the day with a
social hour.
Twas In the midst OF Indian summer.
long about the 22d of October and the
weather was the most charming OF any
that We had had the whole year through
up to that time. To be sure there had
been number of quite heavy frosts, SO
that the chestnut burs were gaping wide
open. and the fields and the trees had
taken on the autumn look. and under the
apple trees there were heaped UP great
piles of ripe fruit in nearly every orchard
that you would come to, which were either
going TO be barrelled up and sent TO mar
ket, or shovslled into wagons and taken
to "Whipple's' or To Brooklyn. where they
we're TO be ground up and pressed into
cider. Canterbury folks have been great
hands for cider apple sauce ever since the
Oldest settlers can remember. i believe
they're worse for that than the Shakers
Well, federation had gathered all of
r.
mill. and was just picking HIS market
fruit. and storing IL away In barrels In
the new cattle barn that he had built
Just across the highway from the house issn,s
IL being dreadful good year for apples
and on the day OF the quiltin' he had
drawn in a load OF corn in shocks and
stacked 1t away at the further end OF
the barn floor. He did this just to please
the young folks that were coming in the
evening, for they had sent word by Jona-
than that they wanted TO husk some corn
in the new barn TO christen IT. and for an
hours good time found out afterwards
that there was more method In their de-
sire TO christen the barn than was ment
in the desire to husk corn.
But no matter, set TO work along with
the girls 10 make everything tidy and
ready for the women folks I'm the after
noon, and had the quiltin' frames brought
out and arranged I'm the centre OF the
kitchen and another I'm the settin room,
so that two quilts could be worked on at
the same time.
If there's a speck OF dirt anywhere,
or the rugs amt laid Just so, somebody's g
bound to notice II and make II the talk
of the community just for gossip's sake.
so we were dreadful careful that every
thing was iu perfect order
For my part / don't believe I'm talkin'
about my neighbors, no matter what they
do or how their houses look. for who
knows but that the poor women are doin'
Just the best they can under the cir
cumstances? | think we ought to have
charity above everything else, no matter
if 1t covers a multitude of sin and dirt
at times What good can IL do to fiaunt
the SHORTCOMINGS of Others before our
neighbOr's eyes? Not any: besides we are
commanded by the Scriptures not TO do
II.
L,
to the Wellses. IL you'd a been there
you'd been interested. / guess you
would, Such a lookin' house l never sot
eyes on before in my life. Everything
was topsy-turvey. and don't believe the
settin' .room stove had been blacked Cor
months. And then the carpets-but there
won't say anything. It's been common
talk for more'n three weeks but land. l
won't listen 70 "A word for i don't believe
In such kind of a gossipn'.
The folks began 10 come as early as
2 o'clock and by three o'clock there was
pretty near house full. Besides our own
orthodo members, there was quite num-
Der of the Baptists, and Methodlsts. and
come OF the Quakers, who came over be-
cause the women folks OF the society had
invited them 10 come. which included the
Hawkinses. the Starkweathers. the
Weffses, the Cobbses and few more
Well they were all set TO work doing
something If there wasn't room enough
ut the quiltin' frames. there was plenty
Of yarn To be knit into stockings and nit
tins, and such like things, 80 everybody
was kept busy, and for about half an
hour everybody seemed to be enjoying
the most wholesome OF conversations
about one thing and another, pertaining TO
church work. and especially missions.
Finally. IL was the naturalist kind of a
thing TO begin talking about Deacon
Thompson. for he had had an experience
that he'll never forgit and the church
folks nuther.
samantha williams says "Its the dread
fullest thing that has happened to our So
ciety since l can remember. The idea or
deacon of the church swearing OF tho
uuhlIc highway in the profanest kind OF
manner It's enough to ask forgiveness.
or expelled from the church. one thing or
the other will have to be doneF'
''weu, now!" says |. Samantha. don't
be too severe Maybe there's some mis-
take. or misunderstanding, or something
or other. and we must be patient and wait
for YOU know the Bible says we must be
charitable. and charity 'sunereth long
and ls kind
Then Jane Bates spoke up and. says,
profanity doesn't call for charity, nor
for long suffering. nor for minutes en-
durance in my opinion! If we were imag-
lining that he had been swearing that
would be another thing. But everybody
knows that Deacon Thompson said right
out In the maddest Kind OF way, that
Mr. Grover be , or something
like that. and that isn't guessing, but Is a
fact that he.must answer for. / always
thought that he was pretending lot
more than he was living.
It's nothing strange for her 20 say that.
for she thinks everybody pretends to be
what they amt. and II forever condem-
ming other folks faults that are not half
30 cumbersome as her own. But no matter
about that. 1t Is q fact Deacon Thompson
had got into trouble. and the Church
Council OF Elders had called n meeting to
consider a report that he had been pro-
vane. and he had been asked 90 be present
and explain what u all meant. I'll tell
you how IL came about.
The way n was you see we've got one