The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1905-11-09

\ mates OF tue MOiIis"AAe
wnN pOorhcuse. 1t was held in
the common sitting-roOm, where the
men and women were allowed to gath
er when they were not eating or sleep
ing. About all the unfOrtunates in the
almshOuse had to do was to eat and
sleep; few worked about the institu-
ton or in the garden. The convention
opened rather unexpectedly, when
Sarah Tooker remarked:
what dye s'pose We'll have for
Thanksgivin':
All the others turned and looked at
her, for Sarah was the latest arrival.
and consequently new to the regula-
.tions governing the Morrisviile poor
house.
do they feed us on turkey or chick
en-" she continued. I'm little mite
fonder of turkey myself, but l s'pose
rcan eat chicken on pinch"
"Ho! ho-' laughed Rodney Eckert.
''Ho. hor' and his two remaining teeth
ratified together like corn i'll parch-
ing-pan. Turkey! Chicken! Land
love ye, Sarah Tooker! If it amt roast
beef it'll be lamb stew, and if it amt
lamb stew it'll be roast beef, an ye
can take your choice. know. I've
been here nigh onto fourteen year now.
Most likely it'll be lamb stew. call
to mind how We had roast beef last
Mar"
Eight other old men and ten other
old women nodded their heads in grave
assent They also knew. from more
or less long experience, what the
Thanksgiving dinner would be. It was
only slightly different from the usual
meals of soup, bread and tea. served
regularly at the poorhouse. Only Sarah
hoped for change The others
thought little about it.
Lamb stew" said Sarah, plaintiveiy.
~'Why, the idea! Thanksgiving, too!
Well, all I've got to say is, that it amt
what I'm used to, not by a good deal.
I don't see why we can't have a chick
en- potpie," she finished, with a little
sigh.
Don't let Zeke Jeden hear ye,' eau
toned Bud Tunkert LAS long as he's
been superintendent of this poorhouse,
he can't abide to have any one find
fault with the eatin7. Not that we
need to, most times; bu' since ye
brought up the ThanksgiviD 'ubject,
1t kinder runs in my head. turkey:
All! UNI"
Ny. oh. my! Thanksgivin', an lamb
etew- repeated Sarah at doesn't
seem reasonable. Before I had to
come here I was used to big turkey
for dinner-a big, fat, brown turkey"
IF ye'd just leave off mentioning
such things I'd be obliged to ye," said
Tod Elkum. with a little Quaver in his
voice. He awoke from the doze he
had been in. lit makes body feel
hungry" he went on. Specially
when the feasti1' times so near. If
it's all the same, We might mention
somethin' about bein shipwrecked on
a desert island, with nothin' to eat but
boot-legs an seaweed. That'll give
US appetites for lamb stew he con-
.cluded-
A silence concluded, while each one
of the twenty inmates of the poor
louse was busy with his or her own
sad thoughts. {.
Sarah TOoker wagged her head de-
3ectedly- 1t was n new experience for
her, for she had been in good circum-
stances until failing fortunes and the
death of all her relatives had obliged
her to seek refuge in that place dread
ed by all the aged
1T does seem a pity we can't cele-
brate for once.7 unused Tod Elkum, as
he walked out into the yard. II would
relish a nice, brown slice of turkey
with plenty of gravy an lots of dress
In. And wouldn't mind some Gran.
berry sauce. too. But I s'pose tn
selectmen amt got money to waste
OH such irills.''
Out on the pleasant country road q
great red automobile rushed by, rails
ing cloud of dust The State turn
pike passed through Morrisville.
It'll bet those folks amt worryin
about where their turkey is comm
from" went on Tod. "Well, we cam
all be rich. and maybe it's gOOl
thing"
He strol1ed toward the road, walk
ing slowly, for his limbs were feeble
from age. He enjoyed the crisp all
OF November and the genial sun, which
tempered the rather cool afternoon
There was the delightful smell of aut
nmn. coming from the brown earth
and the dried leaves ratified as he tro(
on them.
He reached the road and turned
toward the village. The dust from
the automobile was still flying lazil.
in the sunlight. A little way aheat
Tod saw Il figure. 1t was that of /:
man, and he was shaking his staff a
something in the distance. When To,
came nearer he recognized HAM
Wright, the town marshal.
whats the trouble?" asked Tod
"Somebody tryin' to run over ye:"
Its then: pesky automobilesv sal,
Hank.
what did it do? Most nip yep in
quired Tod.
mo. But it was goin' twice as fas
as the law Allows" replied Hank. IAN,
1 was hollerin' to stop it. The select
men have passed q law, limitin' tn
rate to ten mile an hour, and this on
was goin' twenty if it was going one.
And ye We're cOuntin' on arrestin
'eln:"
Il was. and fin:n' 'enl, too" sal,
Hank. firmly. There's a penalty O
ten dollars for exceedin' the spec,
limit. Half Of it goes to the town an,
the other half is divided between tn
marshal making the arrest and SOUR
Bascomb. There's good two dollar