Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1906-03-23
AN OLD QUILT.

so long ago. Cover me WIFI IL anu NuSh
me In well. want to rest"
Thus spake old Jacob Christman to his
sister Mary. II was cold evening In
December, and Jacob was not feeling In
good shape" as he put It, and his faith
full old sister, who was looking after
Jacob now that his faithful wife had gone
to her long rest, covered him with his
favorite old auilt-a good and warm
covering, that he loved for dear Eliza
beths sake, for had she not bought the
stuff, and cut 1t out, and quilted II, and
put on the border, and given 1t to him
many years before she died2 II love IT,
he said, "for its size; and then II is so
substantial and warm, and II has been
kept so carefully that tits still clean and
white, and Elizabeths hand was on II In
the making, and she slept under 1t many
night. And II puts me In mind OF her.
AS 1t touches me now and then seem to
| feel Elizabeths soft hand on me, and,
foolish old fellow that am, I once in
while kiss IT, fancying that l am kissing
Elizabeths dear lips again." And the
tears sparkled in Jacobs eyes and his
| voice trembled as his sister Mary gave
him a kiss for his own sake and In
memory of my good sister-in-law Eliza
BETH.
There is a story about the old quilt
that / shall tell you some time Jacob
said Mary. "A story you have never
| heard"
rms knuled jacobs curiosity, ana
nothing would do but that Mary must
tell the story now" And she did.
Elizabeth did not buy all the stun that
| is I'm the quilt, Jacob. And much OF II
was not new when she made 1t. The
! quilt Is not, as 1t seems to be, a single
piece of cloth-a unity as the preacher
would say"
'of course not" said Jacob. There
Is an upper and there is lower. and be-
tween there is third piece. But she cut
| them all out from new material that she
bought herself. She as much as told me
so. And 1t is so warm and comfortable,
| and so full Of the memory and love Of
Elizabeth And old Jacob Struggled"
himself under the quilt and told Mary to
| 60 on with her story.
And Mary went on, and told Jacob that
the quilt was really made Of more than
two hundred pieces"
| Jacob interrupted her with one of his
| prompt, stout. and sharp denials, and told
her 1t was useless to tell him ''such
story" and that 1t would take away
| great deal OF his pleasure to know that
Elizabeth did not buy It all and make
| 1t up just as he had always believed.
And Mary continued her story: 1.-THE
outside Of the qult-the upper side and
the under side-was Elizabeth's purchase,
and little ripping on the edge would
! show you that the inside and main body
| Of the quilt was piecework and of DIFF
|
| there bits Of Bingham and silk In reality,
the work OF putting hundreds OF pieces
| together was superintendent by Elizabeth
| but Is not all the work Of her fingers
| Other people helped her. and nobody can
tell now lust where the bits of silk.
| muslin, Bingham, etc. came from"
Then Jacob trembled and frowned and
muttered to himself. while Mary talked
and tears came into his eyes He was
| old and nervous and notional and fidgety
| and this strange story troubled him. He
| denied II all, and reproved Mary for taxi
| ing away the sweet thought that 1t was
all the work of Elizabeth But bring the
| scissors" he said
Then Mary carefully clipped the thread
| along the edge of the quilt, removing
| few inches Of the border, and lifting the
upper cover, revealed within patched
quit OF many colors and OF many kinds
| OF matertal-blue gray, green, white.
pink. scarlet. squares of satin, Of muslin
| de-laine, of linen and calico.
1t Is as l told YOU" said Mary.
| We'll" said Jacob. II do not like this
thing at all. 1t seems to spoil the quilt
as Elizabeth's work. / wish she had not
told you. or l wish you had not told me-
/ do not like all these colors and patches
| of different kinds of stun. like to think
| Of 1t as all one and as all Elizabeth's and
| like to believe that she was perfectly
certain as to where II all was bought and
new story about the old quilt somehow
| spoils II for me. What an age this is for
| new ways of accounting for old thingsi
I do not like it,"
Mary. who loved Elizabeth as truly and
| as ardently as Jacob did, with ali her
love for Jacob disliked to see him so
crotchety and unreasonable Therefore
instead OF trying to smooth things over
| she went on to say: ITO me the quilt is
more beautiful and much more valuable
/ in its variety than II It were a unity It
| really represents a great deal more work
and much longer period OF time, and
much more art, and a higher taste, and
! more tender love in Elizabeth than 1t
could have done II your idea were true"
well, don't know" answered Jacob
Il am pretty well set In my mind, and
| don't like to have anybody unsettle my
views Really, 1t doesn't seem so much
like Elizabeth's own as II did before"
| TO me-" answered Mary 'ft seems
| more like Elizabeth She was economical
and saved all the scraps of things She
| was interested in so many different
classes OF people and different parts Of
the world that friends used to give her
relics, curiosities, and bits of travel-stuff
| Now, there are in the quilt pieces OF silk
that missionary from China gave Eliza
beth, and several Of the finest fabrics In
that quilt came from India. There are
| fragments of linen from Egypt; and IL
| threads OF silk and of gold that came
from Australia. There are little squares
in the quilt from the dresses worn by
Elizabeth's grandmother. and by two OF
her gnnd-aunts. and from Elizabeth's
| own dresses when she was schoolgirl:
and there are two pieces in It from her
| wedding Dress
| We'll, l do declared" was all old Jacob
was prepared to say; and ne interrupted
] Mary to say 1t.
Mary continued: "a lady whose hus-
band had been to the Arctic zone in
search, OF Sir John Franklin once gave
Elizabeth small cutting from an Arctic
natives dress. and that is in the Quilt.
| And there are tiny squares that came
from Rome, and from Jerusalem. and
| from st Petersburg Elizabeth priced
them all, and put them into the quilt, and
| you have been wrapped up and covered
and comforted cold nights for all these
| years by all this precious stun"
| why didn't Elizabeth tell me?"
| Partly" answered Mary, because she
| thought you would think 1t foolish You
We're always little unreasonable. Jacob.
| And partly because she thought that
when you did find 1t out after she had
gone, you would be pleased to know how
! long she worked on 1t, and how much
! thought and love she put into IL. ana
how much of the world has a place I'm N
and how 1t would interest you and other
| people, exciting your curiosity and oc
cupying your time as you studied 1t. So
| SlR he a