The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-02-08
The Feud
Of the
Secured Pan
BY GRACE
JeWETT
AUSTIN.
.~&oNNoN&&s

ABOUT TWO months before the cher
ry-tree limb broke down, Mrs. Wat
son leaned over the Reads fence with
a neighborly smile on her face.
Have some passnips, Mis- Read?
Those down at the grocery are just
dried-up sticks beside these. Jim
complains good deal that we
haven't got a plot to raise garden
sass, but he always declares that raise
few passnips he must and will.
These have had frost enough to get
the good taste into EN-"
Mrs. Read turned slowly from the
shining window, which she had Just
finished washing, and came to the
fence.
We've never been overly fond Of
parsnips," she replied. with an extra
careful "r," but perhaps that is be-
cause ours came out of the grocery"
She took the rusty, dirt-encrusted
pan which Mrs. Watson held out with
jovial smile and the remark, Don't
bother to wash that old pan. It's
been my garden pan for years"
AS Mrs. Read disappeared into the
house, Mrs. Watson strolled back to
her parsniD-bed, and looking down at
the tiny feathery shoots, addressed
to them her opinion of her neighbor:
Shes stiff an nowise neighborly,
to my thinkin', but | mean TO keep
on. They've bought the house. and
she's got a sickly husband and a
cross baby. so l guess she needs some
pleasant words, if she don't give any
back again"
Now no one who saw Mrs. Reads
kitchen would have judged that it's
mistress had the care of any invalid
to divert her from household duties
The floor, in the old New England
phrase, was fit for the queen to eat
off Of" while shining range, gleam-
ing faucets and snowy sink all spoke
of painstaking labor. Into this realm
of soap was carried. rather unwilling
ly, it must be confessed, Mrs. Wat
sons dirty parsnip pan. There was
absolutely no place to put it, so hold
ing her apron shelteringly beneath it.
Mrs. Read went to the sitting-room
Tor newspaper, and returning,
spread 1t over her snow-white table,
and then was at liberty to lay her
burden down.
Humph! Such dirty folks do beat
all! Before I'd offer anybody a pan
like that Id sit up nights to scrub it!
There must be a quart of dirt on
those parsnips, too" She rubbed and
scrubbed them with a serious vigor
that soon made a row of six shining
white vegetables, fit for a county fair.
on the table
But there were other worlds to
conquer! Did anyt' ng ever look so
out of place in a spotless kitchen as
that woful old pan? Mrs. Read stared
at it doubtfully, then set her lips
and crossed the Rubicon. Lye, sand
soap, bristol brick, hard soap, soft
soap, hot water in foods-how the
elements ragged in that little kitchen.
At the end of an hour Mrs. Read
drew long breath
Now l call that PAM 1t was
brighter, maybe, when it was just out
of the store, but it's a very respect
able pan"
Toward evening she raped at Mrs.
Watson's back door, but getting no
reply, came away, leaving the pan on
the porch, thus giving her neighbor
almost a battle challenge.
What's that?" exclaimed Mrs.
Watson, dramatically, the next morn
ing, as she stepped out for her milk
bottle.
us that my pan? And she couldn't
even hand it to me like a Christian.
but had TO tiptoe over and sneak it
onto my back porch," Here she was
wronging Mrs. Read, who had really
tapped at the back door, but no
knowledge of this came TO calm the
angry woman.
So she thought il was her bound
en- duty TO clean up after me, did she?
And all those good passnips wasted
on her, too! Hope they'll choke her!
Now maybe like as not she thought
they were too dirty for her. If she's
dared TO dump em in her garbage
box I'll complain to the police; and
I'm going straight to the alley this
minute to see."
Luckily that last straw was not
added TO Mrs. Watsons wrath, but
all the forenoon her Indignation was
seething and bubbling, until the time
when Mrs. Read stepped from her
back door with a pan OF potato peel
ings. Once again hand holding a
pan was thrust over the fence at her.
but this time no CHEEKY smile nor
friendly word accompanied IL.
Il think you'd just better have pan
as we'll as passnips, since you've been
to such pains in cleanin' IL. When
folks as good as tell me I'm a heather
TO my face. I'm done with them. so
there now,'
The pan fell on the Read side of
the fence with a clang, but Mrs Read
had no reply to make fo- a II oment.