The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-04-28

good OF You TO give up your chance for
I The premium. bat if Sarah Jane ever finds
it out. thatIl spoil everything. For
saws J. there amt any kindness Ia dom
+ a person a favor and then tellin' every
body about it, And Milly laughed. and
says she. I know what You mean. Aunt
Jane It's mighty hard for me TO keep
from tellin' everything 1 know and some
/ things I don't know, but says she, I'm
never goin' to tell this, even to Sam
/ And she kept her word, too. Every once
+ in a while she'd come up TO me and
whisper, I amt told IL yet. Aunt Jane,
/ jest To see me laugh
I AS soon as the door was open, after
we'd all got through judgin' aud putin
on tho ribbons, Mily went and hunted
Sarah Jane up and told her that her
quilt had the blue ribbon. They said
/ the pore thing like to a tainted for joy
/ She turned right white afsd had to lean
up against the post for while before
she could git 10 the Floral Hall. I never
shall fOrgit her face. IL was worth a
dozen premiums to me, and Milly, too
/ She Jest stod lOkin az that quilt and
/ the blue ribbon on it. and her eyes was
/ fun o. tears and her lips quiyerin, and
/ then she started off and brought the
children in 10 look at 'Mammy's quilt
/ She met sam on the way out. and says
+ she sam, what do you reckon2 Ny
quilt took the premium. And / believe
/ in my soul Sam was as much pleased
as Sarah Jane. lie came saunterin up
/ tryin TO look unconcerned. but any
/ body could see he was mighty well sat-
/ ished. 1t does husband and wife a
/ heap o. good TO be proud of each other
and I reckon that was the first time sam
! ever had cause to be proud o pore Sarah
Jane. It's my belief that he thought
more o. Sarah Jane all the rest O. her
/ life jest on account O. that premium. Ne
and Sally Ann helped her pick It out
/ She had her choice betwixt a butter-dish
and a cup and she took the cup. Folks
used 20 laugh and say that that cup was
/ the only thing in Sarah James house that
was kept clean and bright. and if il
/ hadn't "a been solid silver, she'd "a
wore it all out rubbin' j; up Sarah Jane
| died o. pneumonia about three or four
years after that. ana the folks that
nursed her said she wouldn't take a drink
O. water or dose o. medicine out o.
any cup bat that. There's some folks,
child. that don't have TO do anything but
walk along and hold out their hands. and
! the premiums jest naturally fall into EN-,
/ and there's others that work and strive
the best they know how. and nOthin
! ever seems to come TO nm; and I reckon
nobody but the Lord and Sarah Jane
knows how much happifess she got out
o. that cup. IN thankful she had that
/ much pleasure before she died.
There was a quilt hanging over the
foot of the bed that had about ii a GER
T tain air of distinction 1t was a solid
mass OF patchwork. composed of squares,
( paraiielograms. ana hexagons. The
/ squares We're Of dark gray and red-brown.
I the heXagous were white, the paralel0-
grams black and light gray. I felt sure
/ that IL had a history that set il apart
from its ordinary fellows.
Where did you get the pattern, Aunt
/ Jane2' / asked. Il never saw anything
+ like il"
The old ladys eyes sparkled. and she
/ laughed with pure pleasure.
That's what every body says. she ex-
/ claimed jumping up and spreading the
favored quilt over two laden chairs.
I where It's merits became more apparent
and striking There amt another quilt
I like this in the State o. Kentucky, or the
world for that matter Ny granddaugh-
/ ter Henrietta, Mary Frances youngest
/ child brought me this pattern from Eu-
/ rope
She spoke the words as one might say.
from Paradise, or from Olympus" OF
/ from the Lost Atlantis" Europe" was
; evidently Il name to conjure with, "a
/ country of mystery and romance un-
! speakabie ] had seen many things from
many lands beyond the sea. but a quilt
pattern from Europe, Here at last was
something new under the sun. Ia what
shop of London or Paris were quilt pat
terms kept on sale for the American
tourist?
You see,' said Aunt Jane, Henrietta
married "a mighty rich man. and jest as
good as he's rich, too, and they went TO
. Europe on their bridal trip. When she
come home she brought me the prettiest
shawl you ever saw. She made me stand
up and shut my eyes. and she pat it on
my shoulders and made me look i'm the
lOOkin glass. and then she says. I
. brought you "a new quilt pattern. TOO,
+ grandma, and / want you TO piece one
quilt 10y It and leave il TO me when you
die. And then she told me about goin'
10 a town over y0nder they call Florence.
and how she went into big church that
was built hundreds o. years before / was
born. And she said the floor WAS made
o. little pieces O. colored stone. all laid
/ together in pattern, and they called il
mosaic And says l. Honey, has IL got
anything 20 do with Moses and his law p
/ You know the Commandments was called
/ the Mosaic Law, and was all on table O.
stone. And Henrietta Jest laughed. and
/ says she, No, grandma; ! don't believe
it has. But. says she. the minute I
stepped on that pavement I thought about
YOU and l drew this pattern off on a piece
o. paper, and brought il all the way 20
/ kentucky for you 10 make a quilt By.
/ Henrietta bought the worsted for me, for
she said il had to be Jest the colors o.
that pavement over yonder, and I made
II that very winter"
Aunt Jane was regarding the quilt with
worshipful eyes, and il really was an
effective combination of color and form.
Many a time while / was piecin that
she said, II thought about the man that
laid the pavement liz that old church. and
wondered what his name was. and how ne
/ looked. and what he'd think if he knew
/ there was an old woman down here in
Kentucky usin' his patterns TO make a
bedquilt"
1t was indeed a far cry from the Flor
entine artisan of centuries ago to this
humble worker IA calico and worsted
but between the two stretched a cord OF
/ sympathy that made them One-the eter-
nal aspiration after beauty.
Honey" said Aunt Jane. suddenly
did I ever show you my prem!ums?"
And then, with pleasant excitement in
her manner, she arose. fumbled in heI
deep pocket for an ancient bunch OF
keys, ana unlocked cupboard on one
side of the fireplace. One BY one she
drew them out, uuTolled the soft yellow
tissue paper that EMBODIED them, and
I ranged them in "a stately line on the old
/ cherry ter-table-nineteen sterling sill
yer cups ana goblets ADRIAN took some
Of EN- on his fine stock, and I took
some of 'em on my quilts and salt-risin
bread and cakes" size said, impressive
ly.