The Falls City tribune., 1909-07-30
The Churching of
Grandma Pleasant
By PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR

Copyright. by j. b. Lippincott Coz
1t was Seraphiny Higgins who first
heard her, >and she really could not be-
lieVe her ears, but when she heard
her again, Seraphiny was sure that
she could not be mistaken. Her kitch-
en- window let right out ON Mrs.
Peasants back porch, and there was
no doubt that there was someone sit
ting there and singing Comm
Through the Rye"
That was too much for Seraphiny,
and she broke out of the house and
went for Mis- Gillian and Mis- War
ner to come and hear. She fairly
flew, because she vas afraid the old
lady would stop again before she got
back, but, as luck would have it, when
they got back to the house the old
lady was still a-singin', and had
switched into one of the old planta-
tion songs that they used to sing
nigh IN to 30 years ago, and 1t had
a regular devils jig into the tune
of it.
WELL" Mis- Gillian says, who
would have thought it?"
Mis- Warmers breath was clean
gone, but Seraphiny she flowed that
II was the old lady's Maryland blood,
and what else could you expect of
folks that had once owned slaves. She
wouldn't put 1t past her to see her
settin' down smokin' a pipe an a.
fiddlin'."
The other gasped at such
bold speech, although they knew that
| Seraphiny had always been possessed
of a sharp tongue. Meanwhile, the
old lady had turned into n half-re-
ligious tune, "Singin' in the Skies"
but a most unreligious patting of her
foot went with it, and the Mortified
women behind the shades of Sera-
phiny's house believed that there
must have been a time when Gram
ma Pleasant had even danced.
ut ought to be reported in session."
says Seraphiny.
But la, Seraphiny," replied Mis-.
| Warner, "Gramma Pleasant is so old"
she is nigh on to So" added Mis-
Gillian.
t"All the worse for her to be aeon
mittin' such frivolity an a-settin' a
bad example before the younger mem
bers of the flock" says Seraphiny,
grimly.
at 'ud break her heart IL she was
turned out of the church at this time
of life" Mis- Warner returned.
Sometimes it's good to break a
heart in order to save a SOUL" was
the stern response, and so these calm
religious spies stood and listened to
the old childishly voicing her
Joy until Nathan Foster came up to
ttergate and stopped also to listen.
Finally, he opened the gate and went
in. There was a broad grin on his
face. Seraphiny gasped.
"Jest look at Nathan Foster" she
says, "a-grinnin' at them songs, and
he supposed to be such a strong man
in Israel. Mebbe he's GRIMM jest to
catch her."
But Nathan came up to the porch
where the old lady sat and gave a
hearty, enforced laugh.
There, there now, Granny, /
ketched you"
The old woman laughed and said:
Go way now Nathan, you amt a.
goin' to tell on me?"
whats the use o. TELLING" he said.
There amt no harm in that. / jest
tell you them old-time songs kind O.
stirs up things in We that we amt
felt for a long while, and l yum l like
EN-"
The three m behind the win
dow-shades grasped one %another's
aprons and stared, horror-stricken.
Then the vitriolic Seraphiny whis-
pered, tragically:
Nathan Foster a-sayin' he likes
them songs! The old hypocrite. II
| don't do anything to Gramma Pleas
ant I'll have him up before session
anyhow" and the others solemnly
shook their heads in acquiescence and
dumb amazement. The very founda-
ton of their belief had been shaken.
All the traditions of their narrow re-
ligious life had been uprooted, and
they could not have been more dis
turbed, more disconnected. more utter
iy unsettled in mind, had they seen
the parson dancing.
1t is only an evidence of how news
may travel when one comes to know
that the story of Gramma Peasants
detection was soon rumored all over
town. Seraphiny says it was not she
who told it, Mis- Warner that it was
not she who told it. and Mis- Gillian
swears with all the Methodist oaths
that she never mentioned a word Of
1t to anybody. Well, it wasn't Nathan
Foster, because he was mixed up in
the affair.
Everything might have gone right,
but Mr.. Simpson, the pastor of the
church, got wind of it, and he was an
awful strict man-all Dorbury was
strickland he just determined that he
was going to make an example of
those people. He said just what
Seraphiny said, that it was all the
worse because Gramma Pleasant was