Evening journal., 1912-06-25
REODA
WOULDN'T
BY ANNA BENTLEY
BY ANNA BENTLEY

To us Americans there is an absorb
ing interest in those people who sew
eral hundred years ago settled on the
continent OF North America. The prin-
cipal settlements were those of the cav
alters az jamestown in Virginia and
the Puritans in Massachusetts. They
were very different, the cavaliers being
q helter skelter lot. the Puritans being
governed by a cold and tyrannical re-
/ ligion.
One Of the most attractive inlets Of
the Atlantic ocean on the North Amer
ican coast is Narragansett bay. II CON
talns number Of islands. the largest
Of which. Rhode Island, gives the state
its name On one OF these islands
some two and half centuries ago Par
don Pym. a preaching elder, built him
a house. where he lived in solitude.
But the house was not intended for
such an existence. The elder had long
loved Rhoda Baker, a spinster OF the
mainland, and he had constructed it
hoping to bring her there as his wife.
BE had even arranged a window where
she could sit as she worked and see
him coming in his boat TO their home.
But Rhoda was one of those persons
whose gaze is forever turned within
themselves. This made her very shy.
Whether II was from this cause or
whether she could not make up her
mind that she loved the elder well
enough to marry him or that she was
uncertain IL the Lord intended her to
do so. she gave Pardon Pym no encour-
agement to speak.
Quite possibly It was the latter cause,
for at that time the people OF New
England were wholly absorbed in their
religion. They were not so much a
colony as a church. The governors of
the church ruled the people-not only
the people in the church. but those
without the church. II was the church
that ordered sea captain OF Boston,
arriving at home after a long voyage
to the stocks for kissing his wife on
Sunday. It was the church that or
dered scoldlng women to the duckine
stool and soused them into cold
stream again and again till all the TEN
per was taken out OF them. II was f.
the church edifice directly under the
, pulpit that transgressors against il-
church law were forced 10 sit. facing
the congregation. doing penance.
II was natural that a people Y 10
had come to a wilderness that thy
might not be interfered with in mat
ters Of religion and found there moth.
ing to amuse them outside Of theii
working hours should be absorbed in
! that religion and produce such char
1 acter as Rhoda Baker. She listened
to no other suitor than the preacher
but never by word or deed did sh'
give him a hint that she would marrl
him should he ask her TO do so.
The women OF that time, obliged q
make themselves most Of the article
they needed. devoted themselves to dii
ferent industries. Rhoda Baker worl
e ed in leather. OF leather she made a
sorts of articles useful and ornamental
One was trellis--probably a coupl
Of clothes horses-on which were vine
bearing fruits such as are grown tc
r. day and some which were the produc
of her imagination. There were grape
made OF bullets or pebbles aroun
? which she sewed in delicate stitche
pieces Of thin leather. sometimes XII
gloves. The grapes we're attached {
n the stem with hooks and eyes. Thes
were used that the grapes might
detached occasionally from the ster
and carefully busted.
In this leather work Pym was Rho
da's devoted assistant He furnishe
her with the leather. which she col
verted into articles of beauty-strane
courtship wherein the man was cor
tinuany hunting for old boots or sue
CASTOR clothing as was made OF leatl
81 er and the woman was convertin
" them into things which in that da
were considered beautiful.
3 One day Pym went with an offerin
. of the tops Of an old pair Of boots. h
y raped for admittance with the pol
J. derous iron knocker but received 4
response He knocked again. All ws
silent within Feeling sure Rhoda ws
at home, he opened the door and el