Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1912-11-27
A NEW
TIN PAN
Copyright. ISIS. by Associated I.s,-
erary Preas
B. " QuAD

On the back steps. seated side by side,
were the deacons wife and her nearest
neighbor and best friend-Mrs- Burt
.Tinware, ladies 2 he asked Every
thing new and bright Finest milk pan
in the country for only 10 cents"
ave always paid - cents for milk
pans" replied the deaeon's wife.
.sYes. and rye sold EN- as high as IS.
but they have got new way Of max
ing EN-. and I'm giving you the benefit
of IT, III bring one In"
The pan arrived. new and shiny.
and stood all the tests Ii Was put to.
No leaks. and Il would almost serve as
a mirror. A dime was borrowed TO pay
for II, and after little more talk it
was left on the steps while its owner
made a call at another house and the
deacOn's wife entered her own TO make
up the bed that had been airing.
Now came the cow. She belonged to
a man at the other end of the village.
There was grass in plenty. but she
longed for garden truck She leaped
the back fence and helped herself In
her stepping about she approached the
kitchen door and saw that new pan.
She saw the reflection of her face
and became astonlshed and indignant
A crop cared. one horned critter gaxed
at her In a defiant manner, and as she
was a bovine that had never taken a
blur she bumped up her back and
sailed In.
An hour later Mrs. Burt came back
after her pan, and her first yell
brought the deacon's wife ont OF the
house. There lay the once shapely
and shiny pan In the dirt, trodden as
fat as pancake. II might do 90 stop
a hog hole In the hack fence, but no
artisan could never mold II into pan
Lands aliver' exclaimed Mrs. Burt.
Mercy on mew exclaimed Mrs. Rush.
THAT COW did it!'
''She must haver'
And you let herr
Sarah Burt. don't you say anything
like that TO me. didn't know there
was q cow In the garden"
But you ought to have known. II
you'd keep your fences like other folks
the cows couldn't get in Look at that
pan that cost me 10 cents al hour
agor'
WAS to sit out here and watch
it," protested the deacon's wife.
You ought TO have heard the cow
when she was tromping IL"
You ought to have taken IT home
or carried it along with you
That's nothing to do with It. II
was left here. and it's destroyed, and
I'll be switched IL ever pay you the
10 centsr'
''If you don't I'll sue your
You dasn'tr'
There IL was, you see-the first real
quarrel between neighbors the village
had had in many long years. The
happy minded peddler and the lighting
cow disappeared from the scene. but
the quarrel remained. II did more than
that The news spread and within two
hours Mrs. Henderson was saying;
Mrs. Burt shouldn't try TO lay the
blame of on Mrs. Rush. When a wo-
mans busy making q bed she amt !
thinking OF cows. I hope Mrs Rush |
sues for the 10 cents"
And In the house right across the
street Mrs. Holiday was saying:
'Td let her sue and be hanged TO |
her. When a new 10 cent milk pan
Is left on my back steps by a neighbor |
It's my duty as a Christian woman to |
go out there every few minutes and |
see that it's all right I shall certain |
~ advise Mrs. Burt not to pay the |
10 cents"
By the next day the village was /
about equally divided on the question. |
though some few were inclined to blame l
neither the peddler nor COW. It was al /
talk for day or two. and then came /
action The factions no longer Dor
rowed nor lent. They bowed stfffiy to l
each other or not at all on the street.
They revived gossip that had been 4
dead fifteen years and rolled it under
their tongues. Carried into the church
esq OF course II was. When a thing
Ike that gets started in a village
there's no telling where It will ED. Ii
drew the elders and deacons and two
ministers in. and 1t made the attend
ance at sermons and prayer meetings
mighty slim. To all peacemakers the
ieacon's wife would reply:
II wasn't set here on this earth to
look out for other folks milk pans, and
| Jest won't do it,
And the reply Of Mrs Burt would be:
"She ought to have known about the
row. and I'll never pay that 10 centsr'
1t was quarrel and division that
ssted five years and might have gone
,n for another five but for providence
.aking hand In the game. A
ramp who had the measles headed
hat way. and he simply handed the
own an epidemic. Not q score of
people were spared. While none died.
I'll went to bed to be doctored and to
10 heap Of thinking. and the result
was that as fast as they could crawl
Juf they eAsed thar cor s~tov,o>~ ~