Democratic Sentinel, Volume 11, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 December 1887 — GRANDMOTHER’S STORY. [ARTICLE]

GRANDMOTHER’S STORY.

A CHRISTMAS PARTY. “Tell us a funny story this time.” Grandmother leaned back in her rockingchair, looked into the faces of tlireo or four grandchildren, who were sitting near her, and laughed outright. Then she put one soft, wrinkled white hand up over her eyes, rested her elbow on the arm or her chair, and laughed again. “Oh! you have thought of one, I’m sure!” “Yes.” Her grandchildren, with their fathers and mothers, always spent Christmas at her home, and a story from her lips was usually a part of the programme for Christmas eve. And this was the story that was told in answer to their request, a year ago this Christmas. “What I think I will tell you about took place about fifty-five years ago, when I was fourteen years old. I cannot say that I then s*w anything funny in it. And if I didn’t think it funny, I am suro the boy did not who took his part in the events of the evening. “As I have said, I was fifteen years old, and Ebenezer Dill, who was a neighbor and acquaintance, was seventeen. We both went to the samo school—a district school —and things in and and around it were, primitive enough. We lived about two miles' from the schoolhouse, and the Dill’s farm joinod my father's. I was the oldest child in our family. Ebenezer was the oldest of the Dill’s children, and he and I wore the only ones in either family who wont to school that first winter. “We often walked to and from school together. He was an awkard, bashful boy with a red head, who always seemed to be growing out of his clothes before they were half worn out, so that his pantaloons and the sleeves of his coat were generally several inches too short for him. “I am sure, too, that I was awkward and bashful, and even at my best I never was a beauty, so possibly it would be about six-of-one and half-a-dozen of the other, if I should attempt to give a portrait of either of us. “We had a lively, pleasant teacher that winter. Some of the folkß said he was too full of fun for a school teacher, and that ho should have more dignity. But in thoso days, as well as to-day, a teacher would be found fault with if he were made to order. This teacher’s name was Hooper, and he prepared a tree, and had it placed in the school-nouse the day before Christmas. Some of the farmers grumbled about that, and said it took our minds off our book, and Mr. Hooper’s mind from his duties as teacher, and it wasn't right. Nevertheless, we had the tree. “Two or three days before Christmas, v ben I opened my spelling-book, I found, between the. leaves, a little note scribbled in red ink on a piece of paper torn from a copy-book. It read like this: “ ‘Miss Priscilla— Esteemed miss: I take my pen in hand to wish you a merry Christmas and to send you my best wishes, and to ask the fleasure of your society to the tree to be held ere on Friday night. Hoping you will send me a writing that you will go with mo, and that I may get it soon. lam your true friend and admirer, “ ‘Ebenezer B. Dill. “ ‘P. S. My pen is bad, my ink is palo, My love for you shall novor fail. “ ‘E. B. Dill. “ ‘Bound is the ring that has no end, So is my love for you, my friend. “ ‘Ebenezer.’ “At the top of the page Ebenezer had drawn with blue and red ink a dove that looked like a gander, sitting on a tree that was not half as big as the bird. This is all as clear in my memory as though it bad taken place yesterday. “Although I walked home with Ebenezer that night. I did not say anything about the note, but the next day I slipped this into liis arithmetic: “ ‘Mister Ebenezer B. Dill— Kind sir: herein find my acceptance of your company on Friday night, as my folks are not coming, and I have no one else to come with, and I am much obliged for your wanting me to, and I will be ready at seven o’clock. “ ‘Miss Priscilla H. Fink. “ ‘P. 8. I don’t know any poetry, or I would put some in. P. H. F. “ ‘P. S. Our dog bit a man bad yesterday, *o be careful, for he isn’t chained nights. “ ‘Priscilla.’ “By seven o’clock on the next Friday evening I was ready to start for the school-house. My father was always full of fun, and was an awful tease. Of course, he made the most of this opportunity, and when Ebenezer knocked at the aoor he opened it and said, — “ ‘Come in, Ebenezer! Come right in! Going to act as a beau to-night? Hey? Purty dark night for you to be out alone, ain’t it? They say a man see a bear in the Woods to■day. Bettef look out. Jake Simpson says he Raw trades of some monst’ous big varmint in the frost this morning. Don’t you let it eat up, my Prissy.’ “Ebenezer answered quite promptly for him. ‘lt’ll have to eat me first, sir.’ “My mother, who enjoyed any innocent pleasantry, laughed, and asked,— “ ‘Has your mother put anything on the tree for you?’ “ ‘I don’t know,’ replied Eb. “ ‘Well, I sent over a doll for Prissy and one for you, too, and a frosted cooky for each of you. Mind that you don’t drop them if that wild creature out in the woods gets after you.’

“Ebenezer blushed and moved nervously in his chair; but finally mustered op courage to say,— “ ‘Well, I guess we’d better go, Miss Fink.' “That ‘Miss Fink’amnsed father and mother very much, and we coaid hear them laughing after we got out into the road. “Ebenezer was wonderfully fixed up. The hair oil was so thick on hie head that it could be seen in white spots where it had hardened. Then he had on a whita collar over his flannel shirt, and a green ribbon neck-tie run throagb a coral ring. His blue gingham handkerchief was odorous with cinnamon drops, and to crown the whole he had on his father’s overcoat. “I think we had gone half way to the schoolhouse before either es us could think of a word to say. Then Ebenezer pulled his hand out of his pocket, and held it out toward me, saying only,— “ ‘Here.’ “He had given me a handful of candy hearts. “ ‘There’s readin’ on ’em,’ he continued, after we had gone another half mile. “* Ts they?’ I answered hesitatingly. “ ‘Yes, and its real purty, some of it.’ “After that Ebenezer became less constrained and more confidential. “I know something,’ he whispered. “Of course I was very much amazed at that, and responded, ‘Do you?’ “Yeß, sir,’ exclaimed Ebenezer emphatically. “ ‘Wliat is it?’ “ ‘Oh, nothing! Onlv there’s going to be something on the tree for somebody.’ “Of course I inferred that be meant me, but I didn't think it would be quite proper for me to say so. “After a pause the young man exclaimed impulsively: “ ‘You ’spect to get anything off the tree? “ ‘No.’ “ ‘Well, yon will, and I could tell who put it on that tree for you, if I had a mind to!’ “ ‘Could you?’ “ ‘Yaas. And it cost seventy-five cents.’ “Then there was silence. Time was given me to digest the important fact, and then he continued: “ ‘I had seventy-five cents jest ’fore Christmas, but I ain’t got it now, and I don’t care if I ain’t.’ “Then I knew, of course, that he wished me to know that he had put seventy-five centi worth of something on the tree for me, and il seemed to me that the proper thing for me to do would be to place something on the tree for him. I was in a dilemma; but I remem bered that I had in my pocket a pair of red and green suspenders with brass buckles, that I had made to put on the tree for my brother Cyrus, and now I concluded that the least I could do, in return for Ks generosity to me, was to put them on for Ebenezer. And acting on this conclusion, I p acod them on the tree. ‘ ‘The tree was beautiful, to our unaccustomed eyes, and the old school-house was full of people. Mr. Hooper, as each present was taken from the tree, read the name of the boy or girl to whom it was given. When my name was called, I marched up, and what do you think that awkward boy had put. there for me ? Why, a big china doll’s head and a candy heart as big as a pie, with ‘Bo True to the Giver’ on it in large gilt letters. “My brother Cyrus knew that I had made the suspenders for him, and kept pointing at them as .hey dangled from the tree, saying to \ho boys around him, — “ ‘Them’s my senders! Them red and green gallusses is going to be for me.’ “You can imagine, therefore, what followed, when thev were called off for ‘Mister Ebenezer B. Dill.’ ’ Cyrus fairly screeched m nis indignation, and exclaimed, — “ ‘Them gallusses aint for Eb Dill, They’re mine. My sister Prissy made ’em, an’ she didn't make ’em for no Eb Dill, neither.’ “Of course there was a roar of laughter all over the school-room, and Cyrus began to cry. But Ebenezer kept the suspenders, and I actually had to give Cyrus a bite from my candy heart to keep him quiet. “Well, when the presents had '•.11 been given. Eb and I left for home. He talked fast enough then, but about nothing butt l at doll’s head and the heart, and _ow splendid they were. “We had not gone very far when old Uncle Simon Sharpe overtook us. He was a singular old man, full of humor. I hardly think that Longfellow himself could make rhyme easier than Uncle Simon. His head was full of it, and they did say that he could say his prayers in poetry. He was in the best of spirits, and when he saw us, held his lantern up in our faces, and exclaimed, — “ ‘ls this you, Priscilla Fink? Well, well,— “ ‘lt may in truth be said by some, That Ebenezer beaued you hum; I blame you not to take a spark To light you home when it is dark.’ “Then he gave Ebenezer a poko with his cane, and off he went ahead of us. “We were nearly home, and were crossing our pasture, when I said, ‘I wonder if there really are any bears in the woods.’ For there were occasionally bears in those days, in the . tion of country in which we lived, and 0.. e in a great while a panther was killed. “ ‘Wei you're all right if there are bea r s,’ replied Eb, quite bravely. But just then som-thing big and black jumped up from under an old appe tree that stood a little distance at ouy right. It stood still for a moment, but when we moved it jumped hack. “‘There is a bear!’ exclaimed Ebenezer, and I could feel bis arm tremble. “The animal made another jump, and Ebenezer made a spring also, and actually got round the other side of me, so I was between him and the animal. “I started and ran past the tree as fast as my feet would carry me toward home, leaving Ebenezer screeching behind. I was sure that the bear was eating him up. “Beaching home, I burst into the house screaming, ‘0 father, father! Ebenezer ! A bear! Under the old apple-tree in the pasture lot!’ and down I fell in a dead faint, with the candy heart and the doll’s head broken to pieces under me. “Eat er and my older brothers took lanterns and guns, and started for the elm-tree as fast as they could run, while mother put me to bed.” * “Don’t tell us that poor Ebenezer was killed, even if he was a coward,” cried one of grandma’s breathless listeners. “Goodness, no!” laughed the old lady, “When father and the boys got within twenty yards or so of the tree all was still, but the form of the animal could be dimly seen. “ ‘You hold the lantern,’ said father, to brother Henry, ‘and I’ll shoot the beast. But I’m ’fraid it’s all up with poor Eb.” “But just as father was taking aim, he heard a voice ‘Don’t shoot, Mr. Fink. It ain’t no boar. Please get me loose.’ “Father and the boys at once ran to the tree, and the next moment they were laughing so boisterously that mother heard them at the house. “You s r, e, we had a big, black calf about nine months old that had been kept in the stable lot, and that day father bad moved a part of the fence so as to enlarge the lot. To keep the animal from running away, the hired man had taken a long rope and then tied up toe animal to the tree out in the pasture. “When Eh and I came along the calf jumped up. as badly scared as we, and then I ran, and Eb in his fright thought that the safest place for hiig was to climb the tree. As he was rushing for it, the calf started, tore round it in a circle, and before the frightened boy could get out of the way, that calf had wound a coil of rope around him, and it kept on running round and round until it had bound poor Ebenezer to the tree in three or four coils of rope •‘While he was trying to get out of the coils that were about him, father and the boys were on the ground, and before they were through

laughing, Eb had contrived to extricate himself. “He said that when he felt the rope winding around him he thought it was a boa constrictor, and he was so pale that when the lantern was held to bis face, the freckles showed like t e spots on a turkey egg. “And the boy was so angry because they laughed at him that he lay down on the Cund and fairly bellowed, and I don’t know he was there when Santa Claus went his ronnds that night. At any rate, after that I was never a favorite of his. The adventure and the langhtcr of the boys at his cowardice effectually cured his love-making.”