Faithful Unto Death

They Just Keep On Coming

“He has to learn some time. Some of these hens will be off their feed for days.” Giving the lie to this, most of the hens were already serenely picking over the scattered grain, at least until she led the wailing Leroy over to the scene of his transgressions and began to switch his legs. Anna led him to the house, where he was to stand in the corner in disgrace for an hour.“Those nasty old hens.They told Mother to switch me,” he brooded. “benzonia, 1878 “Dear Sister, “The retirement party for Father was quite lovely, and nearly every one of his friends was able to attend. As he has told you, the of‹ce of Postmaster has long since been taken over by Jesse Packard. Can you believe it? The man has immediately opened up a small general store in the post of‹ce! “Elvira was completely worn out after the party, poor thing, although I made the utmost attempt to handle most of the cooking and cleanup. I think she is constitutionally unable to sit still and allow anyone else to ‘do’ for her in any way, even when the event is actually a family affair. Father looks more tired than he ought for a man of only sixtyseven years, I feel. Perhaps I worry more than I should; you know how he hates to be fussed over, so I keep my thoughts to myself. “How are you feeling? Every time I hear about another outbreak of cholera, at home or on foreign shores, I think of you, dear sister, and utter a silent prayer on your behalf . . .” They Just Keep On Coming anna suppressed a sigh as she sank into the rocker, her hands full of mending. She noted that her workbasket had begun to look frayed, the green and white cane cracking near the top. Anna cared not a whit about the basket’s appearance, but too many perfectly good stockings had been torn by clutching basket splinters. The basket had been Elvira’s. Its green canes were fading by the time Anna was old enough to help with darning, her patches neat and even enough to please Elvira’s exacting perusal. You could tell, by squinting sideways, how 67 bright the green had once been, a neat clean contrast to the pale white splines that crossed it. Now it was nearly past its usefulness, and she’d never ‹nd a basket as neat and handy as this one. It was just small enough to tuck under one arm if you had a squirming baby under the other, yet large enough to hold holey stockings for a growing family. Again not sighing, Anna pulled out the ‹rst stocking, a long black one belonging to Leroy, she thought. She frowned, looked at it again. Ralph’s? Maybe. And with a great hole at the heel. What did that boy do, to make the heels wear out before the toes so consistently? Another Saturday evening. Children washed and in bed, dishes washed and put away, cream skimmed and set on the back of the stove to sour for the potatoes. Kitchen ›oor washed, breakfast set up and ready for morning. Anna had decreed that on the Sabbath no actual cooking was to be done, but that leftovers could be warmed. Her ‹nal tasks included gathering up the children’s toys and books and putting them away for tomorrow, frivolous games and pursuits deemed unsuitable for Sabbath. Only the Bible and other religious writings could be read, though Charlotte’s letters were acceptable for reading over. She sighed. The Lord sent his strength to those who needed it, she knew, but sometimes it seemed to waver. She stretched her back. This child seemed more restless, and seemed to delight in kicking her squarely in the back. She knelt on the ›oor, folded her hands on the seat of the chair she had vacated, and tried to focus on her many blessings. The baby kicked her again. “biltis, turkey, December 1879 “My dear sister and family, “I am so pleased that you saw ‹t to name your daughter after her Aunt Charlotte. We asked a special blessing for dear little Charlotte Spencer Thacker at our service on Wednesday, and some of our orphans asked me to send their sincere greetings and wishes for her health and good fortune. “My health is improving.The Campbells have been very kind, sharing many of their delicacies with me when I have...