BREAKING THE SABBATH.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1628, 8 March 1884, Page 4

BREAKING THE SABBATH.

" But what is it about your pa and ma being turned out of the church?" said the grocery man, "I hear that they scandalised themselves horribly last Sunday." " Well, you see, mo and my chum put up a job on pa to make him think Sunday was only Saturday, and ma, she fell into it, and I gUGSS we arc all going to get fired from the church for working on Sunday. You see they didn't go to meeting last Sunday beoause ma's new bonnet hadn't come, and Monday and Tuesday it rained, and the rest of tho week was so muddy no ono called, or they could not get anywhere, so Monday I slid out early and got the daily paper, and on Tuesday my chum he got tho paper oil the stops and put Monday's paper in its place, I watched when they were reading it, but they did not notice the date, Then Wednesday wo put Tuesday's paper on the stops, and pa said that it seemed moro than Tuesday, but ma she got the paper of the day before and looked at tho date and said it seemed so to her, but she guessed that they had lost a day somehow, Thursday we got Wednesday's paper on the steps, and Friday we rung in Thursday's paper, and Saturday my chum ho got Friday's paper on the steps, and ma said she guessed she would wash to-morrow, and pa said lie believed he would hoe in the garden and get the weeds out, so it would look better to folks when they went by on Sunday to church. Well, Sunday morning came, and with it Satur< ; ry's daily paper; and pa barely glanced it over as he got on his overalls and went out in his shirt sleeves a hoeing in the front garden. And I and my chum helped ma carry water to wash, She said it seemed like the longest week she ever saw; but when wo brought the water, and took a plate of pickles to the hired girl that was down with the mumps, we got into the lilac bushes and waited for the curtain to rise, It wasn't long before the folks began going to church, and you'd died laughing to see them all stop in front of where ma was washing and look at her, and then go on to where pa was hoeing weeds and stop and look at him and then drive on. After about a dozen teams had passed I heard ma ask pa if lie knew who was dead, as tliero must lie a funeral somewhere, Pa had just hoed into a bumble bees' nest, and said that he did not know of any that was dead, but knew some that ought to be, and Ma—she did not ask any foolish questions any more, After about twenty teams had stopped, ma she got nervous, and asked Deacon Smith if ho saw anything green. He said something about desecration and drove away. Deacon Brown asked pa if he did not think he was setting a bad example before hi 3 boy; but pa said he thought it would be a good one if the boy could bo hired to do it, Finally ma got mad and took the tub behind the house, where they could not see her. About four o'clock that afternoon wc saw a dozen of our congregation, headed by the minister, file into our yard and my chum and I knew it was time to fly, so wc got on the back steps where we could hear, Pa met them at the door, expecting some bad news and when they were seated ma she came in and remarked it was a very unhealthy year and it stood people in hand to meet their latter end, None of them said a word until the elder put on his specks and said it was a solemn occasion, and ma she turned pale, and wondered who eould it be, and pa says, ' Don't keep us in suspense; who is dead 1' and the elder said no one was dead, but they called as a duty they owed the cause to take action on them for working on Sunday. Ma she fainted away, and they threw a pitcher of water down her back, and pa said he guessed they were a pack of lunatics, but they all swore it was Sunday, and they saw ma washing and pa hoeing as they went to church, and thoy had called to take action on them, Then there was a few minutes' conversation I could not catch, and then we heard pa kick his chair over and say it was more tricks of that darned boy; then wo knew it was time to adjourn, and I was just getting through the back fence as pa reached me with a barrel stave, and that's what make-j me limp some,"—'Peck's Sun,'