BREAKING THE SABBATH.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1164, 12 April 1884, Page 3

BREAKING THE SABBATH.

‘But what is it about your pa and ma being turned out of the church V said the grocery man, ‘I hear that they scandalised themselves horribly last Sunday.' ‘ Well, you see, me and my chum put up a job on pa to make him think that Sunday was only Saturday, and ma she fell into it, and I guess we are all going to get fired from the church for working on Sunday. You see they didn’t go to meetin’ last Sunday because ma’s new bonnet hadn't come, Monday and Tuesday it rained, and the rest of the week was so muddy no one called, or they could Hot get anywhere, so Monday I slid out early and got the daily paper, and on Tuesday my chum he got the paper off the steps and put Monday’s paper in its place. I watched when they were reading it, but they did not notice the date. Then Wednesday we put Tuesday’s paper on the steps, and pa said it seemed more than Tuesday, but ma she got the paper of the day before and looked at the date and said it seemed so to her, but she guessed that they had lost a day somehow. On Thursday we got Wednesday’s paper on the steps, and Friday we rung in Thursday’s paper, and Saturday my chum be got Friday’s paper on the steps, and ma said she guessed she would wash to-morrow, and pa said he believed he would hoe in the garden and gat 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 Saturday’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 to carry water to wash. She said it seemed like the longest week she ever saw, but when we brought the water and took a plate of pickles to the hired girl that was down with the mumps, we got in the lilac bushes and waited, for the curtain to rise. It wasn’t long before 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 bad passed I heard ma ask pa if he knew who was dead, as there must be a funeral somewhere. Pa had just hoed into a bumble-bee’s nest, and said he did not know of any that was dead, but knew some that ought to be, and ma did not ask any foolish questions any more. After about twenty teams had stopped, ma, she got nervous, and asked Deacon Smith if he saw anything green ; he said something about desecration and drove away. Deacon Brown asked pa if lie did not think he was setting a bad example before bis boy, but pa said he thought it would be a good one if the boy could only be hired to do it. Finally rna got mad and took the tub behind the house where they could not see her. About four o’clock that afternoon we 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 we 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 it could be, and pa says, ‘ Don’t keep us in suspense, who is dead T 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 out hoeing as they went to church, and than 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 cheir over and say it was more tricks of that darned boy ; then we knew it was time to adjourn, and I was just getting through the back fence as pa reached mo with a barrel stave, and that’s what makes me limp some.’