actions could doubt it. Mrs. Macy says it was a awful lesson to her against keepin' loose needles in screw things,—she says 't her son sent her a egg from the World's Fair with every kind of needle in it, but she wasn't takin' no chances, 'n' she took them needles right out 'n' put buttons in instead." 

 "I remember she died," said Mrs. Lathrop thoughtfully, "but I—" 

 "It don't matter," said Susan. "My, but it's hot! It's been awful hot this week, 'n' this afternoon it was all but bilin' down there in that little parlor o' Mrs. Craig's. I was f'r sittin' on the porch, but Gran'ma Mullins rocked off a porch once 'n' she was f'r sittin' where she couldn't rock off nothin'. I said she could sit on the grass, but she was fussy about that too—said a poison-spider bit her foot once 'n' she had it come on reg'lar every year f'r seven years after. I come nigh to feelin' put out, but Mrs. Sperrit spoke up just then 'n' asked 'f we'd any of us noticed how terrible worn the minister's wife was lookin' 'n' didn't we think 't he'd ought to have a vacation? It was that 't made the meetin' so interesting f'r in all the years 't we've had the minister no one ever thought o' givin' him a vacation afore, 'n' when you think how long we've had him 'n' how steady we've gone to church as a consequence, I must say 't I think 't it's more 'n surprisin' 't we didn't give him a vacation long ago. I must say, though, 't my first idea was 't it was a curious thing to give the minister a vacation so as to rest his wife, although I d'n' know 's we could do any thin' kinder for her 'n to get rid of him f'r a spell. Then too, to my order o' thinkin', our minister ain't really ever in need o' no rest, and 'f he needs a change my say would be 'Set him to work.' I said all that to 'em all down there, 'n' Mrs. Sperrit went on then 'n' said 't her idea was f'r 'em both to go, so 's we could all sort o' take a breathin' space together. I agreed with her about the breathin,' f'r I don't believe no other minister 'n ours ever had thirteen children born in the same house, 'n' I'm free to remark 't if a new minister did n't always sit so solid for new wall-paper 'n' the cistern cleaned out, I'm pretty sure 't the last half-dozen childern 'n' his second wife would certainly have found themselves bein' born elsewhere. 'N', such bein' the case, I don't blame no man f'r wantin' a little free time, 'n' so I joined in, 'n' Mrs. Allen moved 't we all unbutton our collars 'n' discuss the matter, 'n' Gran'ma Mullins took off her cap 'n' we begun right then 'n' there. Mrs. Brown said 't if they was a-goin' now was a very good time 'cause the baby was a year old, 'n' I said 't I c'd agree with her there 

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