| Show the christmas W ui it by blanche tanner dillin HE snow was beautiful but THE Ti made one feel somewhat lonely onely nancy atwell thought BS as she stood at the window watching the falling snow for an instant she regretted refusing the urgent invitations of her two brothers end and two sisters to spend the holidays with them each of them had been insistent but were all so far away it was out ot of the questions question financially and she want them to furnish the money end and then for or years she had spent christmas here in the connecticut hills bills with grandmother and she imagine it seeming like christmas any place else peggy north her old and dear friend had written that she could not get away for or the holidays so hoped that nancy could be with her nancy had done little toward any sort of festivities and had left left putting put up the decorations until the last minute in fact act she bought anything new the old ones would do well enough perhaps she might just as well go up to the attic now and see what there was it might seem more like ch christmas i t with some decorations around As she opened a drawer in an old chest her hand touched grandmothers old quilt grandmothers happiness quilt as she always called it it was just such a day as this so long ago when sitting at grandmothers fe feet et down in the setting room she had heard the history of the pieces in in the quilt there was no place here in the attic to look at it so together with wreaths and garlands of V V t ta she had bad heard the history of the pieces tinsel she carried the quilt down to the room where she had heard its history for the first time and spread it cut on the bed here was a piece from the dress grandmother had worn when grandfather proposed here was the piece of grandmothers wedding ed dress others from christening robes party dresses wedding dresses and dresses worn on other happy occasions some almost in shreds but still enough left to recall the stories to nancy as grandmother atwell had told them how grandmother had loved telling them and how she had laughed at some memory nancy ha had co commented m on what a happy I 1 life ife grandmother had had no one ever had a happier one grandmother assured her how cheerful unselfish grandmother had been never dwelling on her own troubles but ready to help others in theirs nancy recalled the times grandmother had been the means ct c making 1 the path a little smoother the pain less keen by the gift of 0 something nancy especially wanted or the fulfilling of some cherished plan ot of nancys and when nancy was left alone in the old home and grandmother sent for her she must have guessed just how much nancy wanted the rest and quiet the hills would give her nancy never forgot the smile and embrace with which grandmother greeted her no rehearsing of painful experiences but plans immediately made for or happy days in the future nancys loss had been grandmothers as well but grandmother had never let others know the shadows that crossed her path what a satisfaction it must be to be able to help others as grandmother had then nancy saw how she could do the same in a measure at least first she could give anna a vacation over the holidays next she would wire peggy she would be with her over christmas As she laid the quilt away after carrying out her plans deep gratitude filled her heart for if she found the quilt she would never have known the happiness she now felt a 0 newspaper union |
