Importing An Ancestor

■Copyright. 1893, by American Press AssoeiaJiSffiJ CHAPTER VIII. Í.G AIN AT PASONAGKSSIT - PEACE AND GOOD ' W1LL PREVAIL. I was received with open arms by evrybody on my arrival at Pasonagessit- aot alone by ínembers of my own fami3y, not of course by the Bradford of all the Bradfords and a few others of that special brand of Bradfords, but I found life there very different fromwhat itwas on my departure for England. Jly father's house now seemed to be headquarters for nearly all the young people of the town. My sisters were "in the swim," and of course I very naturally dropped in with them. I was glad to be able to meet Prudenco in our farnily mansion. Our secret had been well kept. My sisters did not in the least suspect how matters stood beiween their brotlier and the "Mayflower of the Mayflowers." Not a soul was in ! the secret escept our true blue Captain Shriinp, and to be the sole repository of .snch a secret made him the happiest of mortals. Besides, he did not nmch like old Amarían Bradford and "jist naterally hated" Standish. He had faithf ully conveyed to Prudeuco all the letters 1 had written, both from England and New York, and began to feel almost like a father tothe dear little Puritanmaiden. Prudence was a close and shrewd student of her austere father's whims and inoods. Sheadvised a continuance of our secrecy, as a premature avowal of our engagement would probably arouse her father's wrath. We therefore concluded to bide our time - to quietly wait and j watch the effect of the ceremony of the entombing in the Pasonagessit cemetery of my titled ancestors. Whenever 1 ' spoke of these ancestors to Prudence, 1 I was able to detect' in her eyes just the ! iaintest bit of a merry twiukle - aud that twinkle continúes to the present day with the addition of a roguish smile. The plainest hint she has ever given me in regard to the business was onO day after my mother and sisters had been displaying and explaining their ancient jewels. On that occasion, as soon as we were done, she said, "Oh, Sam, 1 feel g-nilty, too, for I suspected all the time. y et said nothing." "You snspocted what, my dear?" "Oh, Sam, only think that I am at the bottom of it all; that it was all on my account," and her eyes told what ehe v.-ould not permit her tongue to utter. But I must not anticípate. As soon as we returned to Pasonagessit my father was again at work at what now seemed the one great business of his life. He at once had our genealogical tree placed in a massive oaken frame. "Heart of oak, ttam, my boj'!" cried he as he suspended it upon t..a wall. Nest he began the planting of evergreens on his lot in the cemetery, erecting brick walls in places and sparing neither pains nor cost. He was now well up in the genealogy, and I am firtuly of the opinión that from jioring over it he had come to believe ?very word of it. It was beautiful to hear him entertain Rev. Nantucket Sperm and Captain Shrimp with long historical sketches extending back as far a the year 870, when old Geoffroi Johnston single handed slew half a score of öanes. My mother, sister Eleanor and all my other sisters were in raptures at the sight of the ancient jewels wbich I aronght home, and which 1 distributed as impartially as possible. They were jiever tired of the story of their faithful preservation for so long a time by the old barrister and his descendants, heirs and assignees, for 1 continually remembered new circumstances and wonderrully improved upon my original sketch. Not an article but had been stolen or lost to be miracilously recovered in 3ome way; even from the fishes of the sea and the biriis of the air, not to speak of dishonest ervants and regular out and out burglars. x One poor girl was arrested at the very altar with one.of the taracelets on her armi My sisters always pitied that poor creature. She was a servant in the barrister's family. To the last, with tears and heart breaking wailings she declared that she only took the jewel for the occasion and intended to return it to its case imrnediately after the ceremony. But, poor thing, to Botany Bay she went, her mean spirited husband deserting her at the altar and leaving her to her f ate. These jewels beeame my father's pride and delight. He soon caine to have full faith in their genuineness and in the tmthfulness of the legends connected i with them. He seemed to have quite forgotten that on rny return from don I had given him the bilis for the manufacture of every article, all in square Btaring pounds, shillings and Iience. Doubtless he had destroyed the billa and adopted my storiea. 1% maj be asked. bj. yon mentally whether T lid uot in all tbis business feel somc t-oiapunctions of'conscience. 1 can trutbfnlly say that 1 feit oothing of the kind. h ïül 1 had done I had not wronged or iu any way injured a single living soul. On the contrary, wherever I had gone and in all I had" done I had made people happy. In Pasonagessit I had found all going wrong socially, and instead of setting to work with a butcher's cleaver of reform and getting myself heartily cursed for iny pains I gently, gently ministered to all the whims and prejudices I found in my path, when all rose up and called me blessed. In a peacef ui and congenial way I had been able to bring about a greater harvest of happiness than any fierce reformer with brandished cleaver could even have proposed or dreamed of. The genealogy and pretended ancient jewels were mere harmless toys, the making of which doubtless placed food in many hungry inonths. And besides these toys gave to several hearts daily and hourly a vast deal of happiness which they would oever have known had I not caused the pretty baubles to have an esistence. As for my exploit in what might, by sume pnritanical sticklers f or the purestand best methods of rendering the human race unhappy, be termed "body snatching," I do not feel that the freak of digging up ind bringing over the sea some negleuted and forgotten bones, to give them new sepulchers and fresh honors in a younger land, under brighter skies, harmed so much as a fly. On the contrary, out of this freak grew all the good that was accomplished at Pasonagessit aud in every other place to which 1 came while in process of working up my plan for humanizing out of the way of wholesome and hearty happiness the whims and prejudices that npreared themselvea in my path. Were it possible to find their tombs 1 would be ready to set out tomorrow and transport to Pasonagessit or sume other spot in our country the bones of our first parents, old Adam and Eve, eould 1 thereby render happy a sufficient per cent of the human faniily to jtistify the trip. Before me 1 now every day saw the good i'raits of my work. My father had in a reniarlíably short time gathered in and deposited with the Pasonagessit undertaker the remains of my great-grandfather, Walter Johnson, put down in our genealogy as being the only son of Sir Archibald; those of my great-grandmother, Mary Johnson, and also those of Samuel and Martha Johnson, my grandfather and grandmother, all of which had been placed in fine and costly caskets provided with silver plates properly inscribed. Having scenred these, J thought my father would rest satisfied. Bnt not so. He had set his heart upon obtaining the remains of Lady Arbella or Arabella Johnson from Salem, where they were interred in 1630, only 10 years after the landing of the pilgrims on "Forefathers' rock." Aecompanied by the Pasonagessit nndertaker, and having with him the great parchment genealógica! record as authority, he went to Salem and actually returned "in triumph with the ashes and tornbstone of "Lady Arbella, daughter of Thomas, fourteenth earl of Lincoln, wife of Isaac Johnson." as was inscribed upon the silver plate which he affixed to the beautiful casket containing the noble ashes. This being an exploit of my father's own conception and execution it gave him great satisfaction. My father's next whim was to brick up all the graves he had caused to be dug and turn them into cement lined vaults. He kept a small army of men at work in the cemetery. (Tobe oontinued )