Johnstown High School - Spectator Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

Page 5 text:

SPECTATOR 11 Mercy was released at once and she went home with her mother and father. Little Things Olive Buchanan ’13 A little bird’s song Made the lonesome woods ring; A little rill’s fall Made the sweet cooling spring; A little flower’s face Made the big earth look brighter; A little child’s laugh Made sad hearts go lighter. Uncle Jasper’s Christmas Gifts Gertrude Wagoner ’17 Mr. and Mrs. Bradcliflf lived in a showy house in one of the suburbs of a small city in Pennsylvania. They were very comfortable, and by economizing in things which did not show, succeeded in keeping in good society. The family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Bradcliflf; Gwendolin, the daughter, who had a place in society; a son, Percy, in .college; Mrs. Bradcliflf’s brother, whom every body called Uncle Jasper; Grandmother Bradcliflf, and a cook who answered to the name of Pansy. Uncle Jasper was a bachelor past middle age. Although kind hearted, he was obstinate and prided himself on be- ing up to date. The money he had invested brought him an income sufficient to live without working, and often supplied very useful help to the family. Just at this time an organization was attracting public attention, not only because of its object but also because of its name. It was The Society for the Prevention of Useful Gifts. As the name was too big for public use, someone had contracted it into “Spug,” which is made up of the initial of each word.

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10 SPECTATOR was asked if Mercy had harmed him in anyway. “She stuck pins in me,” he sobbed and hid his face on his mother's shoulder. Another witness, an old man whom Mercy occasionly visited, asserted that she had dropped pellets into a can of milk and the milk had turned green. Mercy was so astounded at these proceedings that she began to cry. She was led back to her cell where she pray- ed for her deliverance. That evening she was told the verdict. It was death. She was to be hanged on the morning of the twenty-fifth day of December. Abigail Scott had heard the verdict. She decided to go to Boston and tell the Governor about everything that was happening in the wretched town. She slipped out of the house on the pretext of going for water. She took some food to eat and a little pallet to sleep on. Two days later a very bedraggled girl entered Boston and made her way to the Governor’s home. She knocked at the door and it was opened by Mrs. M-----------, the Gov- ernor’s wife. “What do you want, my dear?” she said as Abigail entered the house and sat down. Abigail explained why she had journeyed from Salem and then Mrs. M-------- said, “The Governor has been ill but I think he will hear you.” Abigail was taken to see the Governor. When he heard about the proceedings in Salem he became very angry; be- cause the last meeting of the General Assembly had forbidden punishment by death for witchcraft. A party started for Salem at once and reached the town on Christmas morning. Mercy stood beside the gallows listening to the prayers that were being said, when far away she saw something bright moving in the woods. She called the attention of the people to it and the next thing they knew the Governor was in their midst.

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12 SPECTATOR Uncle Jasper, who had read of the society with great interest, considered it based upon common sense and in every way a good idea. Many times he had talked with the family about it, and finally announced that there would be no more useless Christmas gifts received from him. “From this time on I believe in giving people those things which they need,” said Uncle Jasper. As Christmas approached, Uncle Jasper had been spend- ing more time than usual in his room, and when he did ap- pear in the family circle, he appeared very much pleased and tickled. The joyful day at last arrived, and everyone in the house was beaming with pleasure. The members of the family were exchanging presents when Uncle Jasper ap- peared with his gifts, which were half a dozen or more large envelopes. He distributed the envelopes. Each re- ceived the gift with a feeling of wonder and watched for an opportunity to leave the room and examine it. Pansy, the cook, a large, kind hearted woman, but very homely and disfigured somewhat by the loss of her front teeth, was the first to give way to her curiosity. She slip- ped into a corner and opened her envelope. In it she found a note which told her the enclosed twenty-five dollars were to be used to have her teeth replaced, and not to be used for any other purpose. She read the note several times be- fore she realized how she had been insulted. Then she tore up the check and left the room, determined to leave the house without notice. Mrs. Bradcliff, a tall and rather handsome woman with the exception of a wart on the side of her nose, which de- tracted from her general appearance, slipped into the next room to open her gift. It contained a note for her and a check for fifty dollars. The note directed that the money be used only for the purpose of removing the wart. Mrs. Bradcliff cried with shame and scolded Uncle Jasper for his insolence. By this time Gwendolin, a large girl with thin hair and muddy complexion, opened her envelope and found her note,