The Piano goes to america part 4
fiction
edward w pritchard
Olivia had slept on the canal boat. The boat was parked just past the lock and they had unloaded the piano and it was bound by wagon for the farm. Olivia liked the piano very much but she refused to forgive her husband and she refused to stay in the hotel where he had arranged to surprise her with a fine meal and then show her the expensive piano. She was still angry because he had mislead her about coming to Ohio to work with the Indians and he was becoming enamored with things, furniture and expensive farms and lucrative salaries and he had forgotten their ideals.
The husband was sleeping alone in the expensive hotel room. He awoke and was desperate to reconcile with his wife.
Olivia awoke out under the star filled sky on the canal boat. It was very cold and damp. She was sleeping alone on the deck for the crew was off the boat. She went below deck and got two of the blankets that had been in the piano bench. They were gifts from ladies in Dover, Ohio to welcome them to the new farm. Her husband had brought them last night to show her they were honored here and to try to make her forgive him. She wrapped up in both blankets which were hand sewn and signed by the ladies who made them. They were exquisitely made and warm.
About an hour later she awoke to more Indians walking north toward Akron. They would be like the others going to the old east west road to leave this area and resettle west, far west of here. The Indians, two women with the four men were very short and looked tired. Olivia took the blankets and gave one to each woman who tried to refuse but she kept giving them until they accepted and they walked off North east into the early morning sunrise. She decided to forgive her husband.
About ten minutes later she saw a bouncing light coming toward her on the trail. She knew it was her husband balancing a light, a glass of juice or water and a plate with her breakfast on it.
End part 4
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Friday, April 9, 2010
The piano goes to america part 3
The piano goes to america part 3
fiction
edward w pritchard
She had began to argue with her husband for the first time on their trip through Pennsylvania. They had left Connecticut to come to the Western Reserve, [Ohio since 1803], to work with and minister to the suffering of the remaining Indian tribes of the area. They were Lutherans and her husband was a new Lutheran minister and the flock in Connecticut had subsidized their move to Ohio. They had traveled by wagon across Pennsylvania, staying and eating with Lutheran families and visiting Lutheran churches. At each church they visited the faithful would donate to them valuable personal items to help set up the household in Ohio for they were newly weds and it was difficult and expensive to obtain furniture and household goods in Ohio because the Ohio Canal had just opened recently and shipping was very expensive.
The woman, the wife, named Olivia had dreamed since being a little girl of helping the Indians who she suffered for. They had been treated cruelly and unfairly and now that she was an adult she wanted to put her faith to work to help them. Her Grandfather whose house she was raised in in Connecticut had been a kind Pascal loving Catholic and he had taught her that all men were equal and for us to exploit the Indians and steal their land was sin. Her Grandfather also taught Olivia to love Philosophy her passion. When she converted to Lutheranism after meeting her husband who was a divinity student and a Lutheran she agreed to convert to his religion and be at his side, and he agreed that she could continue to study philosophy and that they would come to Ohio and help the Indians there. For a wedding present the Grandfather, who knew he would never see his grand daughter again when she left his home in Connecticut gave her a barrel to take on the wagon with 24 expensive leather bound philosophy books. Aristotle, Plato, Aquinas, Plotinus Rousseau, Kant and others, the greatest of all time, In all likelihood she would have one of the best collections out in far away Ohio, for books were rare because of the shipping costs.
In one swell swoop her husband had shattered her dreams as they traveled in the crowded overloaded wagon through Pennsylvania. About half way through the journey to Ohio he told her he had accepted a lucrative position at a church in Dover, Ohio. The congregation agreed to give them a fine house, 100 acres of land, some of the land already being farmed and to provide him with an attractive salary. He had accepted the offer without consulting her a few days ago while they stayed at one of the families here in Pennsylvania. There were several other ministers being offered the position but her husband was the first choice and he had to answer immediately if news of his acceptance was to get back to Ohio. By accepting the position he was giving up their plans to administer to the Indians because few tribes were left by 1844 in the area around Dover, Ohio.
Additionally at each house they stayed at the Husband became more and more obsessed with the fine furniture, valuable antiques that the prosperous farm households were giving them. In time the wagon was over loaded and the horses could pull no more weight. Near the border of Ohio, a family gave them a very valuable chest of drawers made in England and worth a fortune. The husband had to ask the wife to leave the barrel and the philosophy books if they were going to take the chest of drawers in the overloaded wagon. The wife agreed but she would have to wait for several months to have the books for it would be several months before they could be sent because of expense and weight.
The stage was now set for Olivia and her husband Dr. Sharp to argue and fight and it had started in Pennsylvania and as they came to the new farm in Dover Ohio it intensified. In an attempt to alleviate his wife's unhappiness Dr. Sharp bought his wife an expensive piano imported from England.
End part 3
fiction
edward w pritchard
She had began to argue with her husband for the first time on their trip through Pennsylvania. They had left Connecticut to come to the Western Reserve, [Ohio since 1803], to work with and minister to the suffering of the remaining Indian tribes of the area. They were Lutherans and her husband was a new Lutheran minister and the flock in Connecticut had subsidized their move to Ohio. They had traveled by wagon across Pennsylvania, staying and eating with Lutheran families and visiting Lutheran churches. At each church they visited the faithful would donate to them valuable personal items to help set up the household in Ohio for they were newly weds and it was difficult and expensive to obtain furniture and household goods in Ohio because the Ohio Canal had just opened recently and shipping was very expensive.
The woman, the wife, named Olivia had dreamed since being a little girl of helping the Indians who she suffered for. They had been treated cruelly and unfairly and now that she was an adult she wanted to put her faith to work to help them. Her Grandfather whose house she was raised in in Connecticut had been a kind Pascal loving Catholic and he had taught her that all men were equal and for us to exploit the Indians and steal their land was sin. Her Grandfather also taught Olivia to love Philosophy her passion. When she converted to Lutheranism after meeting her husband who was a divinity student and a Lutheran she agreed to convert to his religion and be at his side, and he agreed that she could continue to study philosophy and that they would come to Ohio and help the Indians there. For a wedding present the Grandfather, who knew he would never see his grand daughter again when she left his home in Connecticut gave her a barrel to take on the wagon with 24 expensive leather bound philosophy books. Aristotle, Plato, Aquinas, Plotinus Rousseau, Kant and others, the greatest of all time, In all likelihood she would have one of the best collections out in far away Ohio, for books were rare because of the shipping costs.
In one swell swoop her husband had shattered her dreams as they traveled in the crowded overloaded wagon through Pennsylvania. About half way through the journey to Ohio he told her he had accepted a lucrative position at a church in Dover, Ohio. The congregation agreed to give them a fine house, 100 acres of land, some of the land already being farmed and to provide him with an attractive salary. He had accepted the offer without consulting her a few days ago while they stayed at one of the families here in Pennsylvania. There were several other ministers being offered the position but her husband was the first choice and he had to answer immediately if news of his acceptance was to get back to Ohio. By accepting the position he was giving up their plans to administer to the Indians because few tribes were left by 1844 in the area around Dover, Ohio.
Additionally at each house they stayed at the Husband became more and more obsessed with the fine furniture, valuable antiques that the prosperous farm households were giving them. In time the wagon was over loaded and the horses could pull no more weight. Near the border of Ohio, a family gave them a very valuable chest of drawers made in England and worth a fortune. The husband had to ask the wife to leave the barrel and the philosophy books if they were going to take the chest of drawers in the overloaded wagon. The wife agreed but she would have to wait for several months to have the books for it would be several months before they could be sent because of expense and weight.
The stage was now set for Olivia and her husband Dr. Sharp to argue and fight and it had started in Pennsylvania and as they came to the new farm in Dover Ohio it intensified. In an attempt to alleviate his wife's unhappiness Dr. Sharp bought his wife an expensive piano imported from England.
End part 3
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