Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1856-01-17
From the Widow Bedott Papers.
MRS. MAGUIRE'S ACCOUNT OF DEA.
CON WHIPPLE.

.
haint no malice at heart in his capers. IL
was a ieeHe wicked though about that eide
hoax he played off on Deacon Whippl
and Deacon Bcdott See-did you eve
hear about that? Well, I'll tell you, for
think it was one of the cutest tricks he eve
come. But in the first place You must know
what sort o. man Deacon Whipple was
or else you won't sense the joke. Well, ac
cordin' to my notion, he was about as con
temptible specimen of man as ever walk
cd in shoc-leather. always thought sc
and so did husband, though there was
; good many folks in Wiggletown looked up
on him as clear perfection, cause he ha(
so much sanctimony. He come from Med
dleville to our town, and he WAS so owonder
ful pious, and made such an awful parade
of his religion, prayin' and exhortin' and
laborin' for souls, as he called it, that wher
he'd been there about three months, they
made him deacon. AS soon rs he was pro-
NOTED, be begun moddlin' in everybody :
biznes the worst way, watchin all the nabor-
hood, and taken on EN- to dew for every
little thing that dident happen to come up
to his ideos O. duty. This he called 'con-
sarn for the welfare O Zion AS sure as
ther was a party o. young folks, there was
Deacon Whipples long nose poked into sum
o the winders 10 pry out what was done.
And ifthere was any church member among
'em, and they happened to play button
button! whose got the button?' or danse
round little, he'd have 'c,n hauled up be-
fore the session to answer for t. 1t seemed
to dew him deal o good to ketch any O
the brethren or sisters trippin'. a body'd
thought ne spent the heft o his time pry-
in in other folks biznes, but some how or
other he managed to take care O. his own
lew; he was a tailor by trade, and reg lar
old cabbagin' skinnint to boot. That re-
minds me o what 10 Snyder said TO him
once. You see he was an awful s.ingy crit
ter, and 50 was Miss Whipple. The prem
tees used to complain dreadfally o their
liyin'-said they was nigh about starved.
Well, 10 Snyder stuck his head into the
shop winder one day and says he (Jo was
a.. Independent critter) says he:
Deacon, how comes it YOU starve yer
'Prniices 50, when you're always SO flush
O. cabbage?'
The deacon was awful mad. Says he to
10: If you was professor you'd ketch
it,
He was monssrous mean 5ookin' man
tew. You'd know'd to see him in the
street that he was a contracted critter-had
a stingy kind o walk-wcnt along as if lie
begrudged the room he took up. The cir
culnstance l was gwine to tell you took
place when he'd been deacon only little
risin' two year-and it's sollem fact,
ther'd been more cases o descplyne in that
short time than ther ever was afore sense
the place WAS settled. Now Deacon Be-
dott wasn't such man at all. He was
great on prayin' and exhortin,, but he did
ent meddle IN his nabors concarns, nor
think himself 50 much piouser and better'n
all the rest o creation. Well, the next fall
arter we come away from Wiggletown,
husband and me went out there visitin' -
You see Mic5,,.tcr Poole and Mother Magwire
both lived there, and Sister Bedott tew,
and | spent the time visitin' round from one
to t'othcr. Well, ono cvenin' was to
Sister Bedott' 's--husband had gone over to
Mother Magwirc's, Twas about n year a.
fore Deacon Bedott died, and he wa mt very
well-yo1 know he was feeble number %
years aforc his death. We'll, he and Sister
Silly and me was a settin' around the settin'
room fire, and Artemishy Pike--the Wild
der Pike's oldest dartcr-she was spendin'
the evenin' there. Artemishy was just
tcllin us about Deacon Whipplc's comm to
their house the day afore to take Cinthy
(her youngest sister) to dew, cause he'd
hcerd how't she tended bali when she
was over to Yarmouth visitfn', and Arte-
mishy was in an awful fidgit about it for
fear he'd have her hauled up fort, and she
wanted Deacon Bedott to try to prevent it.
Well, she was just tcllin' about it when ther
come a knock to the door, walk in SAYS
Sister Bedott-and who should walk in but
Deacon Whipple, with Deacon Kenipe and
Deacon Crosby on behind him! There
says to Artemshy, 'the Old Ones al
ways at hand when you're talkin' about
him.
'Hush' says she.
Lawful sakesl' says L. Il amt afeard o.
bein' hauled up i don't live here
When they come in, Artemisy looked
half skairth to deaf. She Thoughts they'd
come to talk about dealin' with Cinthy' but
Sister Bedott whispered tow her, and says
she:
Don't be afeard; don't beye it's Gin
thy. l guess moro likely it's Sue Collins