Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1859-10-04

r
cret?" 4aiis ~ 3
l3ssIf you choose to do me that honor
4 Though I hope it isn't Mlything very
dreadful" &.a
aaYou must know, then, 8iss Spoolcow,
that regard you as gen You may
have thonght shat my late Mifewas an an
gel, but let me tell you that she was reg
ular she-deyillDs
/ sOhl1 exclaimed BetsGy dropping her
work. and holding up her hspdss -.Als
sThat may seem harsA lor a deacon,
Miss Spoolcow, but tits TN Forssven-
teen years she kept me med W ing sucide,
BY her,spiteful conduct, aal res times |
attempted Il"
"Poor mani how yql
1What preserved you from SUI 4 dreadful
|end?" taa4 aii
III tried it first in the barn, but the rope
was too long, and when Ifjqmped off 1
nearly broke my leg. Then she scolded
me till / opened a vein in my arm; but she
let me bleed till 1 tainted, aud then called
in the doctor. The third time tried poi
sonW 'iA ~ rT7t hsl
"You make me shudder. Your suffer-
lngs must have been very great?"
'They were, indeed, MY dear--allow
me to call you 80. She bought it for me
and told me it was oxalic acid, and that
any time was tired of life again, lwould
find it handy. One day she gave me a
tremendous blowing up then scalded me
with skillet full Of porrige. | rushed
for the poison, mixed and swallowed it. but
instead Of oxalic acid, as thought it,
| it proved to be only epson salts!"
elbow aggIavating! I1wonder how
you ever survived such treatment. But l
hope your trials are past now?"
"There is but one more, Miss Spool
COW, and that remains for you, only, to
terminatef ,rals
''For me, deacon! And what can !
do?'' t,S "
"Promise to accept the hand which l
now offer you. Dear Miss Spoolcow be
my wife!"
Deacon Nosebug passed his red nose
and lips to her hand as hs spoke; but,
though she gave a slight. ns@penly shrek,
she did not withdrawal. STE was no fool.
She remained silent for aitaw moments,
now that she felt sure of hind
"It is best not to be tooihabty," she at
last replied, "this sudden shock--thls
most honorable and unexpected. offer!-
Rise. dear deacon, and compose yourself
Give me time--giye me- three ,daYsEzto
consider"
The deacon consented, for he, too. was
astonished at his own daring, and thought
little time to cool would do no harm
And they parted--each with connubial
future looming gloriously in view.
cam | dreaming?" exclaimed Miss
spoolcow, giving the work kick, as soon
as he had gone.
"She called me dear deacon" CALCULATED
Deacon Nosebug, going home to ponder
how much property the angel was likely
to bring with. her.
Those were three awful days that inter-
vened; each was afraid Of losing the other.
II wish | had accepted him at once!
sighed Betsy, hundred times during the
seventy-two hours.
"She took long enough 10 consider!"
grumbled the deacon. "Perhaps she'll
refuse me after ALL"
"Some meddling woman will dissuade
him. If she does, Parsnipv.lle shall be
too hot to hold her?' =
Somebody will tell her how used to
drink" groaned the deacon! "How long
the time seems"
Restless were the days and sleepless
the nights which divided Abed from his
Betsy; and they actually grew thin in the
interval. Even the fire fled from its won
ted place at the end Of Nosebug's nose,
and his appearance was much improved
thereby-when, a, the end of the tedious
three days, ghe reappeared before Mis-
Spoolcow.
So great was their joy at meeting, that
they rushed into each others arms the
first thing; and to make up for lost time,
within half an hour they had settled the
preIiminaries, and the happy, day was as
signed. ~
And the happy day came! t was. in
deed, a happy day. 1t was q shiny sum-
mer Sunday morning; and the birds Of
Parsnipville sang with unusual sweetness
in the ears of the trustful couple, as they
walked to the village church, and sky
blue swallow tail and salmon-colored
silk were united in the holy bouds Of we'd
lock before the astonished village eyes.
Everybody was astonished tha! man
who had smarted under matrimonial tyr
amy for seventeen years, and who prided
himself, besides, on his knowledge Of
womankind, should so soon seal his fate
again. by wedding woman whom every
body else in the village knew to be the
quintessence of deceit, of incidence and
old-maidish spite.
And if they were SO as:onished at this
most unexpected union, what must Abed
Noseburg himself have been within forty
eight hours after?
Now Mrs. Nosebug, No. 2, showed
her true colors. Now he found that she
had no property but his. Now he found
that If No. had been spit-fre, No. 2
was a tigress. Now, for the first time in
his life, he doubted not only his knowl-
edge of woman, but his own senses; and
when he heard the awful Betsy's voice,
screaming after him about the house, or