Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1860-09-13
Dnmorous Reaaing~
THE WIFE tanner.

Mrs. Morton Wasa young, pre-!
ty, rich widow, when DR.. Charles Strahal
made her acquaintance. She was a poor
but very handsome woman, when Squir
Morton married her, and at his death tw'
years after, she being the sole heir, pu
ON her widows weeds and pocketed he
deceased husbands gold at the same time.
Madame Ruuofs said that poor old Morton
never enjoyed a single hour after he mar
ried her but how should Madame Rumo
know? Of one thing, however, I can give
my readers ,liable information. Mrs. Nor
ton had not been a widow twelve months
ere she received with seeming pleasure very
decided attentions from DR.. Strahan.
Do you inquire who DR.. Strahan was?-
Well, he studied medicine and had the title
of NJ. D. conferred upon him, which be
took great pleasure in attaching to his name
with a grand flourish. But it is asserted
that he never had a half dozen patients in
as many years. He was a young man OIL
prepossessing appearance +; a real talker up
on any subject, and was in fact first rate
company. H. played the flute and sang
was a good dancer and an excellent partner
at whist; besides he had some literary rep
u~tatiou. He wrote poetry and two column
sketches for the Weekly Leveler, and last,
though by no means least, he dressed in
good taste, and in the height of fashion,
How he did it no one knew, but then it was
no ones business.
But | must be allowed to contradict one
rumor, which gained considerable prevalen-
cy, to the effect that he supported himself
by his literary labors; an ordinary pew
paper scribbler could hardly afford Stra-
hans wardrobe.
Old Squire Morton had been dead but
little over a year, when DR.. Strahan, de-
spite all that gossipers could say, married
the widow and her fortune. The fact was
he wanted a rich wife As to her, she was
anxious to leave her weeds and 60 into so,
ciety again; and she could devise no read,
Ter way to accomplish these purposes than
by marrying. When any spoke to the doc
tor of her being a shrew, he merely remark
ed that he should take great pleasure 10
tanning a shrew.
For three months they lived happily to-
gether, for it was in the height of the season,
and between Cape May, Newport, Saratoga
and the White Mountains, they were alone
with each other scarce three hours out of
the twenty four; consequently it was i'm
possible for them to disagree. But the sea
son was soon over and they returned to
their quiet home-the place of all others to
study a wife or husband; there is no unuat,
ural excitement, no fashionable Mrs. A. to
outdress, no profigate Mr.. B. to out do in
? squandering money no one to see, to please,
but the sother half
After a season of long continued gaiety,
there necessarily follows one of extreme
dizziness and when one is dull, one is easily
displeased. Now Mr.. and Mrs Strahan
were both of them remarkably dull and as
a matter of course both preferred being
pleased to attempting to please; and of
course both were greatly displeased.
1t was their third day at home, upon
which their first quarrel commenced. How
it began neither could clearly tell. 1t is
only known that Strahan expressed a de-
sire to dine on roast beef, upon which Mrs.
S.said she abominated beef and stated her
preference to roast turkey with oyster sauce
-Strahau considered Turkey as child's
foo. she'd have beef or nothin.' She'd
hava turkey ; and thus commenced the war
of Strahan's. One ordered the butcher not
to have fowl the other gave strict i%njunc.
tions not to have beef brought into the
house between them they were both likely
to starve if they remained at home; SO the
doctor went to the village tavern and dined
on beef, while Mrs. S. visited some of her
friends and partook of turkey.
After dinner DR.. S. gave a wine supper
in the room which he digni6ed by the name
of study a sort of a variety store in which
he kept his literary writing desk and spit
toon. Here also were two glass cases, one
of which contained a giants skeleton, hung
on wires; in the other was an Egyptian
Mummy. The walls were hung with Gu
~riosities of all descriptions among them a
cane from a tree which grew over Wash
ipgton's grave, a snuff box from the wood
of the Charter Oak, a chip from the United
States frigate Constitution; minerals, fos-
sils and shells of all kinds, specimen ears
of corn, enormous sized fruit and vegetables,
cases of dried insects, and jars of picked
reptiles. Stuffed birds were perched about
the apartment, and voluptuous French lith-
ographs and portraits of distinguished per-
souages were hung promiscuously on the
walls a long reading table, arm chairs, a
prescription case, a mammoth bell metal
pestle and mortar, completed the furniture
of the Study
During the same evening, Mrs. S. had a
whist party in the parlor.
. Wine held her ~votaries in bondage long.
er than cards, and Mrs. S. had dismissed
her party and retired, hours before herliege
lord came to his chamber; and when he
did come, he found the door locked, him
self without and his wife within. In vain
he called to her, she could not, and would
not hear and he was compelled to find a
bed elsewhere, which he did, muttering to
himself. I'll tame her yet And he laid
all night forming a plan to bring her to
submission. In the morning he asked her
to walk into his study; and there, seated
in an arm chair, they renewed their fierce
mordaa nnarrel dnrinp which Mrs s nnl-