The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1864-06-30
NUMBER 4.


ed pale at the bare thought of having a
smoke about the premises and Edward, IN
Difference to her prejudices, never smoked
until he had put so great a diRtance be-
tween him and the domicil of neatness, that
no fumes of smoke could reach his Aunt
Betsy.
Every thing was under her ban The
the very cat had to have her feet cleaned
when she returned from morning eXpedl-
ton, before she could enter the kitchen +;
and the well trained animal would stand
mewing und trembling on the doorstep
hesitatirg to advance until she had been at
tended to.
Every morning the house was in bot wa
ter, until Aunt Betsy had finished scrubbing
the sitting-room floor and windows, for
fear there might be fy-specK somewhere
about. This neat woman suffered contln
ual purgatory lest something unclean- should
get into the food she was preparing She
took cheese, that had been two hours IN
the press, all apart, -once-because Lllla
said she had seen little black speck III 49,
and after a dilagint SEARCH the speck was
discovered to be grain Of the tansy that
had been used in spotting the cheese.
She had been known, time and again, to
Get half wav to church, and then return to
see if the chairs were set back squarely and
the andirons put straight: and there was a
tradition that during her bridal ceremony,
she had stopped the rite, to go out aud as
certain if some of the guests had not LETT
their muddy rubbers on the sitting room car
pet!
One unlucky day Edward came across big
puppy. Of rare breed somethngIhe had long
been in search of-and thought the two dol
lars he paid for the animal, remarkably
well invested.
He brought him home and called his Aunt
Betsy to see his purchase. She's was horrl-
| fed She was so nearly thunderstruck that
speech was denied her She had no words
! for such an overt act Of treason.
A dog in her house! a dog in the house
of Betsy BIixford
| 1t was the first animal of the canine spe-
cies that ever crossed her threshold. Rock,
that was the dogs name, smelled around a
| little, and laid himself down on the braided
rug. Aunt Betsy ousted him quickly. and
threw the rug out of doors.
Just then, the parson came in, and Aunt
Betsy was so occupied with following him
around with the mop, wiping up the moist
ure that run off bis boots, Qt was rainy
day, that she did not notice the fiagrrt con-
duct of the dog.
/ AS soon, however, as the person was gone,
and she had set back the chair he had occu-
pied an piled up the newspapers he had dlsar-
anged, she sought for Rock. lie had estab-
lished himself on the lounge, in the paror--
the door Of which had been, lnysteronsly
enough, left open, and was sleeping sound
/ ~.
She ran for the broom, and with vgor
Gus push sent the droWsey animal to the
/ aoor.
Following her advantage, she drovelnn from
the house, and tried to chase him from the
premises She was MORALLY afraid of dog,
and Rock, by this time thoroughly awake
seemed fully to realize it. he wheeled-sel
up a fierce howl, and closed iii behind her,
She screalned--threw away her BROOM
and made her ''best time" She was rather
lean and her speed was good-excellelt, III
fact: but no match for Rocks In climb
ing fence, she stumbled and fell head first
into a ditch on the other side--and Rock
jumped entirely over her, and kept on-doubt-
less expecting 70 come in sight OF her blue
calico dress every moment.
Edward breathIess and bareheaded, ar
rived on the scene, and assisted Aunt Betsy
out upon dry land.
.'Oh, dear p Grid she" GIVE broke my
leg, and oh, my gound is slid and there $ .
spot of mud on my arm as big as ten cup
aud that fore room lounge cushion is all
covered with hairs !"
Edward got her home and to his great
relief found that she was uninjured but took
her all the afternoon to set things right.
The next morning. Edward packet up,
and with Rock, took his departure tol
home
And as lie went down the road, heloolled
back at the Blixford house, and saw that
his Aunt Betsy had hung the coverlid he
had slept under, to air on the clothes line,
and was busily occupied in beating the
rocking chair cushion where he had sat the
night previous.