The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1866-08-18

Then followed a caucus of Elmvillc
leaders - the squire, the parson, the
) blacksmith, the school-teacher-inw which
1T was unanimously voted, in the Ian
guage of the schoomaster, that ain
view of the anticipated exodus of the
inhabitants of the great seaboard cities,
these distressed people fleeing before
the presence of the pestilence that
walketh at MONDAY, should be wecom-
ed by the kindly hearts to hospitable
homes, and all the houses in Elmville
! be opened for their accommodation. !"
And furthermore, "that it being neces-
sary in time of such universal distress
to fix upon a tariff of prices to keep
grasping people from being extortion-
ate, ten dollars week for grown peo-
pie, and half price for children, should
be the sum uniformly charged.
"An' heow much for dogs and nussin'
babies, Mr.. Cheerman ?" squeaked Il
voice from dark corner. Nobody re-
plying to this pertinent question, the
meeting adjourned sine die, or, as the
blacksmith observed, "sence died."
: "Ten dollars week! Ten dollars a
week!' ruminated Arad, as he rode
homeward. " l must stop and tell old
, Car'line, in course, though how it con-
sarns her don't see, nohow. Her house
holds her, but nobody else couldn't
squeeze in there. They might eat out
under the old apple-tree, and sleep with
their heads inside the door at night, list
like that are bird Pvc hearn tell of in
Aisy, or Africay, or somewheres-that
puts his head under the sand and thinks
: he's covered up. He's fool of course"
: pursued Arad, "but mebby some of
: them city folks aint no smarter than he
is, if they do wear his feathers"
: "Tcn dollars week exclaimed Aunt
Caroline (she was an everybody's
: aunto. "Why, the land sake! You
don't say! Wal! Pm just a-goin' to
send word down to York to Sophy Muir
ply (Sophy Brown it used to be) to
come up here and board long o. me this
Summer. Guess | can 'commodatc her
slick. She can sleep long o me, and
I've got plenty of chickens and garden
sass coming on. Besides old Crummies
calf'll be old enough to kill by that
; time, N l can change round with the
ncighbors SOS to have veal a considera-
l bic spell, and"
"And what ye goin' to do with Mr..
Murphy when he comes?" interrupted
. Arad.
Murphy! Why, for the land sake
/ never thought of him He can't
come here, o course. No man has ever
entered my door sence l lived here.
won't have 'cm, the ugly crcturs
When Pm dead s'pusc they can take
me out to bury me, but J won't have
: one on 'em in here before"
WAL" replied Arad, coolly, 81
reckon my old woman couldn't go any
where's to live withouten | went too,
and guess Murphy aint fool, nor his
: wife nuther. But I've told you the
price agreed on, and you know better IN
L whether you can make hay while this
sun shines or not. Gee up Patty" and
off he drove, leaving Aunt Caroline to
finish her remarks to empty air.
Elmville was all commotion from the
Corners to the Green-a space of fully
four miles. At the unanimous request
of his neighbOrs, the schoolmaster pre-
pared for the squire (whO was also the
merchant) a letter which he forwarded
as Il sort of circular to the firms with
which he dealt in New York, and which
set forth the fact that he, and all the
better class of the inhabitants of Elm
vile, We're prepared to open their doors
as places of refuge for the people of that
city, driven from their homes by the
horrors of the pestilence; and that in
consideration of the hardship and dis
tresS which these unfortunate persons
were undergoing, they were willing to
accommodate them for the paltry sum
of ten dollars II week, " children half
price"
In the cold days Of early Spring sew
eral New Workers, deluded by this
high-sounding document, sought the
classic precincts of Elmville in search
of board. The exterior was by no
means promising, for Elmville has to
make many strides ere she OvertalSes
modern civilization, but the interior
was thousand times worse. The best
bedroom was usually place of deposit
for all the bandboXes and best bonnets
of the family, all the hanks of wooden
and linen yarn unwoven, besides mis-
cellanpOuS odds and ends innumprnhla
while little by way of furniture, save
the high post bedstead and mountain
Gus feather bed, could be seen. The
blue-edged tableware, brown, home
made linen, twO-tined steel forks, and
utter want of the unknown luxury Of
napkins, made New Workers stare; as
also the fried pork, swimming in its
own grease, sodden eggs fried in the
same, potatoes in their jackets, etc.,
} which formed the chief staples in the
feeding department.
BY the first of June all fears of chol-
} era had subsidized. Mcsdames Brown,
Jones, and Robinson had each and all
; developed sudden and keen apprecia-
ton of home comforts and privileges,
and had each gathered her flock together
) and departed. Not IA bOarder remained
r in Elmvillc,and the magical ten dollars Il
, week which Elmvillians had hoped to
: charm into their NaWninp nopkats had