Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1868-12-10

| "Anu WNAJ LIlal
"Men without house or homo
above their heads, rowing here and
there, and turning up in all sorts ol
odd places caring very little for
life as a general thing, and making
fortunes jnst to fling them away
again--and all for one reason. You
don't ask what that is. No doubt
you know very well."a
II think not, sir"
Because a woman has Tilted
them"
Here was a long pause, and Mr.
Cobb's pipe emitted short pufIs with
surprising rapidity. A guilty con-
science needs no accuser; the wild
owls cheeks we're dyed with blush
es as she thought of the absent
Sam.
II wonder how women manage
when they get served in the same
way?" said the stranger, musingly.
"You never see them rowing up and
down in that style"
"No,' said Mrs. Cobb, with some
spirit; "if a woman is in trouble
she must stay at home and bear it
in the best way. And there's more
women bearing such things than we
know of, l dare say"
Like enough. We never know
whose hand gets pinched in a trap,
unless they scream. And women
are too shy or too scnsible-which
you choose-for that"
"Did you ever, in all your wan
derings, meet with any one by the
name of Samuel Payson 2 asked
the widow, unconcerncdly.
The stranger looked toward her.
She was rumaging at the table
drawer for her knitting work, and
did not notice him. When it was
found, and the needles in motion,
he answered her:
"Payson? Sam Payson? Why
he was my most intimate friend =
Do you know him 2"
"A little--that isl used 10 when
l was a girl. Where did you meet
/ him ?"
"He went with me on the whaling
voyage told you of, and afterward
to California. We had a tent to-
gcther, and some other fellows with
us, and we dug in the same claim
| for more than six months"
Il suppose he was quite well?'
"Strong as an OK, my dear lady"
"And - and happy ?" pursued
the widow, bending over her knit
ting.
"Humph! the less said about
that, the better, perhaps. But he
seemed to enjoy life after fashion
of his own. And he got rich out
there; or rather, | will say, well
of.
Mrs. Cobb did not pay much at
tention to that part Of the story
Evidently she had not finished ask
ing questions. But she was puz-
zled about her next one. AT last
she brought it out beautifully.
"Was his wife with him in Cali
fornia p
"His wife, ma'am? Why, bless
you, he has not got one"
"Oh, / thought 1 meant-I
heard"
Here the little widow remembered
the fate of Ananias and Sapphira,
and stopped short before she told
such a tremendous fib. 'a
aeWhatcver you heard of his mar
rying was all nonsense, ] can assure
you. l know him well, and he had
no thought of the kind about him,
Some of the boys began to tease
him about it, but he soon made them
stop"
"How2"
"He just told them frankly that
the only woman he ever loved Tilted
him years before, and married an
other man. After that no one ever
mentioned the subject to him again
except me-"
Mrs. Cobb laid her knitting aside
and looked thoughtfully into the
fire.
tHe was another of the class Of
men was speaking of. l have
seen him face death a score of times
as quietly as | face the fire. 1T
matters very little what takes me
off, he used to say. I've nothing
to live for, and there's no one who
will shed a tear for me when am
gone It's a sad thought for man
to have, isn't it?" aa
Mrs. Cobb sighed as she said she
thought it was. 1e @
"But did he ever tell you the
name of the lady who Tilted him y
II knew her first name"
"What was itY' f
maria" 4" ri ts.
The plump little widow almost
started ont of her chair her name
was spoken exactly as Sam would
have said it. 7sQa4 1t
"Did you know her, too !" asked
he, looking at her. ".H
"Yes.p tHr. i .H-
ultimately y a
eyes" H.l
"And where is she now9 Still
happy with herhusband, / suppose
and never giving a thonght to tht
poor fellow she drove out into thC
world"
t"No," said Mrs. Cobb, shading
/ 1, r. !. =. t..-;tl, n -, ba,,I g. ar1 st,aaE