Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1870-06-02
From The Rural New Yorker
TWO OLD FOLKS,
on,
How the Dog Won my Grandmother.
BY CAROLINE A, HALBERr.
BY CAROLINE 4. HALpERr.

ances. She never went "meander
ing" on politics. Jackson's famous
Bank coup d'etat only elected from
her the bewildered ejaculation
"Well, / want to knowp Ever
the great Harrison election, tina
set the whole country ablaze witt
excitement, only raised a mild ebul
Ilition in her well ordered mind.
But there was one subject on
which she had an opinion positive
and pronounced. That subject was
dogs. Perhaps should say, rath-
er, cats and dogs, for she classified
both animals under the generic
term nuisance.
"Anybody," she used to assert,
"who would keep lot Of the mas,
ty critturs, yelping and mewing
round the house, tripping folks up,
and putting their noses into victuals
warnt no neeter than they ought to
be-" In short, it was one of the
dogmas Of her creed that neither
cat nor dog should ever set paw on
the immaculate sanded floors of
"Chestnut Farm"
Now my grandfather, ever since
his youngest and pet daughter, Sa-
mantha Jane, married, and moved
into the savage wolds of "York
State" had INDUCED a secret hank
ering after a dog, "The heart
wants something to be kind to-"
was the pathetic cry of a gifted but
dosolate woman. So it was with
my grandfather. Many were the
crafty plots for procuring house
hold pet which his lynx eyed spouse
nipped, untimely, in the bud.
In due time l, the little Saman-
tina, was sent home from the afore
said wolds to get a little polish and
schooling. Reinforced by my plead
ing eyes, the dear old man began
to assault my grandmother's pref
udices with new vigor, He even
vOnturcd upon cntreaty, in his fash
ion:
Poor lonesome gal - always
lived with a raft of young 'uns
half-a dozen dogs and eata !, no end
of ducks and chickens, and tame
raccoon, and cage full of squir-
rels and young injuns, and"
Don't tell me-" broke in my
grandmother, whisking her knitting
needles very furiously. "Saman-
Jane used to be the purtiest and IT,
diest gal in all these parts To
live with all that litter round her!
| do b'leve she's getting barbar-
iousI'
"Well, that's tho way of the ken
try, s'pose," responded my advo
cate, sOothingly. $50 1 tho'tef we
could kinder borrow a kitten or
pup while the child's here, to keep
her from being hum sick, 'twouldn't
be a bad idee.'
"Well, now, par Goodsill, I do
bleve you're getting soft in your
old age! Hasn't the child come
here to git kinder slicked up and
civilized? Anti trying my best
to git the back-woodsiness out on
her, and now are you goin' to spile
it all
"Besides, there amt no occasion
for her to git hum. sick, Hain't l
made her a great rag baby most as
big as herself? And don't l give
her all the broken cups and sar-
GERS, and let her have a corner of
the wood-house chamber to keep
her traps in? And don't she visit
Molly Sykes, or have her up here
every Saturday afternoon Talk
of her being hum sick I"
So this deep-laid plot failed. My
grandfather scratched his head, and
plunged INTO new devices. 1t hap
pened just then that our next neigh
bors, Deacon and Mrs. Kellogg,
feeling themselves we'll stricken in
years, resolved to make valedict-
ory visit to their children, settled
in the "far West" of Ohio, having
borrowed and studied the parsons
new Atlas for a week, made his
will, and settled all his worldly af-
fairs, tho time for the deacons de-
parture was at hand.
The night before this solemn
event there was a meeting Of all
the neighbors to bid teen farewell,
and i'm plore Gods favorable in
tervention for their safe return
This affecting service my grand
mother was prevented from attend
ing by sudden sick headache, but
she sent over a pan OF doughnuts
and bottle OF blackberry cordial
to assist them in sustaining the
rigors of the journey. She also
charged her husband to make all
profers of assistance in looking af-
ter their worldly affairs during their
absence. To this he heartily as
sented, and, with sly twinkle in
his kind old eyes, departed.
When he returned, two hours
later, noticed that he went round
to the woodshed door, and fun
bled and poked about in the dark
some time before coming in. My
MY grandmother was so far recov-
cred as to be sitting up in bed, eat
ing a slice of toast, which she had
instructed me how TO make,
"Well, par, tell me all about it, y
said she, in q CHEEKY voice. We
drew out the recital at length in
peacemeal, though my grandfather
seemed to be remarkably absent
minded,