Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1870-10-07

consid'able stiff will of her own, and
eff she didn't care about Tom Bea-
con before, she hated him now; and
if she liked Bill Elderkin before,
she was clean gone over to him now;
and so she took to goin' to the We'd
nesday evening lecture, and the
Friday evening prayer-meetin', and
the singing-school, jest as regular
as clock, and so did he; and after
ward they alters walked home the
longest way. Fathers may jest as
well let their gals be courted in the
house, peaceably, cause if they can't
be courted there, they'll find places
where they can be; it's jest human
natur'.
wal, come fall Elderkin he went
to college up to Brunswick; and
then l used to see the letters as
regular up to the store every week,
comm in from Brunswick, and old
Black Hoss John he see 'em too, and
got way Of droppin' on 'em in his
coat-pocket when he come up to the
store, and folks used to say that the
letters that went into his coat-pocket
didn't get to Miry. Anyhow, Miry
she says to me one day, says she,
Sam, you're up round the post-office
a good deal, says she. 4 wish if
you see any letters for me, you'd
jest bring 'em along I see right
into it, and told her to be sure I
would; and so | used to have the
carrying of great thick letters every
week. Wal, / was waiting on
lIepsy along about them times,
and SO Miry and / kind o sym
pathizcd. Hcpsy was a pretty gal,
and thought it was all best as twas,
any way l knew l couldn't get Miry,
and | could get Hcpsy, and that
made all the difference in the world.
wal, that next winter old Black
lIoss was took down with rhcuma-
tism, and | tell you if Miry didn't
have a time ont? He want no
ways sweet tempered when he was
well; but come to be crooked up
with the rheumatis and kept awake
nights, it seemed as if he was de-
tcrmincd there shouldn't nobody
have no peace SO long as he couldn't.
He'd get Miry up and down with
him night after night making her
heat fiannels and vinegar, and then
he'd jaw and scold SO that she eeny-
most beat out. He wouldn't have
nobody set up with him, though
there was offers made. No, he said
Miry was his daughter, and twas
her bizness to take car On him.
Miry was clear worked down;
folks kind o piticd her. She was
a strong gal, but there's things that
wears out the strongest. The worst
ont it hung on so. Old Black Hoss
had a most amazing sight o constitu-
ton. He'd go all down to deaths
door, and seem hardly to have
the breath o life in him, and then up
he'd come again! These ere old
folks that nobody wants to have live
alters have such sight O wear in
'em, they jest last and last; and it
really did seem as ifhe'd wear Miry
out and get her into the grave fust,
for she got cough with being up
so much in the cold, and grew thin
as a shaddcr. Member one time /
went up there to offer to watch Jest
in the spring o the year, when the
laylocks was jest budding out, and
Miry she came and talked with me
over the fence, and the poor gal she
fairly broke down and sobbed as if
if her heart would break a tcllin'
me her trouble.
wal, it rccly affected me more to
have Miry give up so than most
gals, cause she'd alters held her
head up, and had such sight o
grit and resolution, but she told me
all about it.
1T seems old Black l[oss he want
content with worryin' on her, and
gcttin' on her up nights, but he KEEP
a hectorin' her about Bill Elderkin,
and wantin' on her to promise that
she wouldn't hev Bill when he was
dead and gone, and Miry she
wouldn't promise, and then the old
man said she shouldn't have a cent
from him if she didn't, and SO they
had it back and forth. Everybody
in town was sayin' what shame
twas that he should sarvc her so;
for though he he'd other children,
they had married and gone, and
there want none of them to do for
him but jist Miry.
Wal, he hung on till jest as the
phys in the front yard was begin
MIN to blow out, and then he began
to feel he was a goin', and he sent
for Parson !othrop to know what
was to be done about his soul.
'Wal,' says Parson Lothrop, you
must settle up all your worldly af-
fairs; you must be in peace and love
with all mankind, and if you've
wronged anybody you must make it
good to 'cm.'
'Old Black Hoss he bounced right
over in his bed with his back to the
minister.
'The Devil!' says he, 'twill take
all Eve got And he never spoke
another word, though Parson Lo-
throp he prayed with him, and did
what he could for him.
wal, that night | sot up with
him, and he went off tween 2 and 3
in the mornin,' and | laid him out
regular. OF all the racks o. bone |
ever see, | never seen u human crit
tur so poor as he was. 'Twa'n't
nothin' but his awful will KEEP his
soul in his body so long as it was.
'Wc had the funeral in the meet
in-house Il Sunday, and Parson Lo-
throp he preached sarmon on con
tentmcnt on the text, we brought
nothin' into the world, and it's sar-
tin we can carry nothin' out, and
having food and raiment, let us be
Herewith content Parson Lothrop
he got round the subject about as
handsome rs he could; he didn't say
what a skinflint old Black Hoss was,
but he talked in a general way about
the vanity o worryin' an scrapin'
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