Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-11-30
NABBY'S HUSBAND.

NADOl -
A KNOCK at the Sauire's door.
An eager ecome in" from the squire,
whom any outside diversion is an in
stimable boon, he having Just reached
lat uncomfortable stage of masculine
onvalescence when life becomes bur
len not only to the so-called "patient
himself, but also to those unlucky femi-
plne relatives whose duty it is to officiate
IS his ministering angels"
Mary, the servant, came in.
Please, Mr.. Hos1ey, there's a woman
lown stairs who says she must see you
Phe's been here before since you was
Fick, and now she won't take no for an
lnswer"
Show her right up, Mary said the
Squire, alertly, Frightening up visibly,
ike the war-horse who scents the battle
hfar off. Not all the coy comforts of his
Purroundings the Sleepy Hollowness :"
PIT his easy chair, the pleasant pictures on
he wall, the wood fire which, now that
he wintry twilight was settling down
over the bit of gray sky left visible by
he curtains heavy folds, danced and
dashed all over the room in rosy shadows,
tould reconcile the Squire to his enforced
Beclusion. Secretly he pined for his dingy
Did den of an office, and chafed at the
doctors restrictions, which as yet forbade
PHI thought of business. But now the
moral police force, represented by his
wife and daughter, being luckily off duty,
here was nothing to prevent this proba-
BILE client.
"Show her up, Mary" said the Squire,
eheerfully, Strengthening himself, and as
Fuming as much of legal dignity as dress
ing gown and slippers permitted
opened again. 'sWhy, Nabby," said the
Squire, us it you? How do you do?"
"4es, Squire, it's me- said Nabby,
dropping down with a heavy sigh into a
chair; land l don't do very wells
Nabby was a short, squarely built
woman of fifty, with considerable gray in
the coarse, black hair drawn stiffiy and
uncompromisingly back under a bonnet
about five years out of date. She had
sharp black eyes, and resolute, go-ahead
manner. Evidently hard-working
woman; yet in looking at her you could
not help the conviction that something
more than hard work had plowed the deep
wrinkles which ran across her forehead,
and threatened to lift her eyebrows up to
d her hair.
Nabby had lived with the Squirrels
mother fifteen years from the time when
Mrs. Hosley took her in, ten year old
orphan, who was, as the good old lady
sometimes expressed it, "more plague
than profit" until she grew into the
steady and reliable handmaiden, who
finally, with every ones good wishes,
married young Joshua Gould, and set up
in the world for herself Old Mrs Hosley
had long since gone to her reward, but
the family still kept up friendly interest
in Nabby and her fortunes, the Squire in
particular being her guide, philosopher
and friend in all the emergencies of
life
Why. what's the matter now, Nabby?''
said the Squire, good naturedly "Are
| you sick" ;"
Yes, am,'' said Nabby, emphatical-
| ly, with snap of her black eyes. "Pm
sick to death of Josiah. I can't stan it
any longer, and I've come to talk with
you about gittin' divorce You see he's
ben CROWN worse and worse now for a
good while. I've KEEP it to myself pretty
much, because l was ashamed ont, and
then KEEP bopin' he'd do better I've
talked and talked to him, and said and
done everything woman could, but it
seemed as if themore I talked the worse
he grew"
The Squire looked at Nabby's rather
sharp hard face, and perhaps was hardly
so surprised as Nabby expected that
Josiah had not been reformed by the Wig
orous talking to" he had undoubtedly
received.
''He grew more and more shif'less and
good-for-nothin', continued Nabby, till,
finally, he didn't do much but set round
the kitchen fire, half boozy. If there's
anything 1 hate,o y bust out Nabby, ''It's
aman forever settin' round the house un-
derfoot. And there was a-takin in wash
in, and a-slavin early and late, to be kinder
decent and forehanded, and him no bet
tern dead man on my hands, so far as
helpin' any was concerned. And so
told him, time and again. He worked
just about enough to keep himself in
drink. He knew he couldn't git any ot
my money for that
"But stood it all till about fortnight
ago. I'd been workin' hard all day, help
in Miss Barber clean house, and it seemed
as if every bone in my body ached, l wa.
SO tired. came along home, thinkin' how
good my cup of tea'd taste. The frs
thing l see, when 1 opened the kitche1
door, was old Hank Slater settin' there il
my rockin' chair He and Josiah were
slandering an innocent animal in her haste
for a simile
They'd tracked the mud all over M
clean floors. The cookin' stove was jam
med full of wood, roarin' like all possessed
[ wonder they hadn't burned the house III
before got there And they'd got M
best teapot out tC heat some water, ant
the water'd all billed away, and the bottom
come out. But the worst was to see m
husband a-consortin' with such scum of th
earth as that miserable, low-lived Ham
Slater. I tellyou, Squire, L was mad &
just flung that kitchen door wide open
and sez L
'''Git out of this house, Josiah Goul6
and don't never let me see your face il
side ont again
''Sez he, meek. as Moses, Where shall
90 to, Nabby ?'s5a s4aa a ad
''Sez I, L don't care where you go t.
so longs you don't come near me. I've a
ways ben respectable woman, and don
want none of Hank Slater's friends roun
my house" ~
narration came to a pause.
We'll, said Nabby, in rather subdue
tone, ''he went off. And he hasn't CON
back. And l want divorce"
Now, Nabby," demonstrated the ol
Squire, you don't want divorce.
know you better than that You are NJ
the woman to give Josiah up, and let hi
go to the bad without struggle. Yo
feel a little vexed with, him now, and
don't blame you. 1t is hard, very har
But you know you took him for better
worse Do you think, yourself, it is qui
right to break your contract because
proves the worse for you-because "
are the strong one. and he. the weak o.
of the two? That don't strike me as go'
Bible doctrine. Nabby We that a
strong ought to bear the infirmities of t
weak, and not to please ourselves, y
know"