Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1872-11-09
Written for The DHLAwAHE STATS JouHHAL.
TOM BONDS C0UkTSHIP
By Oscar Dale.

10 ltT tUOuh ENhlll hlhiiANu bCthubig hihhs
is kind afeard she wouldn't have me and
30, wanted to wait and feel more certain
like aud next, cause l wasn't ready to
stand the expense till l got my crops In
and sold, that Fall.
hadn't had the farm long, and you
know the old man holds on TO his money
mighty tight.
lie says ii amt good policy to give a
Young fellow too much Of a start, that IL
makes him kind of uppish. That's the
way he talked about Dick, and Dick, you
know he thought enough money couldn't
d. made of farmin' with such ttart and
70 he took TO butcherin' and suppose you
know what como of that.
You don't aye Well the last we heerd
Of him he was dfiyin' street car In Phila-
dclphia, when he kept sober enough.
hut hats neither here nor there. 1t
WIS about my courtin' Lucy Handy you
wanted 10 know, well, as rs n sayin', l
hadn't said nothln' TO her about gettin'
married but | supposed she knew almost
what I's alter, and she kinder seemed to
like me pretty well TOO. Leastwise, she
seemed pleasant enough when | went to
tce her.
Well, things was goin on in this way,
me goln to sec her regular and keepin com
pany with her when Bob Sanders come 10
take charge of the private school about a
mile fiOm Newport. He soon got to goin'
home TO see all the girls in our neighbor-
hood and Lucy more'n all the rest, and
Lucy she seemed 10 like to have him come
too. lie was purity smart and so was Lucy
! never knew how II was, but guess girls
is smarter than boys, anyhow though Lucy
went to the same school with Inc she
picked up learnin' wonderful sight faster
than did and then she went TO Whining
ton for three quarters to teacher whose
name I've forgot, but Lucy called her Miss
Edith, and there che learned all sorts o.
things that l neyer1knew much about.
Fact is ] guess ehe's smarter than me, only
you see 1t won't do for a man to let on
nothin' Of that kind, else he wouldn't Keep
~ head Of the house as he ought to.
This alwaye kind o. worried me, 'cause
you see hadn't never been anywhere but
io our public School, and Ii often stopped
because the people voted down tax. Be-
side that, you know free schools in Della
ware weren't much In them days, and, for
that matter, amt much yet.
70, when this school teacher come
around and got TO talkin' so much 10 Lucy
began to get skeered in good earnest,
and to think that II was ever goln' TO ask
her to marry me Il was nigh about time.
But was more afcard than ever for
thought that now this fellow mad come
who went puliu' flowers to pieces and
tAlh She pieces, petals, and stam-some-
thing or others aud all that, and who
seemed to know Longfellow and Tenny
son and all them fellows by heart, that
] rust cut a sorry digger.
had some sense sometimes and could
talk glib enough, but when that fellow
WAS about rncd If could say thing
nor do anything but jist ret and stare like
a chessy-cat, and then he'd keep askln' M
questions believe he knowed | cOuldn'
answer.
must say, though, Lucy always stood
by me at such times
remember one night we were all therl
setiin' in Luey's mothers parlor, wheI
Sanders SAYS TO me, "what system Of poll
tical economy do you hold to Mr. Bond
Well, | hadn't never held TO none so fal
as know, and In fact, didn't have a yer!
clear idea of what the fellow meant.
suppose Lucy saw was puzzled 70
She up and says, 81 guess Mr. Bond ha
found out by this time that politics anC
economy don't 20 together, and 90, hold
to that system Of economy which chow
him how to git the most out of his Ian
without maxim ii poorer"
how Lucy come to know anything abou
farmin' but, rs I've already said, she wa
smart, and it seems TO me she knowed
lii lie Of everything, and not such little
neither
Well this Bob Sanders was always doin
something like this it sceemed to Tue and
what with beiu' afeared he'd git Lucy an
brin' mad Mt his tryin' to show of m
Ignorance. | come TO have him like, an
! used to lay u bed and git warm thinkiu
how I'd like to lick hin.
Well one afternoon, when there didn
seem to be any work to do on the farm,
thought I'D go down and see Lucy whe
knew Sanders couldn't be there. Fact
thought I'd pop the question right straigt
NJ her If could screw my courage NJ
Her mother said she'd be down in a minul
50 | went into the settin' room TO wait.
! saw hook layin' there knew Luc
had been readin' and so / jist p oked
up | don't know that | thought abol
readin' IL but II was kind o'pleasant lik
TO PICK up any thing she'd jist had hOl
Of.
As picked il up a card fell out of
and down on the floor.
As picked il up saw II was what yo
call visilin' card with Bob Sanders nsu
printed on oae side Of il and as | turnt
it over to put it in the book l saw sUn
wTitin' on the other side.
] suppose | hadn't no right to read
but J was jist little Jealous about Lui
usin' the confOunded fellows card as
boOk-marker, and 80 | glanced at the wri
in II was only four lines, but the minu
had read them / was tearin' mad and
couldu't help Teadin' them again al
again. | never was very 'od at learni
fhfuuu hNs haa - 4 Iaa IL ha,
They were
"Loving friendship have offered
Unto thee my dearest friend;
Can offer love more TENDER
Yet more true, and not offendf"
suppose remember Il better bccau
You see il is what you call an acrost
Bur the more read il the madder / &,
and the more desperate too: for thOug
il she kept q thing like this in her /
poetry book she must like II purity we'll.
Purity soon Lucy come in real smil
and pleasant loOkin' but when she saw
set'in' there with that card in my haI
che stopped mighty sudden and flushed
red as could be.
She said, ,-"Mr. Bond, you appear
to have been improvin' the time while y
were kept waitin' Il hope you've been
teTt lined"
She said this real sarcastic like but
didn't say word. Fact is was too N
to say anything proper 10 woman.
She stepped towards me then and q
"nvw II You are done with 1t. III take q
card, Mr.. Bond"
Lord l was desperate, 1 didn't care
dern what did, so inst' ad of handin'
the card jet tore the internal thing i
bits and flung them on the floor.
Mr.. Bond =" she said purity loud o
angri like. She generally called me T
when We was by ourselves.
"Y0u needn't Mr.. Bond me-" / 81
ia tear the fellow who wrote 'em so
nal hold of him. The mean, conctl
1aekinapes, to come here and make fui
How because he hain't got quite
much lea'nin' as him. and then TO s
rom MIN the woman be loves. D
Lucy didn't say nothln', but the
SUE went out Of that room sort o. ske,
me never seen queen, but dout
any queen could have walked a.
psonier.
sat there sort of stupid for a wi
ana then picked up my hat and lefl