River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1873-11-28
HOW (!

Perhaps / am a little too hasty, a
Il little too ready to light up at minutes
notice but there are some words that
seem to me to carry an especial grain of
gunpowder in them, and the above is
t'ne o the sort To have person. after
ou'ye been through long explanation,
to put his fingers to his mental ears
and query you thus, or worse still,
Haow is too exasperating for
human nature to bear. But that's what
john Stringer did to me, bending his
head a little nearer, and speaking in an
absent, aggravating manner that tanta-
lized me beyond words.
YOn see John Stringer and were en-
gagged we'd been engaged for a long
time, and perhaps had got to be little
too matter of course to each other.
We were sitting there over the fire.
after the old folks had gone to bed.
and l fell 10 telling him of Sophie
Mills wedding-her white silk dress.
her bride-cake, and her trademarks
frosted all over to match it, and / end.
ed this way:
:" But it don't make any difference,
John, to people that love each other
all that's O no more account than last
years snow-drift. They could be mar
ried in calico and homespun, with
their feet on "a rag carpet like this, and
love each other just as WELL"
" Howl" said John, absently. He
was watching the Goals flicker up and
/ die ont again, and picking up "A stray
chip now and then to fling on the en-
bers--a fashion he had when he was
/ thinking.
Now | had had the headache all day,
and guess ] was rather more tindery
than usual though / didn't think so
/ then; but when John bent his great
/ broad shoulders over, as if he hadn't
/ heard word | said, and. in fact, had
something better To occupy his mind,
just fired up, first, and then the blaze
died down into sulks, and when
We parted that night John and had
our first and last quarrel.
MY heart did not misgive me that
when | saw Johns tall figure going out
the door, it was the last time he'd lift
the latch for many a year; but so it
was
You see | held ny head pretty high
ia those days, and wouldn't show that
! was bit cut up about it, so paired
off with Mrs. Plumbers Jesse, likely,
spruce young fellow enough, but no
more to be compared with John than a
eockle-shell is 60 brigantine.
Oh, well, mother sighed, and tried
right hard TO bring us together again,
but il wasn't 60 be.
John was powerful, muscular man,
and used 20 see him go mp the road
many time when | was in the shed
milking, and, pceping out mt him
through the chinks, | thought his
broad shoulders stopped more than
ever, and his figure was growing more
slalky-hke. Such IN awkward fellow
as John was | came near rushing
ont to him once, with my sunbonnet
ON, and my sleeves rolled mp, and fling
ing my arms around his neck, but John
liked TO see folks tidy, aud SO never
did it,
Jesse Plumber was the bean O. the
village-dapper neat, and dainty as
yon please; and all the girls thought
haS come 10 my senses when | clustered
'em % Jesse. Aud 10y and 10y it was Jess
that come sparbin' q nights, and sat o
winter evenings over the embers, and
he wns SO soft spoken and pleasant that
even mother forgot her vexation. (She
always set store 10y John, mother did,
Well, I'm the spring We were married,
aud had a string , pearls and q real
silk bridE dress, and felt kind q lifted
like when the girls crowded round me
and hoped Ia b. happy. hoped SO,
too. WASH I sure 81 IL.
Remembm ing the day that came
after. sant recall one hard word |
ever heard from Jess. We weren't near
enough 10 each other 20 quarrel we
Just land apart like two odd volumes /;
there wasn't amy fire 'twixt us, nor any
thing twixt us. either love or laughing,
whereas John and | had always been
! bubbhng over one way and another.