The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-03-17

keep it sewed up in towel in my straw
bed-there want nowhere else ont Of
the way OF Liza AIMS prying eyes. /
can't bear the sight Of that shawl, it
makes my eyes smart ter look at it, and
the tears Jest come Of their own accord.
Sometimes I've been mind ter sell 1t |;
but, sakes aliyel you can't never get the
yally OF thing like thatl" A..
"And how much did you give for III"
asked her listener.
"a hundred dollarsl-silver onesl II
blisters my tongue ter tell it! A hun.
dred dollars, film n sinner; and I've
wore II twice, and he'd more wretched.
ness out OF it than there air threads
woye into itl' ~
"ohl OH" sighed Mrs. Sovereign,
wondering II her companion was in her
right mind.
q Yes, I hev Sometimes I've thought
II / could git o hundred dollars fur 1t
agin-though, Of course, / couldn't-it
would be Jest enough ter take me into
the Old Ladies' Home-that's one Of my
castles in the air-so't I'd be cut Of
Liza AIMS reach. I've thought maybe
the grave couldn't be SO bad II Liza Ann
wusn't there too |"
"Dear, dearl But you were telling
me about the shawl9"
"Lor, yes I've got habit Of wan
dering onto me like my old grand.
mother. She'd begin a-telling how the
children got the measles, and ahe'd let
ye into the private history Of hnlf tho
family by the way, and wind up, like as
not, with q fortin somebody wus expect
ing from Angland. Wa'al, I dunno Us
you remember the widder Niles son
that went a-yoyaging ter the worlds
end? They do say how he wus rich us
Croysus, but she never got no more'n
his cheest after he WIS lost overheard.
You see, she was expecting OF him
home, and his cheest came instead.
Wa'al, Miss Niles, she didn't SO much
rs open II fur six months and then she
found this ere shawl in II, which I
s'pose he wus a-bringing home ter her.
! sometimes wish she never he'd opened
itp
Howsomever, the minute clappcd
my eyes on the shawl I was covetous OF
1t, and I never rested till I got II. l
thought it was the most beautifulest
thing I'd ever sot eyes on. It looked rs
II it wus all wove of rubies and precious
stones, and it wus most all border,
saving q bit OF scarlet about as big us o
bandana handkerchief Now, you see,
I'd never owned shawl but this ere
robroy that I've got on and though 1t
want 50 nigh used up as it is now, II
he'd lost considerable Of its bloom; and
so, one day, when Miss Niles dropped
in, and said she hedn't no heart fur
nothing sence James death, and she
shouldn't never wear nothing but black
clothes tho rest OF her life, and how her
only desire now WIS ter go out ter Indy
fur 10 missionary, and II she could only
raise hunderd dollars on that Cash.
mere shawl, 'twould help pay her way,
and after that the Board would take
care OF her, it seemed sort OF pious
duty ter help her out, il she felt o call.
Lestwuys, it was one Of the biggest
temptations. that eyer.h hesst poor vain
mortal. We wus a.buying back the
house in joys Court at that time-fur,
ye see, my husbands name he'd bin on
Mr.. Crews paper, and what did he do
but up and fail, and obleege us ter mort
gage tho housed Wa'al, said 1t then,
and 1 say it now, that 1t amt proper fur
q man ter put his name ter another
mans paper, and leave his family out in
the cold-not that l blames John half
30 much rs myself, fur he did 1t Just ter
obleege, and I bought the shawl only
ter please myself We wus trying ter
git enough tergither, you understand,
ter pay off the mortgage, and some years
we couldn't do no better than ter pay
the interest. I worked amazing hard.
1 took old Miss Lamson ter board-and
a heap Of trouble she wus, poor soul,
with her rheumatics and ticdoloreux |;
and she he'd ter hey skeleton jelly made
fur her, and lastly she he'd ter be fed |;
and it want no fool Of o job-she wus a
powerful eaterl But never give her q
hasty word, nor wry look and I
treated her as handsome as II she'd
q bin my own mother, or tho fust lady
in the land. You see the town paid fur
her board-and q mighty small one It
wus, but il helped and after she'd
gone home he'd more time, and took
in needle-work, and I'd raked and
scraped hunderd and somo odd dol
lars tergither-my John he'd bin laid
up with rheumatic fever, and hedn't
got nothing q iorhand that year-and I
wus going ter pay It down TINT very
next Monday, when Miss Niles and the
shawl they come in Saturday.
al he'd great struggle with myself
fust. II KEEP me a-turning and twisting
all night a-making up Of my mind. I
hankered after that shawl like all pos
sessed, till it seemed as II I couldn't be
happy without 1t noway, though all the
while I knowed I'd no business with
anything so grand. But all the neigh
bors he'd he'd new shawls that fall, even
Miss Grew-l0rl they rides in their car
riage ter-day, and goes about cracking
in their silks, as II failing and bringing
honest folks inter poverty want o cry
ing sinl-and / thought ter myself how
this one would be crazy with envy when
she saw me sail out In my new Cash.
mere, and the other one and her Bay
State would be cast inter the shade.
$50, without onst thinking that /
hedn't nothing, like gowns and fxings,
ter correspond, I Jest paid Miss Niles
the money, and carried my shawl up
stairs. Wa'al, she want no sooner out
Of the house than I'd give farm not ter
hey , bought \ but wus too proud ter