Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1873-07-10

together you understand, ter pay OFT
the mortgage, and some years we
couldn't do no better than ter pay the
interest. worked amazing hard, [
took old Miss Lampson ter board-and
a heap of trouble she wus, poor soul,
with her rheumatics and ticdoloreux ;
and she he'd to hev skeleton jelly made
fur her, and lastly she he'd ter be fed,
and it want no fool of job-she wus
powerful eater! But I never give
her a wry look; and [ treated her as
handsome as if she'd "a bin my own
mother, or the fust lady in the land.
You see the town paid. fur her board
and a mighty small one it wus, but
it helped; and after she'd gone home I
he'd more time, and took in needle
work, and I'd raked and scraped hun
dred and some odd dollars tergither-
my John he'd bin laid up with rheu-
matte fever, and hedn't got nothing a.
forehand that year-and I wus going
ter pay it down that very next Mon
day, when Miss Niles and the shawl
they come in Saturday!
81 he'd great struggle with myself
fust. It KEEP me a-turning,and twist
ing all night a-making up of my mind.
L hankered after that shawl like all
possessed, till itseemed as if I couldn't t
be happy without it noway, though all
the while I knowed I'd no business
with anything so grand. But all the
neighbors he'd he'd new shawls that
fall, even Miss Grew-lor! they rides
in their carriage ter-day, and goes about
cracking in their silks, as if failing
and bringing honest folkes inter pov-
erty want crying sin!-and I thought
ter myself how this one would be crazy
with envy when she saw me sail out in
my new cashmere, and the other one
and her Bay State would be cast inter
the shade.
$50, without onst thinking that I
hedn't nothing, like gowns and fixings,
ter correspond, [ jest paid Miss Niles
the money, and carried my shawl up
stairs. Wa'al, she wa'ant no scorer
out of the house than I'd give -
| not ter hev bought It; 81 -
proud ter call her back, and I've allus
he'd her heavy on my mind, as we'll as
the shawl; for, you know, she wus lost
a-going ter Indy, and I somehow felt
sort of responsible seeing, too, as she
Wus the last of her family. Wa'al.
John he didn't know I he'd the hun
dred dollars-Pd KEEP it fur a surprise
and now I couldn't make up my
mind ter tell him about the shawl
So when it came Sunday I put it on
with my old delaine, and my rough
and-ready straw bonnet, and sneaked
down the back stairs ter meeting with
out word ter him-he hedn't got
able to be out himself-and [ felt SC
horrid mean about it that when Miss
Jenkins said, what a splendid new
shawl you're a-wearing Off it didn't
give me the leastest culver of pleasure
as ever wus; nor when Miss Grimalkin
said, 1T really don't seem worth while
ter hev such dressy shawl ter wear
about here, where there's nobody tel
see-now, does it p nor when Miss Lit
tie declared there wasn't nothing like
shawl ter cover up your old gowns.
and make ye look respectablep though
knew it wus all spite and jealousy
that made their words stinging.
''I've come ter think I'd rither hev
my neighbors good natured than envi-
Gus as l git along in years. [ want
half so comfortable in my cashmere as
I'd been in the old robroy; and after
[ wore it twice [ took such dislikine
ter it that I jest hid it away, and went
back ter the robroy.
"But [ allus felt as if the cashmere
had crippled us. Ye see, we allus has
ter pay fur our Injuries, even after
we've got tired Of 'em. Money wui
harder ter git after that, or perhaps
I'd misused my opportunity and didn'-
desarve another. Howsomever, Mr.
Doubleday, who held the mortgage
died, and his son foreclosed, and turn
: ed us out O house and home! Afte
that there wusn't much ter hinder u
from going down hill pretty lively
, John he lost courage, and wus gettin.
j weakly; the children died one afte
another, except Tom, and Liza AM
, she worried the life out of him in time
and so here [ am, an old woman, will
naught in the world but set of teet]
; and that there cashmere shawl. Yo1
5 see, if | he'd paid the money onto tn
mortgage, it would have give John
lift, and put some spirit inter him
fur work never seems so light as whe1