The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1873-11-26
HOW.

o.. f." j. = EOW, .'''..'.'..''
Perhaps I ana a little too hasty, (
little too ready to light upsat Q min
ute's notice.; but there are som'
words that; seem to carry. an especia
grain of gunpowder IN them, and til.
above is one O. the sort. 70 have D..
person, after you have been througf
i hong explanation, put his fingers tt
his mental ears and query youthful s
or, worse still, "Haow ?" is too i'exas
perating for human nature to bear
But that this is what John Stringel
did to me, bending his head o httli
nearer, and speaking in an absent
aggravating manner that tantaliz ec
me beyond words. % "...' '''''. ~ +
You see, John Stringer and L were
engaged ); we'd been been engaged
for q long time, and perhaps had .got
to be q little too matter O. course K
each other. -" i.rr- "11 :! 4";7"
We. were sitting there over the
fire, after the old folks. had. gone te
bed, and I fell to telling hin. about
Sophie Mills's wedding-her white
silk dress, her bride cake, and hel
bride maids frosted all oyer to match
It, and I ended this way:
"But it don't make any difference
John. to pcople that love each other
all that's o. no moro account than last
years snow-drift. They could be
married in calico and homcspun, with
their feet on a rag carpet like his
and love each other just as we'll
"IIow p, said John, absent!y, 81
was watching the Goals flicker up ape
die out again, and picking up q stray
chip now and then. to fling on t'the
embers- fashion he had when be
was thinking.
:! Now i'had had the head.che all
day, y,,and.Ii guess I vas rather more
tindery than usual though I didn't
thiuk so then; but whon John bent
his great broad shoulders over; as il
he hadn'tILeard wordI said, and in
fact, had something better TO occupy
his mind, I just fired up, first, and
then the blaze died down into sulks
and when parted that night John
and had had our first and last guar
rel. $500, o..E.t. IN .i..,, la,
Ny heart did not 'misgivc me that
wien 1 saw Johns. great tall figure
going ont the b. door,Ait was the last
time he'd lift the latch for many O
year; but SO it was.
= You see, i held my head pretty
high in those days, and / wouldn't
show that I was a bit cut up about
it, so I paired off with Mrs. Plumbers
Jesse, a likely, spruce young fellow
enough, but 10 moreto be compared
with John than o cockle7shell is to q
brigantine. aia, i.
Oh, WE'LL. mother sighed, and tried
right hard to bring Us together again,
but il wasn't to be- ~ %" ' '....''
John was a powerful muscular man,
and 1 used to sec him 60 up the road
many q time when was out in" the
shed milking, and, peeping out at hln7
through the chiDlis, I thought his
broad shoulders stopped more than
ever, and his figure was growing
more stallly like. Such an awkward
fellow as John was! I came meat
rushing out on him once, in my sun,
bonnet and with my sleeves rolled
up, and finging my arms right ropnd
his neck; but John liked to see folks
tidy. and Inever did it.. : ~'..'' -
Jesse Plumber was the beau O. the
village-dapper, neat and dainty q:
YOU please and all the girls thought
t had come to my senses when
oustcd 'em o Jess. And BY and-b!y
it was Jess that came. sparkling 0
nights, aud sat O. winter evenings
evenings over the embers, and ht
was SO soft-spoken and pleasant tha'
even mother forgot her vexation
'(SM always set store by John, moth
'er tid). Well, in the spring we were
married, Jess and. me, and l" had I
string of pearls and a real SILK brlda
dress, and felt kind o lifted like wheI
the girls crowded roundmc and hope(
I'd be happy: I hoped so too;
wasn't sure of.it. ~,a ,a,. "a.
Remembering. the days. that came
after, 1 can't recall one hard woro ;,
ever heard from Jess. We weren
near enough to each other to quarrcl,
we Just laid apart like two odd vot
umes th ere wasn't any fire 'twixt,us
nor anything ,twixt us, either iove o' y
laughing, whereas John ana NAG al a.
ways been bubbling over one way OF
another. "a' '' -, ,
J Iworked hard, for my silk dresl
and necklace were oil 1 had of riches
m and I cut up the. gown one day te
make a cloak for the baby. YOU SCI
| Couldn't give up my pride, and VA
lust as highispirited' as ever. bul
Iour farm didil't prosper, and Jes'
didn't prosper = and Mrs. P1umbe'
came to- live. with us, to look s.fte'
things, she said; and, she got to pity
ing him every now and then for mar
wing ii poor wife, and-oh, we'll
what's the use of talking?-somct ctime'
I couldn't help wishing John String
cr's, strong shoulders were at,Hth'
wheel, when I was working mysel
TO death morning and night for moth
ing.
Then when baby grew bigger