Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1874-11-28

came trlckllng down his face. Sh
, asked him to come in. No; he was i
q hurry, he said. Still he did not of
i fer to 60. He did not not like to asl
b her to pick up his reins for him. be
. cause he did not know what excuse I,
. make for not doing il himself. Thel
2 be looked down The road behind hin
0 and saw a white-fseed horse coming
E and at once surmising that it was .thal
\ of Gus Sacrider coming, he resolved
to do or die. and hurriedly told his er.
: rand. The widow would be delighted
: to go, of course she would. Bul
! wouldn't he come in No, he was in a
, hurry he said; had to go on to Mr..
| Green's place.
! "0h," said the widow; you're 60
ing to Green's are you2 Why, / was
just going there myself to get one of
the girls to help me guilt some. just
! wait second while | get my bonnet
and dshawl, and III ride with you" And
away she skipped.
Thunder and lightningl" said Bill,
what a scrapeP' and he hastily
clutched his pants from between his
feet, and was preparing to wiggle into
them, when light wagon drawn by
white faced horse, driven by boy.
came along and stopped beside him.
The boy held up pair of boots in one
hand and pair Of socks in the other,
and jnstas the widow reached the gate
again, he said,
Here your boots and your socks,
Mr.. Smiley, that you left on the bridge
when you was in swimming"
You're mistaken" said Bill,
they re not mine"
Why" said the boy, "ain't you
the man that had the race after the
horse just now?p
No, sir, am notl you had better
go on about your business" Bill
sighed at the loss of his good Sunday
boots, and turning to the widow he
said,
Just pick up the lines, will you,
please this brute Of horse is for
ever switching them out Of my hands"
The widow complied, and then he !
pulled one corner OF the robe cautious
ly down, and she got in.
What lovely evening" said she,
on1 cO wal i utQu VIC uCCQ I
the robe over US, do We"
(You see, she had on nice dress |
and pair Of new CATERS, and she
wanted to show them.
"Oh, mym said Bill, earnestly, !
you'll find it chilly riding, and l
wouldn't have you catch cold for the
world"
She seemed pleased at the tender
care for her health, and contented her
self with sticking one of her feet out,
with along silk neck-tie over the end
of it.
What is that, Mr.. Smiley? a neck
Yes" sail he, II bought it the
other day, and l must have left it in
the buggy. Never mini it."
" But she said, sit was SO careless;"
and STOPPING over she picked it up and
made a molten to stuff il in between
them.
Bill felt her hand going down, and
making drive after it; clutched it in
his and held it hard and fast
They went on quite distance, he
still holding her soft little hand In
his and wondering what he should do
when they got to Green's and she
wondering why he did not say some
thing nice to her as well as squeeze
her hand, and why his coat was but
toned ups tightly on such o warm
evening, and what made his face and
hat so dirty, until as they were going
down little hill one Of the traces
came unhitched and they had to stop.
20 murderh said Bill what
next?"
" What is the matter, Mr.. Smiley"
said the widow, with start that came
near jerking the robe of his knees.
"One of the traces is of, /" said he.
Well, why don't you get out and
put it on p
=" l can't" said Bill; I've got-that
is, haven got--oh, dear, L m so sick
What shall | dor
" Why, Willie" said she, tenderly,
what is the matter?' do tell me, and
she gave his hand little squeeze. aud
looking into his pale and troubled face
she fought he was going to faint; so
she got out her smelling bottle with
her left hand, and pulling the stopper
out with her teeth she stuck il 20 his
nose.
Bill vast tjust taking in breath for a
mighty sigh, and the pungent odor
made him throw his head SO far back
that he lost his balance and went over
the low backed buggy. The little wo-
man screamed as his big bare feetfew
past her head; aad covering her face
with her hands gave way to her tears, or
smiles-it is hard to tell which. Bill !
was right up" in moment and was
leaning over the back OF the scat
humbly apologizing and explaining,
when Ed. Wilbur, with his wife and
baby, drove up behind and stopped.
Poor Bill felt that he would rather
have been shot than have Ed. Wilbur
catch him in such scrapc, but there
was no help for it now, so he called
Ed. to him and whispered in
his ear. Ed was like to burst with
with suppressed laughter, but he beck
oned to his wife to drive up, and after
saying something to her, he helped the
widow out of Bills buggy and into his,
and the two women went on, leaving
the men behind. Bill lost no time in
arranging his toilet as well as he could.
and then with great persuasion Ed. got
him to go home with him, and hunting
up slippers and socks and getting him
washed and combed, had him quite
presentable when the ladies arrived.
/ need not tell how the story was all
wormed out Of bashful Bill, and how
they all laughed as they sat around
the tea table that night, but will con-
elude By saying that they went to the
show together and Bill has no fear Of
Gus Sacrider now
This is a true story about Bill and
the widow, just as | had it from Ed.
Wilbur, and if there is anything un-
satisfactory about it, ask him.