Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1874-06-25
BETSEY BOBBETT.

Ny but Mrs. Betsey Bobbett was a
spry little widow. She walked as
though she was moved by steel SPRINGS,
especially if Squire Wilkins happened
to be passing her house. If she saw
him fitting by in his gig, she was sure
to be busy at the front window, picking
am imaginary dead leaf off the rose
geranium, or culling spray of mig
nonette to fasten among her bonny
rrowu CUTS. sometimes she would be
coming round the house from the els
tein-pump, and she would firt her
ruffies in a way TO show the 'broidered
hens OF her marvelously dainty skirts
and the trimmest of all prettily -arched
ankles.
She was as artful as a mink, Betsey
was, and 1t was very certain that she
had laid her plans to captivate the vii
lage Squire. Her brother thought So
he was an old bachelor who lived with
her-and all the trouble Ira knew was
the fear that Betsey would marry and
his coy relations be broken up. He
embraced every opportunity to say
something against every manageable
widower or susceptible bachelor In the
neignborhood
"No, don't like the looks o. Squire
Wilkins, nohow," he said one evening,
as he leaned back in his chair at the
tea-table and picked his teeth leisurely.
"Them deep, up-and-down wrinkles
tween his eyebrows are enough for me
when you see them on anybody's face
you may look out for ill-natur' and a
cross, fault-finding disposition. But
where they run this way" and he arched
his eyebrows up, until his skinny-look-
plowed horizontally, 'why, then you
may expect a good-natured man, not
fault-fnding nor hard to please"
cts nothing to me who's ill-tem-
pered or who has wrinkles, I'm sure, -
said Betsey, smiling demurely Sc but ]
never believed much in signs. You
know our old Grandmother Tresway was
as full of contrariness as the old fell
low himself, and people looked in her
smooth face, as placid as china dolls.
and they called her saint, and mother
In Israel, and all such holy, significant
titles. You remember how she used to
throw the teapot, or the press-beard,
or the boot-jack, or anything that came
In her way, at us young ones"
And so the talk of the brother and
sister drifted on until it ran into the
past, and they both talked of old times
and half forgotten adventures, and they
spent very pleasant evening together,
as they usually did.
The next evening, just after dusk, the
Squire called and stayed an hour or So
He had not intended stop ping long-jusi
ran in TO see how Ira managed to keep
hissweet potatoes all winter-he'd never
had luck keeping his, somehow. Ira
hurried and told him, secretly hoping
that he'd go home Immediately, but the
Squire was in no hurry.
They talked election news and dis
cussed the candidates for Governor, an6
for Lieutenant Governor, ard Congress
and yet the Squire fingered He was
building a new house, frame, story-and
a-half. with two dormer windows, tina
cost fifty dol lars each. He said 'dorme1
windows were SO charming to sit In and
watch the snn set in the summer even
inRs when the mellar light fringed al
the hills with glory )" here he ran hi
spongy hands into his pockets and thel
plowed his fingers through his well
dyed, ambrosial locks, and then fell Il
milking his sooty black beard, while h'
glanced over at the widew, whose eye
spake again.
"Or," he continued, :" it is pleasan
to sit in dormer winder in the full o
the moon and watch him sailin' among
the clouds in all his evangelical majesty
One knows how to yally a friend at sucl