The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-04-15
FETCHING AND CARRYING.

FETCHING AND CARRYING.
"You see" said my great-aunt, address
ing usgirls, {" was well-nigh thirty years
that 1 followed sewing for living. l
could do tailoring and dressmaking and
mending and quilting, and such, as well
as the best, and so / was sent for far and
near. Now supposed had dallowed myself
to fetch and carry from house to house
whatever L might happen to hear Of peo-
pies affairs, like some folks, [ should
have got myself into a muss many's the
time. My mother taught me better.
Nov, Sally says she, when 1 first
went out to work, be mighty careful
how you carry news from house to house,
or tell what you know of peoples private
matters, even when it doesn't seem as if
it could 10 the least mite of harm And
she went on TO say that some people
never liked to have a tailoress or seam
stress or even n washer-woman around,
because some of them are apt to be full
of gossip, and to fetch and carry from
house to house. Even when there isn't
n single thing they are ashamed to have
know, people like to feel that they can
keep their private business to themselves.
SO my mother said, and L found it to be
exactly so. I thought all the more of it
after my mother was dead and gone.
Most people seemed to like my way of
keeping myself to myself, and again
there were others who acted as if they
We're really provoked because they
couldn't get any more out of me, and
they pestered me to death, limiting round
to see if by putting that and that to-
gether they couldn't make out something
without asking me outright. There
We're the two Snuffer girls, Lyddy Ann
and BetsyJane; they wanted to know every
bOdys business, and were always trying
to find out something. And such ridi-
culous things how many table-cloths
the Snowdons used in week (that was
our minister's family), and how much
they paid their hired girl week, and ii
she ate at the table with the family. If
q stranger came to church with any of
the girls, they couldn't listen to the SER
mon until they had found out who and
what he was, and the next day they
made business of collecting informa-
ton about his family, his property, and
all such.
81 always hated to go there to work
when any of the girls in Shrews-
bury or in the towns round were to be
married. They most generally sent for
me to help spell, and of course / knew
pretty much their affairs. But | WASH t
going to tell what the wedding dress was
to be, or just how much it cost yard,
or whether they bought it in Boston or
nearer home, nor how many pounds of
cake they We're going to make, and all
xs,1rh Tho fri,1o coil ~ li,,1 g |,
edge off to tell everything beforehand; /;
they had rather come out new. Well,
when it came time for Deacon Goodman s
daughter to be married, there was a
great stir among the girls. Matildy had
lived in Boston considerable with her
Uncle Joshua, who was rich and lived in
great deal of style, and so the girls all
expected that her outfit would be some
thing pretty handsome; and so it was.
Why, her wedding dress, with her gloves
and slippers and little notions, cost we'll
nigh thirty dollars Matildy said her
self that she thought part of the money
ought to be given to the missionaries,
but then it was present from her uncle,
and so there was nothing to be said. I
was going there to help about some mat
ters, and so happened to say that
there would be great curiosity among
the young people to know the particu-
Aars Of the wedding.
I" Lawful sakesl' says Mrs. Goodman,
do, dear, tell them all they want to
Know and Matildy said the same, for
she wasn't in the least stuck up. They
were only waiting for Spring to get
home from Ohio. That was cousin of
Matildy's who was going to stand up
with her. He was named Aminadab,
after his grandfather; but as people that
had known him from baby would keep
on calling him Minny, and the young
men called him Dab, his folks concluded
to call him by his last handspring.
said to Mrs. Goodman that she would
miss Matildy when she came to go away
for good. Oh yes, of course; but she
went on to say that she and the deacon
might go with the young folks to Bos-
quite so sudden. Matilda was very
anxious to have them go and stay until
after Thanksgiving. The deacon in
sisted that his wife should go, but he
said, what with his rheumatism and
some chores he had to do on the farm,
he thought he had better stay at home
and see to things. his wife would
hardly agree to this. She said it would
be the first time they had been separated
for thirty years, and, as the deacon said,
the first time they ever had serious
disagreement; and he laughed as If it
was uncommon good joke.
Well, as L left the deacon's with
such a budget of news that l was at
liberty to tell, thinks to myself shall
be quite welcome visitor at some
houses 1 know of. AS it happened, 1
was going to work for the Shutters the
very next day, and SO 1 should have a
chance to make up, in manner, for be-
ing so closedmouthed, as they called
me, by speaking out for once as free as
other folks.
81 got there the next morning rather
before they expected me, and as 1
stood ready to knock at the side door I