Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1875-07-16
all the thing-em-bobs you gave me as

I'LL tnc ilIHS-ciH-UoUS you S"No ihS aS
soon as get them together"
"Go slow, Annie. Go Slow" said
the old gentleman; "I'm afraid both
of you have been trying to corner
the market on spelling and came up
short. What's the word? Tip it
out! I was sound on spelling in my
younger days"
"It's very simple word" said
Charley. "It's only separate"
"Well, well, well" exclaimed the
old gentleman. "And you two have
been and gone and had red-hot
scrimmage about such thing as that.
Why, look how red you both are.
BY jingo, l can almost smell brim-
stone. But what bothers my judg-
ment is, how you ever came to dis
agree. That's one Of the easiest
words in the English language-one
of the veyy easiest
"How do you spell it, pa?" asked
Annie.
"How do Ispell it?" said the old
gentleman. "Why, l spell it the only
way it should be spelled: Sep, sep
per, per-sepper-r-a-t-e, rate
sepperate."
"And that's yo"r way?" said Char
ley, dcrisively.
eyes, sir. That is the way spell
it, and that is the way every other
educated man spells it,
81 don't care if they do," said
Charley. "They spell it wrong"
"See here, young fellow" cried the
old gentleman, turning as red in the
face as a boiled beet, ''I've been a
kind of thinking for some time that
you are getting too big for your
clothes. You was u very modest,
well-mannered boy several years ago,
but you are growed out Of it awful.
All them shiny buttons has turned
your head. Now, if you want to
spark my dawter you'll have to come
down out of your conceitedness very
considerable. You must remember
there is other folks besides you that
knows thing or two"
BY this time Mr.. McWorter was
prancing up and down in a towering
passion, while Annie alternately dart
ed looks of affectionatc encourage
ment at pa and glances Of deep dis
dain at Charley.
That young gentleman now began
to put on his overcoat, remarking
very calmly in the meantime that
people who were always wrong al
ways hated to be told of it. Then,
wishing the entire family every sue
cess in life, he was about to retire
with excessive dignity, when who
should enter but Mrs. McWorter,
with a dusting-brush in her right
hand and an ample white cloth around
her head.
"What's the matter of you all?"
she asked in astonishment. "Any-
body would think there was trial
going on up here before Police
Justice. Annie, if was you I'd get
ssme ice and put it to my face. Per-
haps it would cool you down little.
And so, Mister McWorter, l suppose
you have been meddlin' with some
thing that don't concern you, as
usual, OF course"
"Ma," said Annie, 'sit's all about
the spelling of Il word. Charley
thinks he's so awful talented because
he can order a few poor sailors
around that"
"Oh, nonsense!" broke IN the old
lady. 'Don't let's have so much
palaver. What's the word?"
s'The word, Mrs. McWorter, is
SEPARATE" said Charley, who still
stood near the door with his over
coat.
"And that's a big thing to have such
a whirligig about, amt 1t? Now
don't you all feel ashamed of your
selves? I dare say nobody with
any schoolin' would hardly slip up
on such plain word as that"
"Suppose you spell it for us, Mrs.
New orter," said Charley.
"Well, I don't mind, if it'll settle
any trouble" said the old lady.
Here's my way, and the only right
way: Sep, sep, per, per, ct, ct
sepperet."
"Oh, mother of Mosesn' cried the
old man spinning around on one
leg, "but you are such sweet spell
er-you are. You ought to have a
contract for polishing up members of
Congress on photography"
"Mr. McWorter, l would try to
have a little dignity in my own
house," returned his wife, placing
her arms so severely akimbo. 'Even
if you didn't have many advantages
in early life, should think that keep
ing company with respectable peo-
pie would have made some improve
ment in your manners"
"Manners be switched" cried Nc
Worter. "N[aybe l amt got many
manners; but know how to spell a
plain, straight word. In my opinion
the Compulsory Education law ought
to be applied to all of YOU
There Is no saying how far the
quarrel might have gone, but just
then spruce looking young man
was shown in and he presented Mr..
McWorter with n gas bill. This lit
tie matter having been settled the
nobby collector was about to depart
when Charley remarked: ''Perhaps
this gentleman can decide the mat
ter.''
"What matter?" queried the
stranger.
1--WE are disagreed about the spell
ing of the word separate" said
Charley.
II amt on the SPELL" said the man
passing out. "Look in the diction'
ary."
s'That's fact" chimed in Mrs.
McWorter. "You might have done
that long ago. But you'll find it just
as I spelled it, sepperet is sepperet,
any way you twist it, and all the
world over"
"Gct out, old woman, you don't
know the first principle of spellin,'
cried Mr.. McWorter; "but bring out
the book, Annie. Well see what
Mr.. Webster has to say, although I'd