Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1878-02-14

81 suppose her mother is well off, !"
sez the Widder Tubbs, land as long as
she stays there she saves the minister
five dollarsa week. should think she
would stay all summer"
The widaer is about as savin' wo-
man as belongs to the meetin'-house.
at don't look well for her to be gone
so long," says Lucinder Dobbs, 81 am
very much afraid it will make talk"
"Mebby it will save the minister five
dollars week." sez Ophelia, las ex-
travagant as she is in dress-as many as
four silk dresses she has got, and folk
as good as she is in the congregation
hain't got but one, and certain person
full as good az she is, that hain't got
any" (Ophelia's best dress is poplin),
cit won't take her long to run out the
minister's salary"
"She had her silk dresses before she
was married, and her folks was
wealthy" said Miss Squire Edwards.
'As much as we have done and are
still doing for them, it seems ungrate-
ful in her, "seZ Lucinder, Ito wear such
a bonnet as she wore all last summer
a plain white straw with little bit of
white ribbon on it; it looked so scrimp-
ed and stingy. i have thought she
wore it on purpose to mortify us before
the Baptists, jest as if we couldn't af-
ford to dress our minister's wife as good
as they did theirs"
Maggie Shows cheeks was gettin' red
as fire, and her eyes begun to shine
jest as they did that day we found some
boys stonin' her cat. You see she and
the minister's wife are the greatest
| friends that ever was. And 1 see she
couldn't hold in much longer; she was
jest openin' her mouth to speak, when
the door opened, and in walked Betsy
Babbet.
"Why, it seems to me you are late,
Betsy" said Miss Jones, "but walk rite
into the spare bedroom and take off
your things"
"Things!" said Betsy, "who cares for
things?' And she dropped into the
nearest rockin-chair and commenced
rockin' violently.
Betsy Babbet was humbly critter.
But we hadn't no time to mediate on
her. for as Miss Jones asked her agin to
take off her things, she broke OUT
"Wold that l had died when was an
infant babel''
"Amenl" whispered Mary Ann Jones
to Maggie Snow.
'Do tell us what is the matter, Bet
sy," said Miss Jones.
"Yes, do" said Miss Deacon Graves.
Matter enuffi'' sez she; mo wonder
there is earthquakes and jarsl | heard
the news jest before L started, and it
made me weak as cat; i had TO stop to
every house on the way down to rest, ,
and not soul had heard of it till / told
'em. Such turn as il give me, / shan't
get over it for a week; but it is jest as
i always told you; l always said the
ministers wife wasn't any too good. 1t
didn't surprise me-not Bit"
"You can't tell me one word against
Mary Linden that will believe" said
Maggie Snow.
"Ycu will admit that the minister |
went North last Tuesday, won't your"
Seven wimmen spoke up TO once, and |
said, "Yes his mother was took sick,
and they telegraphted for him." Il
$50 he said" sneered Betsy Babbet,
$50 he said; believe it's for good"
'Oh, dear!" shrieked Ophelia Dobbs,
~ shall faint away; ketch hold of me,
somebody"
"Ketch hold of yourself said 1, Sc
verely, and then sez to Betsy, ~ don't |
believe he's run away any more than /
believe l am the next President of the
United States.n
"Well, if he hain't, he'll wish he had"
sez she. "His wife came night before
last ON the cars.n
Four wimmen said ibid sheY' two
said, do tell?" and three opened their
mouths and looked at her speechless;
amongst the last was Miss Deacon
Graves. spoke in "A kolected manner,
and sez |, "What of it?"
Eyes, what of it?" said she. 81 be-
lieye the poor man mistrusted it all |
out, and run away from trouble and
disgrace"
"How dare you'll" sez Maggie Snow,
speak the word disgrace in connection
with Mary Linden?"
"How dare II" sez Betsy Babbet.
ASK Jake Coleman, as it happened
got it from his own mouth, it didn't
come through two or three"
"Get what?" sez /; ''if you can speak
the English language, Betsy Babbet,
and have got sense enuff to tell a
straight story, tell it and be done with
it," sez L.
"Well, jest as come out the gate to
our house," sez she, Jake Coleman
came along, and sez he, Betsy, / have
got something to tell yoa,' sez he; Il
want to tell somebody that can keep it;
it ought to be kept, see he, and then he
went OH and told; sez he, Miss Linden
has got home, and she didn't come
alone, neither Sez 1, What do you
mean?" He looked as mysterious as a
ghost, and sez he, Il mean what | say |
sez he; Il drove the carriage home from
the depot and sez he, AS sure as my
name is Jake Coleman, heard her
talking to somebody she called Hugh
ly0u know her husbands name is
Charles); heard her tell this Hugh
that she loved him, loved him better
than the whole world And then he
made me promise not to tell; but he
said he heard not only one kiss, but
fourteen or fifteen. Now" sez Betsy,
"What do you think of the minister's
wife?"