Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1878-10-17
'Iss IsrDi's D'syn,s vIystcry.S 4,
ny ROSE sTANp1sr.

| y
rlnus-ons Cousin lothian he'sa putty fhir
and square sort of 10 man that is, as men
goes, which haih't sayin' no great things,
twlxty you end / and tho door latch, ,sistor
Poabody--a man of stiddy habits and good
morrils-a man that was alters to homo O
nights, and to bed aifly. This much I've
been kuowip' to fur years. -
| Yutaspell ago he cohmonoed for to act
ln tho most curis ,and onaocouutable man
nor. Ono day he comes to me, jest as |
was putin away my weeks ironin,' aud
says, he:
"Elmiry," says ho, ct guess you may
lay out clean shirt for nlo, if you'yo
mind to. | may 60 out to night" says ho.
was considerably etruok up to hear him
say this; for cousin Jotham ho was allors as
slack and sovenish bout his close as pizon
and Id alters had mastor hard work to git
hin, to shirt hisself Sundays, lot Of no week
days. But didn't say nothn'- .hough I
kop' up powerful thinkin', 1 or tell you,
sister Peabody.
Wall, that night ho vent and rugged
hissc!f all out into his mectin' weskit and
trowsiz, aud bran new neoktc. noticed
that ho had had his whiskcrs trimmed down
to tho barber and his hair all combed down
onto his forehead, into little scollop, Jest
us tho young fellcrs docs, and if my oil
factories didn't deceive mo, orfully he had
musk aud sassafrax about his person.
/ Jest as the ofook was on tho stroke of
sevcn, ho put on his hat and went off. 1t
was nigh midnight when hoerd the door
open aud him go creopin' up stairs, into his
atookiq' feet, Jest as keesful as oqud. .bts9
nobody heerd him, but he was dretful mis-.
taken!
The very next night but one ho dressed
up agin, aud went off in the samo mystcrus
way; and como back in tho Same mystorus
way, and l,e dono the Same all the follcrin'
week. thought, at fust, that it was somo
town mcctin' or poitikle carousses that took
him away so often; but after chawin' away
Tor spell, and turnin' the thing over il
my mind putty kccrful, bout concluded
that thom mcetiu' oloso, and pcrfoomery,
aud spruocd up whiskors ment mattcrmo-
nil intentions, and nothin' else. I should
have thought of this afore if it hadn't been
that cousin lothian waa confarmod old
bachelor, of five and fifty years etandiu',
and reg lar woman hatcr.
This state Of things was owin' to she
that was Collina Dobbs givin' him tho
sack whom he was young It was
dretful blow to cousin Jothum and ever
sence he's had great antiquity to tho
female sect.
Wall, I jest KEEP my eye onto Cousin
Jotham putty clost, and tho moro watched
him, tho moro sartin | was that my ocpicc-
ters in regards to his curis bottoms was
correck. Ho seemed to be kind of uarvous
and anxious like, as would be- nat'ral for
a man that was thinkin' of gittin' uarrid.
ffe aotooally seemed to be unhappy, cousin
lothian did, by spells.
didn't have much pity for Kim, but
how my hoart did ache for that poor dcluded
oretcr ont5 which Ire had cast tis eycsyspith
mutrimonil thoughts intent, as it we're, that
woman that had got to darn his COX, patch
his trowsiz, and do his cookin'. NV soul
actooally blcd for her!
But who was tho woman? I couldn't
50 seem to exactly pitch upon nobody, and
that question fairly hantcd mc day and
night. I couldn't seem to solve it noways
1t wore on my sperits iu 'mazin' way; l
couldn't sleep o nights; lost oil relish for
my vittlcs, and pincd all away to mere
shadder.
Suspense and unsartainty is somothin
that can't bear up under, uoways aud I
determined that Id onravel the whole
thing if it cost nc forth. So one dark
night I fcllercd on artcr cousin Jotham. |
traoEcd him as fur as tho corner, but
found it putty hard work to keep up with
him, he went ct sich rapid rate
KEEP him 10 sight clear up the street
.whcro the stores and houses was. Ho
didn't 90 into mono Of them, howaomcvcr.
but went right straight OH, till he got away
out onto the edges Of the village, where
| thore was an old tumble down building,
tho upper story of which was commonly
used for sngin' schools and dancin' schools.
| The fust thing [ knowcd, he cut across
the street and went into this bui!din' al
tight as he could 60. The upper story was
all lighted up, and seed men comm and
goin' all tho time. watched round there
awhile, and then went home, moro puzzled
and worked up than ever.
Of course all heerd and seo'd that night
upset all my prcvis idces consarnin cousin
Jotham's singular procccdin's. There
wasn't no woman in tho case at oil, that
was as plain as the nose on your face, sister
Peabody. What to think 1 didn't know,
but things continued to 90 on jest as thoy
had went, and / finally giyo up tho idea Of
ferrctin' out the mystery.
Ono day I went into cousin Jotham's
room to carry away some of his things, and
there, tucked away in ono corner of the
bureau drawer, was the funniest lookin' rig
that ennybody ever sot eyos onto. 1t was
kind of capc, or COLLAR or somcthin' all
made out of satin and velvet and all trimmed
off with silver fringe and stars, and good
ness knows what not!