Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1879-05-02

threw q stick at the fowl, but, adrOitly
lodging it, hereiterated, "Ke-tu-u-rah!h
r''1'll Keturah your exclaimed aloud
the irate bachelor, seizing milking
stool But bafnyards furnish a footing
as .treacherous as the polished floors Of
palaces, and Mr.. Lazier found himself
on his knees in an emerald-hued pool,
while the rooster, perehedupon the gate, ;.
triumphantly proclaimed, "Ke-tu-u-
ra-ahi ~ 80. ~ (. pr
There was sort Of 5smothered explo-
sion somewhere overhead in the barn,
but Hezekiah was too busy with his own
meditations-whi were not so pious
as his attitude-to heed anything else.
81 swamp he calculated, which pc
culiar expression might have been sug-
gested by his aeqdatic adventure. He
was Fastening from the scene of his mis-
fortune, but, as he turned the corner,
ran pump into M. Jones, who ex-
| claimed "Hello, Lazier come to see
her, ehp" Mr.. Lazier's intellect, never
over-fobust, was becoming decidedly
confused. He stammered: "Well, I've
just come from-that is I've been to
see
Ke-tu-u-rah" added the bantam,
helping him out. Mr.. Lazier turned
| Ntly Itu, anu JOOhtu llsg dU IIlt I1lIK-
| ing-stool and then at the splashes on his
pants. .,
"Co-boss! co-boss! ,co-bossm called
Mr.. Jones, opening the gate which led
| into the lane. Presently a griddle-cake
colored Alderney made her appearance,
| and walked solemnly toward the two
| men.
Mr.. Lazier proceeded to punch her
| nil he II, q Eo ,1,oonaT 1To,, ,O,o,,,,
| quarts does she give now?n he inquired.
| derneys never are," he added, with the
scornful air of indifference which be-
comes the experienced buyer.
"She's first-class2 mixer, sir" said
Mr.. Jones. Eight quarts day, OF you
may have her for nothing. Then, YOU
know, an Attorneys milk is half cream,
anyway; so if you want her for butter
making. she'll be worth more to you
than one that gives more that isn't so
rich. Why, we never put any carrots in
her butter in the winter-;just as yellow
in January as in June. Why, sir, her
butter took the prize at cattle show
$50 Mrs. Selchow said,n rejoined Mr..
Lazier, whose mind had slightly wan
dered.
Mrs. Selchowm repeated Mr.. Jones,
in some surprise, for he was conscious
that his last statement had been fab
ricated for the occasion. "What does
she know about the cowPn
"Cow ?-oh no! | meant-that is, 7
must have been thinking of something
else,n blundered Mr.. Lazier, looking un-
easily at the bantam, which
! ''Never fitting, never fitting,
Still was sitting, still was sitting
| just above "
the barnyard gate
Now, sir, you know what she is
worth. She is worth more than the
value of the money, you can see your
self. 1ou can't do any better than to
| take her. OF course it don't make any
| difference to me, bfaif you Know a good
chance when you see it, if you know
what's for your own interest, you'll take
her, and she'll never disappoint you.''
"If she WANT so humbly," murmured
Mr.. Lazier, absently, for, by this time,
''lIis eyes were with his heart, and that
was far away"
"Hey! what are you talking about?"
asked Jones. ~
Ke-tu-rah!" !" cried voice overhead,
in imitation of the bantam. "Ke-tu-rah
Kiddle!' III
There was no possibility of mistake
this time, it was Keturah Kiddle and
nothing else, and it certainly was not the
bantam. The shipwrecked adventurers
in the enchanted island of Prospero were
not more distraught by the strange noises
of that isle than was Mr.. Lazier by this
aerial voice. He dashed wildly out of
the barnyard, with Mr.. Jones's dog
Tower in hot pursuit. - ....
Hezekiah," said Mrs. Lazier, at sup
per, I'd as lieves you'd go down to the
corners and get me some molasses and q
Goldfish tonight"
"Wa'al, said Mr.. Lazier; and half an
hour later his green chariot and one-eyed
horse drew up before that institution
known rs "the store" The chronic
group of loungers which were forming a
sort of fence around Cornelius Jones,
Jr., could not have drawn on more
funereal countenances when Mr.. Lazier
entered if he bad been sarcophagus; !;
and the silence was unbroken until he
asked for his molasses.
Young Jones sauntered carelessly up to
a keg of butter which stood upon the
counter.
81" X. K Whose butter is thisp" he
asked.
THAT butter" said the storekeeper,
coughing, ''was made by Miss Kiddle. -
KiddieP What the one that lives on
the crossroads, over our wayp" inquired
Cornelius, gravely.
Mr. Lazier began to regard q string of
button-molds with deep interest.
Well, now," resumed Cornelius, al
heard somebody say that she got more
for her butter than anybody elsein town,
and her cows are not Alderney either.
By-the-way," addressing the audience in
q general way, " they do say Miss Kid
dies father left her about two thousand
dollars. If was marrying man, now,
| don't know but what I'd try my luck.
Don't know but what | shall as it is. |
want wife that is smart enough to sup
port me, and Keturah could make a
handsome living if she was tied up in
meal bag When | was moving our
west lot | used to go by her house every
morning about five o'clock, and declare
if she wasn't out wedding in the garden,
with all her milkpans drying. | be-
lieve she makes her bed before she pets
up, and washes her dishes before break
fast.n
Mr.. Lazier never thought of the cod
fish till he was half way home. AS the
horse turned into the dooryard and
stopped in front of the dilapidated barn,
his masters meditation came to sudden
end, and he exclaimed, "Tve got it!n
Scrambling out of the buggy, without
stopping to unharness, he rushed toward
the barn, umbrella in hand eff it falls
over toward the calves stable I'll do it.n
he said, placing the green cotton oracle
tip downward upon the floor. He let go
of it with q trembling hand. 1t toppled
over and fell with decisive thud upon
the very threshold of the calves stable
/" I'm a-going down to the store to-