The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1879-07-17
ANL'S DIFFERENCE.

"There's the importunate widow
again"
1t was clerk in Mr.. Farmers gro
Gerry and provision store who said this
to another clerk. The two laughed, ex-
changed winks, and walked back among
the barrels and boxes in the rear, leav:
ing Mr.. Farmer under fire.
The grocer stood by the scales. He
had a long order before him that he was
filling for Mrs. Wiley, who lived in the
stone mansion at the head of Pearl
Street. Her husband was President of
the Gas Company; and so it was not
strange that every night through the
year her mansion blazed like Orion. 1t
was MIR. Farmers first order from Mrs
Wiley, and he was filing it with great
care, giving good weight, and putting
up flawless s ids, carefully wrapped
and tied. A brand new basket stood be-
side him, in which he was packing the
neat bundles as they were made up.
The widow, a tall, pale woman, with
a timid step, moved forward to the
counter, and stood straight across from
him. He lifted his eyes to her face, and
then went on weighing out four pounds
of citron.
She waited.
He kept on weighing and measuring,
= and doing up bundles and packing them
in the new basket, giving no more at
tention to her than to the empty churn
by which she was standing, and to
whose dasher she was holding The two
clerks, back behind the soap. boxes,
peeped around the corners of the piles,
snickering.
"Mr. Farmer" the widow said, at
length, 81 have come to see about my
husbands bill for plants furnished to
your wife,"
haven't any wife, and you haven't
any husband" said Mr.. Farmer, with
something like grin.
The coarseness of this remark caused
the woman to catch her breath. 1t even
sobered the snickering faces peering
from behind the soap-boxes.
The widows voice trembled as she
answered, "You know, Mr.. Farmer,
that the plants were sold and delivered,
and because my husband is dead, the
more your honor should bind you to
keep faith with his helpless ones. You
know that the plants were delivered by
your wife's order, with the agreement
that they were to be paid for in gro
ceries.n
81 know l didn't make any such
agreement" he said. wouldn't give
a pound of salt for all the plants YOU
could put into this store, for nv own
use. 1t Mrs. Farmer made such an
agreement, you must look to her for the
groceries. She has left my house, and
taken away all the plants"
THAT'S no reason why should lose
a just debt"
swell, now, look here, Mrs. WILEY,
I'm very busy" said the grocer. sharp
~. -! can not give any more time to
you. Ii you can settle with Mrs. Far.
mer, DO it-have it out with her-but ]
1oroid you coming to this store again to
bother me. can not and shall moi
listen to YOU"
MRS. Wiley did not reply. With ewes
cast down, but with bright spots glow.
ing on her cheeks, she turned and went
into the street. Then she pulled the
ven over her face, and walked along to.
wards her home CRYING.
Shortly after the plants in question
mad been delivered to Mrs. Farmer. Mr.,
Wiley had gone into the army. for i,
was the spring of 1851. He died the
next Iaii, at Fortress Monroe, leaving
MS 1amliy poor. Small chance, there.
iore, had the woman for indulpino he,
heartache. '-
The mother can not sit, face in hands.
when the children are crying for bread
30 the second day after she got the news
OF her husbands death. the widow be-
gan trudging about with a few small
ollls for collection. Pitiably few and
small they were, Mrs. Farmers being
the largest. And now Mrs. Farmer had
parted from her husband, and he refns. FMS.
ed to pay the bill. " '-'0
What am to do about itpn This
was Mrs. Wiley's question, as she walk.
cd on with feeling that all the world
was moving away, and leaving her be-
"Ihe bill is of such an inconven;ent
slze," she thought. at isn't lsros
enough to go to law about. and the
money is too much for me to let go of
lightly" NV 81 VI