The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-01-02
suFerens Of Nathen spooner.
BY JOSIAH ALIENS WIFE.

-,
heavy fine to pay for shettin' up doors,
you wouldn't never lose cent of your
property in that way" and says /,
clutchin' my lap full of carpet rags with
a firmer grip, for truly, they wus autter-
in like banners in the cold breeze, "if
YOU don't want me to blow away, Josiah
Allen, shet up that door,"
"Oh, shaw! Samantha, you won't blow
away, You are too hefty. It would take
Hurrycane, and Simon, too, to tackle
you, and lift you"
"Simon who?" says I, in cold axents,
cauzed partly by my frigid emotions and
partly by the chilly blast, and partly by
his DARN TO say any man could take me
up and carry me away:
."Ohl the Simons they have on the
desert. I,ve hearn Thomas ]. read about
'em.. They'll blow camels away, and
everything"
"says 1, drcamily, who'd have
thought twenty years ago, to have heard
that man a-courtin' me, and callin' me a
zephire, and pink posy, and angel,
that he'd ever.live to see the day he'd
call me. a camel"
81 han't called you camel! only
meant that you vas hefty, and camels
wus ,hefty. And it would take Simon
or two to lift you round, either on you."
"Wall,n says ], in frigid tones, "what
want to know is, are you a-goin' to shet
that doorf"
eyes, 1 be, jist as quick as change
my clothes. i don't want to fodder in
these new bricAes."
I.rose with dignity, or as much dignity
as I could lay holt of-half bent, tryin'
to keep ten or twelve quarts of carpet
rags from spillin' over the foor-and
went and shet the door myself, which |
might have known enough to done in the
first place, and saved time and breath.
For shettina of doors is truly accom-
plishment that Josiah Allen never will
master. have touched him up in lots
of things, sense we wus married, but in
that branch of education he has been too
much for me; l have about gin up.
In the course of ten or fifteen minutes
Josiah came out of the bedroom lookin'
as peaceful and pleasant as you may
please, with his hands in his pantsloons
pockets, searchin' their remote depths,
and says he, ina off.hand, careless way:
"I'll be hanged if there han't letter
for you, Samantba.n
elbow many weeks have you carried it
round, Josiah Allen?" says /. at
would scare. me if you should give me
letter before you had carried j: round in
your pockets month or so.
"Oh! I guess I only got this two or
three days ago. / meant to handed it to
you the first thing when / got home.
But I hain't had on these old breeches
sense that day went to MILL"
Three weeks ago, to-day" says in
almost frosty axents, as opened my
letter.
"Wall," says Josiah, cheerfully, 81
knew it wuzn't long, anyway"
II glanced my gray eye down my let
ter, and says l, in agitated tones:
..She that was Alzina Ann Allen is
comm here a-Yisitin'. She wrote me
three weeks ahead, SOS to have ME pre-,
pared. And here she is liable to come
in on us any minyee, now, and ketch us
all unprepared,n says /. ~ wouldn't
have had It happened for ten-cent bill,
to had one of the relation, on your side,
come and ketch me in such condition.
Then, the curtains are all down in the
spare room; I washed 'em yesterday,
and they hain't ironed. And the carpet
in the settin'- room up.to mend and not
a mite of fruit cake in the house, and she
a.comin' here to-day. am mortified
! most to death, Josiah Allen. And it
you'd give me that letter, i should have
hired help, and got everything done. !
should think your conscience would
smart like burn, if you have got q con.
,acience, Josiah Allen"
S"Wall, less have little sunthin' to
eat, Samantha, aud I'll help round"
+ "Help! What'll you do, josiah Al
len?"
"Oh! I'll do the barn chores, and help
allsI can. guess you'd better cook
little of that. canned sammou, i got to
GAINESVILLE"
Says ]. coldly, ~ believe. Josiah AL
len, you wus on your way to the gallus,
you'd make 'em stop and get vittles for
you, meat vittles, if you could
I di It say nothin' more. for, as the
greatest ,puets has sung, "the least said,
the soonest mended." But rose, and
with outward calmness, put on the tea-
kettle and potatoes, and opened the can
of salmon, and jist as put that over the
if you'll believe it, that very minute, she
that was Alzina Ann Allen drove right
up to the door, and come in.
You could have Knocked me down
with hens feather las it werel, my
feelin's wus such; but concealed 'em
as we'll as 1 could, and advanced to the
door. and says l.: -
'.How do you do, Miss Richerson ?"-
she is married to Jenothen Richerson,
old Daniel Richeson' oldest boy.
She is tall, spindlin' lookin' wemen,
light Completed, andy-haired, and with
big, light blue eyes. | hadn't seen her
for nineteen yeers, but she seemed dred-
ful tickled to see me, and she says:
"You look younger, Samantha, than
you did the FIRST time ever seen you"
"Oh, no" says I, "that can't be,
Alzina Ann, for that is in the neighbor-
hood of thirty yeers ago."
says snf, IL lS true as 1 liSe anu
breathe, you look younger and hand
SO ner than l ever seen you look"
II didn't believe it, but l thought it
wouldn't look we'll to dispute her any
more, SO let it go; and mebby she
thought she bad convinced me that | did
younger than / did, when was
eighteen or twenty. But l only said,
"That l didn't feel SO young anyway.
had spells of feelin' mauzer."
She took off her things, she wus dress.
ed up awful slick, and Josiah helped
bring in her trunk. And told her just
how mortified l wus about Josiah's for
gettin' her letter, and her ketchin' me
11nprepared. But, coed Lord she told
me that "she never, in her hull life, see
a house in the order mine wus, never,
and she had seen thousands and thous-
ands of different houses"
Says /, II feel worked up, and almost