The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-01-29

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she war SEEM satisfaction, too, fer there
never was man higher crazy over q
girl chan he was over her, and she
thi-nkin' the world an all OF. him. John
Wanted to git married right off. And
that stood him in hand, fer he had two
hundred dollars saved, and ole man
North 'ud give him house-room on the
place, and let him farm on sheers, and
1 jump at the chance. -1--
/ But Abe's woman was gettin' worse
all the time, and Phebe, she hated to
leave 'em on that account, and she
hadn't no. way of gettin' nothin' to be
married, in, nohow. John, he offered
her fifty dollars down to buy her things
with. But, lawsl she hung off, and L
dNn't blame her. If her own, father
and brothers wouldn't do nothin' fer
I her, after workin' her as hard as they
done, she felt kind o. too proud to go
onto the man she hadn't married yit fer
clothes to marry in. So John, when
! he's in Kokomo, he gifts her as pretty a
cashmer dress-pattern as you ever
seed, and takes it to dressmaker, and
tells the dressnaker it's fer his wife !;
then back he comes and gifts one of my
girls to measure Phebe on the sly, and
sends the measure in letter. John
could both read and write, and they say
he figgered,F Pretty soon here comes
the dress all made, and directed to Mrs.
John Cragin.
Phebe, she comes flying over to our
place to show her dress and try it on !;
and, .if you III believe me there wasn't a
wrinkle in it, and you never seed any
thing so becomin'. She looked like a
lady, so she did. The cashmere was so
| soft and fine, and made her look so slim
and white-skinned. Only it was black.
" e Oh, Phebe!" says my Mary, " he
orient got a black weddin dress; it's
unlucky.'
j...-sIt's the pertiest thing j ever see, !"
says Phebe, smoothin' it with her hand.
And She war that tender bout John, L
dc. b'lieve it hurt her fer Mary to say the
dress he bought was onlucky.
Weil,it was only two days after that
that a-man come ridin' down from
North's like he'd kill the horse, fer a
doctor to come and see John Cragin. 1t
was thrashin' time, and he'd got
throwed in among the machinery some
way, and bout killed. Iwon t say wheth-
er it war the machinery or the horses;
soma says oneswaY, some says another.
low it was done SO quick and skeered
them ali SO they Didn't know what hap
pened. For he was out before any
body could help him, and walked along
few steps white and laughin', and then
he fell down and begin to bleed at the
mouth.
Oneof our boys come runnin' from
the store and told NE, and 7 picks up
my sun-bonnetz and makes fer Abe
Car'l's, fer knowcd eff Phebea heard it
onprepared, it nd nigh about kill her.
But, laws! i'll news does travel fast.
| low one of Abe's young uns had
been as quick as our'n. She was stand
ia in the middle of the floor bulgin' her
eyes ont at nothin>, whittier than the
dead I don't think the girl had no
sense left. She had the dish-rag in her
hands, and she commenced wipin' her
face with it, and that nasty little Sary
Jane stood of and p'inted at her, and
begun 70 yell and laugh. o 8 II
s'Shut up, you huzzyl ''says L, givin' !
the young un a push; ,'youy hustle
IIOuuu HoIt anu lOOh dltcf JOui luOtucI.
Your Aunt Phebe has got somebody else
to look after now, besides sassy young
9ns." - tsEN--N .-..s.s I'll
r didn Z know how Mrs Carl 'ud take
it, but | never thought about that till /
afterwards. Eff John was a7goin' to
die, the quicker, Phebe got to him the
better. l changed her clothes and put
her black dress onto her, pore soul!
And beheld-ye as soon as she stepped
foot but of house, there was North's
buggy eomin' fer'her full tilt, fer John
had sent forAher, and L lowed they'd
need help, SO / got in and went, too.
4 .Phebe, She seemed sort o. crazy all
the way, and didn't do nothin' but
wiring her hands like she'd twist 'em off,
and sort O moan, "Oh, Lord! oh,
Eord!'' like she'd die.
z There wasn't no p'tendin' between |
them two Some girls nd kind o. helt |
back from sshowin' they thought so
much of man they wasn't married to |
fer fear folks nd talk. But / don't think |
she thought of nobody in the world but
John.
aNorth's wasn't but mild out O. |
town, and it fpeared like we got there |
in minute And the doctor and men
folks was round him workin' with him,
and they wouldn't let Phebe 90 in. |
She kept on her feet and walked around |
jes' atwistin' her hands and sayin' |
"Oh, Lord!'' and me and Mis- North,
we cried like babies, and tried to pacify /
her, but it was ike talkin' to stone, so |
it was tl
. At last the doctor he came out, and
tole us we might take her in, but John
mustn't be excited. And l asst the doc
tor, kind o. low, eff it was very bad, and |
he says there Wasn't no hope; the man
was hurt in 'ardly and wouldn't live but |
few hours. d'-7 ef a''1H
3 Iputs my arm round poor Phebe and I
goes into the room with her, to kind o. |
hold her back from maxim noise.
But, laws! she slips along as still as
death, and, to my dyin' day, III never
fergit the look them two give each 9TH |
er. He kind O. spread his hands and |
she slipped down and put her arms !
round him. Then they kissed each |
other, and two of the threshers that /
stood by the window wiped their eyes |
on their shirt-sleeves, and kind o. crept |
out o. the room like they's shaimed o.
and, before the sun went !
down, John and Phebe they was man and
wife! He was bound to marry her, and
nothin' would'Eer give her more satisfac-'
ton, unless twas dyin' with him. He |
dfdn' tsuffer much, his body, was kind
o. numb, and we wouldn't thought he
was so dangerous by the way he acted,
fer he 'peared as clear and lively. 1t
was mercy TO Phebe, for every groan
he give 'ud 60 through her like a
l-,;Sa a.