Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-12-15

WdHlluS III IutI, w uO StdSp lut Dlu-
ralities ofpassion as " ell as of Office, this
instict inches itself deepest in the gent
lest of women and was the ruling vet
unrecognized motive in tie widow
Colds character IfMindwell had not
had children perhaps her mother would
have been more necessary to her ind
more dear, bur tw; babies had follow d
on her marriage within three years and
her mother-iove. was a true passion.
This the grandmother perceived with
a tender jealously fast growing acute.
She loved the little girls, as grand
mothers do, with unreasoning and law
ish fondness If there had been a
maiden aunt in the family-that un-
considered maid-oEall work whose love
is felt to be intrusive, while yet the
demanes on it are insatiable-the wild
ow Gold would have had at least one
sympathetic breast to appeal to but
as it was, she became more and more
uneasy and unhappy. and began to
make herself wretched with all the
commonplaces she could think Of
about her room being better than her
company" love runs down, not up
and the like-till she was really pin
ing, when just at this moment an adj
mirer came upon the scene, and made
known the reason of his appearance in
a business like way
Deacon Flint's in the, keepin'-room
mother, wishful to see you" said
Mindwell one day, about five years af-
ter her marriage. Deacon Flint was
an old acquaintance, known to Mrs.
Gold ever since she was a girl il Bas-
sett. When she married and moved
to Denslow the acquaintance had been
partly dropped, though only nine miles
lay between them; but she had then
her family cares, and Ethan Gold and
Amasa Flint were as unlikely be
friends as a Newfoundland dog and a
weasel Since she had come to Cole
brook to live with her daughter, she
was little further still from her Bas-
setts friends, and therefore it was a
long time since she had seen the dea-
con. Meanwhile be had lost his wife
"a silent and sickly woman. who crept
about and worried through her daily
duties for years, spent and falnting
when the last supper dish was washed
and aching at early dawn when she
had to get up to milk. She did not
complain; her duty lay there, in her
home, and she did it as long as she
could then she died This is a com-
mon record among our barren hills,
which count by thousands their
Martyrs by the pang without the palm,
1t was a year after her death when
Deacon Flint made his first visit to
Widow Gold He was tired of paying
Aunt Polly Morse seventy-fve cents a
week to do housework, though she
spun and wove, and made and mend
ed, as his wife had done, confiding only
to one trusty ear her opinion of her
employer.
Hes professor, ye know. Isr'el
and I make no doubt hut wh he's a
good man. hut he is dreadful near
seems az if he reelly begrutched me my
vittles sometimes and there isn't a
grain o. salt in that house split without
his fndin' Of it out. Now ! don't
calc'ate TO spill no salt, nor nothin'
else. to waste it hut. lands sakes |
can't see like a hv. SOS t. scare up
every mite Of sugar that's left onto
the edges of the paper he fetches i
hum in. wish to gracious he'd get
somebody else. IA ruther do chores
for Mirandv Huff than for the deacon >
Old Iarael's wrinkled face, purkcred
mouth. and deep set eyes twitched
with furtive laugh. He was the vii
lage fool yet shrewder than any man
who stopped TO Jest with him. and q
fool onIv in the satiric sense Of Jester
for though he had nothing of his own
hut tinv brown bonse and pig-pen
and made his living. such as il was. by
doing odd jobs. and peddling yeast
from the distilleries at Simsbnrrv. he
was the most independent man in Bas.
sett, being regardless of public opinion
and not at all afraid Of Parson Rob
erts.
"Well. Aunt Polly" he answered
"vou STAY bv spell the deacon won't
want We too long. He's got shnrr
eve, now I tell We. and he's forehanded
IA fnrv. Fust you'll know. Miss
Flint II come home, and you'll %
home"
"Miss Flint !" screamed Aunt Polly
"Whv, Isr'el Tucker. you give me
such turn! Poor cretur. she's SAFE
under the mulleins t'is wear hack
guess 7 shall po when she comes. hut
'twon't be till the dav ~ Judgment "
"Then the dav % judgments ncaI
bv. Aunt Polly; and ] reckon it is for
one poor cretur. But vou don't some
how seem TO take il in. ] tell ye the
deacon's gone n courtin'"
"Conrtin'? Tsr'el! vou he a-foolin
Of me now. certain sure 2"
"Not mite ont 7 see him a-'ilin
up his old harness YESTERDAY. and n.
rnbbin' down the mare. and I msirust
cd he was M TO suthin and Squire
Rattle he met him almost :" Colebrook
this mornin'--T heerd him saw so
put this m that together and drawcd
nv own Influences. and I fegered out
that he's gone to Colebrook to see II
Wilder Gold won bev him. A wife,
lot checpcr thsn hired help. and this
ones got means"
For mercv's sake Won don't sup
pose that Sarepty Gold would look Al
him. do We ?"
II never see the woman wet that
wouldn't look ut n man when he axed
her Ia" was { @ dry answer But Aunt
Polly was too stunned with her new
ideas to retort She went on M IL the
sncer at her sex had not reached heI
ear
"Whv. ahe ha'n't no need to marry
him She's got good home 10 sam
Pratt's; and there's that farm here
that Iii Smith runs on shares, and
money in Hartford bank they do say