The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-07-15
GRANDMA CHERRITREE'S COURT
SHIP.

Tree us bllt DtdlllSNly empty SdtiCtI III OuC
hand and spoon IN the other, upon the
merry, young girls gathered around her
ice cream freezer, at the Fourth of July
1881 picnic in Cedar Grove, this ere
picnic, with all them fireworks, an flags,
an drums, an baskits of victuals kinder
sorter puts me in mind of the indie
pendence Day, when L met my Archip-
pus for the first time 'Chippy |
called him arter we was married an
'old Chips his schoolmates an inter
mate friepds called him both before an
arter. There warn't no highfalutins airs
about him. He b'lieved like the Quaker,
that no mans any better for havin' a
handle to his name. Well, well he was
a fine-lookin' chap when he came a-court-
ing me. Tel yOU all about IL! Good
ness gracious gals, what good would
that do you? Twarn't nothin' very in
terestin' to me at the time. There warn't
no runaway horses, or ter bile fires, or
ships a-sinkin', or dreadful villains IN it
like there aIlus is in printed love stories.
(Thank you, Gertie, my dear; will take
a leetle more ice-cream. It's so GOBLIN
TO the innards in hot weather.) An if
you insist upon it gals, I'll tell you all
there is to tell, Thoughts | said afore
faint much but / 'spose it's as material
for young folks to want to hear bout
courtin as tbs for a tadpole to bust inter
frog. You see, Archippus- great grief
wasn't Mahala Korn mad when he fol-
Tered me round that day an never took
no notice of her, though she had a
feather in her hat half mile long that
she'd borrowed from Sallie Larks, the
milliner-she an Salie was old cronies
an pooty much alike, which amt sayin'
much for either on 'em. But twas on a
e I'll. I 4 q.
in Gazard Smiths wood John Henry
Hylad-he KEEP the grocer store-spoke
a piece. Said he made it out of his own
head, hut he didn't no more than l did
His head looked Just like a cOcoanut, an
a empty cocoanut / allus thought; not n
drop of milk IN 1t, an no SIGH lookin'
head as that could git off all them things
bout our galorious Republic, an maxim
| the crowned despots trimble on their
| thrones, an soarin like the proud bird
! of freedom to the settin' sun, whose
/ plumes become a weepin' in ev'ry free
mans hand.
''Miss John Henry Hylad was so
proud of it that she got John Henrys
/ brother-he was a printer an sich linn
most of them printers air, an I allus
/ kinder thought he was responsible fur
/ them 'plumes' an 'despots' an things
/ to print 1t, but her airs came down con-
| siderable when the prize was gin to me
at the State Fair for the best pan of pork
on beans, an her pound cake turned
| aut's sad's fun raj without any mourn
/ ers.
:" Yes, yes, don't be Inpatient I'm
/ comm TO Archippus in a minnit He
warn't long cumin' to me that day, an
! the fust thing he said was-shoi what's
the good of tellin' that, though? Them
! things sound very pOOty when they're
sayin', but there's no denyin' they sound
/ kinder silly afterwards.
You see, Almira Healthy she cum in
| for me to go along with her to the gath
/ erin. "a leetle more since you're so
pressin' Sum of the red kind. | allus
was a powerful hand for ice cream.
| She was a good soul, was Almiry, though
/ she did do some awful funny things.
Sum folks said she was little queer in
in her head, but / allus found her all
! right, cept a mite forgitful now an
/ then. Wunst | remember she made a
batch of pies. There was to be a Meth
| ody camp-meetin' in Jared Browns
| grounds an the minister's was to eat
/ round 'mong the village folks, an she
made them pies-fruit pies they was
/ as nice as could be-a paste wreath on
| one an bird ON another, an cross on
| on another, an so on, an she popped
J 'em inter the oven an set down in her
! rocker with her knittin' a-singing,
| Come We sinners, poor an needy.
| Finely she gave a sniff or two an won
| dered why on airth she didn't smell
l. them pies a-bakin'; an she got up an
| opened the oven door, an there they was
rs white an flat as when she put 'em in
-cause-c ause-I allus have to laugh
when L think of it Gust a spoonful or
! two-vanilla this time -she'd never
made no fire in the stovei An when |
told Chippy bout it-'twas arter he'd
asked me to be hisn-he said-but shot
what's the good of tellin that? It
sounded side-splittin' funny when he
said it, but l doubt it'd pear awful
smaller now An another time AL
miry was a settin under the old apple
that grew by the kitchen door - terrible
hot day il was-when a man cum round
from the front yard with a door-mat
over his shoulders. please, ma'am, seq
he, maxim bow very perlite an a
screwin' up his face as though he'd a
pain in his stummick, Il wish you'd buy
this door mat if only for charity's sake,
SEE he. It's all I've got left out of six,
SEE he, which I've carried round this
scorchin' day, an the prophets on all six
is scarcely enough to buy bread for my
starvin' family, SEE he
I" How much is it?' asked Almiry-
she had a real soft heart-thinking she'd
take it for the back door, as it jest
| matched the one on the front porch
Six shillin's, seq he, AN that's quar-
ter less than / got for t'other five AL
miry counted out the money-she'd got
it for eggs that mornin'-an' Civ him
half dime over an above, an asked
him to stop minnit an have sum crul-
lers an glass of milk. Thank you a
thousand times, dear lady, seq he, but
/ couldn't, KNOWN that my dear ones
was. sniff RIM L must haste to Them
says he, an ne hurried away. An AL
miry goin' with tears in her eyes-she
was so affected by his love for his dear
ones-to see if he'd shut the front gate
arter him found out-good graciousl /
allus choke when / think of it demon,
my DEAR It's very refreshin' that
shed bought her own mat. The scamp
stole it off the front porch an walked
round and sold it to her for the benefit
of his starvin' family.
Now don't you go to gittin' onpa-
tient, gals, cause I'm going to tell you
bout the courtship right off You see
he was a handsum Teller an no mistake,
an all the gaIS, an WlduerS 700, was arter
him, an leetle did L think he'd be arter
me. But that very Fourth of July was
a settin' off firecrackers for my youngest
brother, an Archippy Gums up to me as
bold as a lion au' seq he; Miss Sweet
why is your name But sho twas aw-
full nonsense. Don't sound silly when
think of it. but 'twould if 1 spoke it out,
an guess, ON the hull, L won't narrate
any more, for young men, 1 reckon,
mostly say the same things when they
fall in love, an you'll find out what them
are before long.
"Only one spoonful, Matilda, begin
TO feel kinder frozen inside.-udT9drei