The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1881-07-14
GRANDMA CHERRITREE'S COURT.
SHIP.

hand u 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 al them fireworks, an flags,
an drums, an baskits of v~ictuals kinder
sorter puts me in mind of the INDIE
pendence Day, when'I met my Archip-
pus for the first time. 'Chippy' I
called him after we was married an
odd Chips his schoolmates an inter-
mate friends called him both before an
AFTER. There warmth no highfalutins airs
about him. He h1ieved like the Quaker,
that no mans any better for havin' a
handle to his name. Well, well he was
q f~ine-lookin' chap when he came a-court-
ing me. Tell yoU alt about 1t? Good
ness gracious gals, what good would
that do you? Twarn't. nothin' very in
no runaway horses, or ter BILE fires, or
like there allus is in printed love stories.
Thank you, Gertie, my dear; Twill take
q 1eetle more ice-cream. It's so GOBLIN
to the innards in hot weather.l An if
you insist upon it gals, I'll tell you all
there is to tell, Thoughts I said afore
faint much, but 1 'spose it's as material
for young folks to want to hear bout
courtin' as It's for q tadpole to bust inter
a frog. You see, Archippus-great grief +!
wasn't Mahala Korn mad when he fol-
Tered me round that day am never took
no notice of her, though she had a..
feather in her hat half a mile long that
she'd borrowed from Sallie Larks, the
milliner-she an Sallie was, old cronies
an pooty, much alike, which amt sayin'
much for either on 'em. But twas on a
Fourth of July I met him at a gatherin'
in Gazard Smiths wood. John Henry
Hylad-he KEEP the grocer store-spoke
q piece. Said he made it out of his own
head, but he didn't no more than 1 did.
His head looked just like a %cocoanut, an
a empty %cocoanut I allus thought; not a
drop of milk in it, an no SIGH lookin'
head as that could git off all them things
bout our g~alorious 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 evry free
| mans hand.
.Miss John Henry Hylad was SO
proud of it that she got John Henry's
brother-he was a printer an SIGH a linn
most of them printers air, N L allus
kinder thought he was responsible fur
them 'plumes' an 'despots' an things
tosprint it, but her airs came down con-
siderable when the prize was gin to me
al the State Fair for the best pan of pork
on beans, an her pound cake turned
aut's sad's a fun'ral without any mourn
ers.
Eyes, 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-shol what's
the good of tellin' that, though? Them
things sound very poorly 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. CA leetle more since you're SO
pressin'. Sum of the red kind. 1 allus
was a powerful hand for ice-cream.)
She was o good soul, was Almiry, though
she did do some awful funny things.
Sum folks said she was a little queer in
in her head, but I allus found her all
right, 'cept a mite forgitful now In
then. Wunst I remember she made a
batch of pies. There was to be q 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
N an a bird on another, an a cross on
another, N a tombstuu, natral as life,
on another, an SO on, an she popped
'em inter the oven an set down in her
rocker with her knittin' a-singing,
Come ye sinners, poor an needy
Finely she gave a sniff or two an won
dered why on airth she didn't smell
them pies a-bakin'; an she got up an
opened the oven door, an there they was
as white IN flat as when she put 'em in
Tcause-'cause-I allus have to laugh
when I think of it Gust a spoonful or
two-vaniAa this time)-she'd never
made no fire in the stovel An when I
told Chippy bout it-'twas arter he'd
asked me to be his'n-he said-but sho!
what's the good of tellin' that? It
sounded side-splittin' funny when he
said it, but I 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-ter'ble
hot day it was-when a man cum round
from the front yard with a door-mat
over his shoulders. Please, ma'am,' sez
he, maxim a 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
sez he. Its all I've got left out of six
sez 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 sez he.
"How much is it?' asked Almiry-
she had a real soft heart-thinking she'd
take it for the back door, as it Jest
I rnotnhnI Tho onn on fhn frOnf rA0uah
Six shillin's,' seq he,- AN that's a quar-
ter less than I got for t'other five.' Al
miry counted out the money-she'd got
it for eggs that mornin'-an' Civ him
half a dime over IN above, an asked
him to stop a minnit an have sum crul-
lers an a glass of milk. Thank you a
thousand times, dear lady, sez he, but
L couldn't, KNOWN that my dear ones
was suffrin'. [ must haste to them,
says he, a n 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 g~raciousi ]
allus choke when I think of it demon,
my dear. It's very refreshin')-that
she'd bought her W 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 gals, an widders too, was arter
him, an leetle did I think he'd be artel
me. But that very Fourth of July I was
a settin' off frecrackers for my youngest
brother, an Archippy Gums up to me as
bold as a lion an SEE he: Miss Sweet
why is your name But sho! twas aw'
full nonsense. Don't sound silly when
think of it. but 'twould if I spoke it out,
an L guess, on the hull, 1 won't narrate
any more, for young men, I reckon