The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-01-06
Bestlng his Wife.

The story was all aver town. Every
body was talking about it. It was to
bad, they said. What was too bad
Why the new minister had bee
heating his wife! Was It possible
Yes; there could be no doubt about |,
slrs. s., who lives next door, heard Z
sbrick about ten O'Clock last night,
woman's shriek-from chamber in th,
parsonage. She looked across, an,
through the curtain she could ace that
man and woman were running abou
| the room in great excitement. He wa
furnishing stick aud striking with it
The blows could be plainly heard. Ant
| az he struck. she screamed.
Mrs. S. could hardly sleep that night
she WAS so excited by what she had seen
She was up early next morning. Shs
hurried through her breakfast, and ther
started QUITO SEQ the poor abused min
ister's wife, and comfort her? Not bi
of it. She went to elder A's, found tn,
family at the table, aud told the news
Then shc footed on to Elder BIS and
Deacon Ca. and over half the town
The half that she had not time to call or
soon heard it from the other half, and be
fore room there was = great excitement
in Ballvllc.
The church officers discussed the mat,
ter with heavy hearts. Such disgraceful
conduct could not be endured. Some.
thing mus. be done. But what? Call al
once on the minister and his wife and
inquire into the matter? Oh, no; that
would not be dignifed and official. Be.
sides, there could be no doubt about it.
Did not Mrs. s. see the beating with her
own eyes? So they called meeting OF
the session, and summoned tho minister
and his wife. He to answer to charge
of unministerial conduct, and she to tes.
tify in the case.
They came, greatly puzzled aud sur-
prised. The case was gravcly stated by
The senior elder, when the culprit and
witness burst into laugh. Checking
themselves, when they saw how serious
and sad the session looked, they ex.
plaincd.
The ministers wife, though an excel.
lent woman who loved everybody. and
especially her husband, did not love rats.
But the konso having been vacant for
some time. the rats had taken possession.
When they went to their chamber, q
huge rodent rat ran under the bet. The
wife screamed. The husband caught up
u stick and tried to kill the intruder.
Every time he struck Mt and missed the
rat the lady screamed again.. How could
she help ::e I: was an ezuiiiug scene,
and must have looked very funny to
their neighbors who were watching
through the curtained window. They
laughed heartily when it was all over
and the rat dead; aud they could no,
help laughing whenever they thought
about it.
The session were in fix. They were
down on Mrs. S. for making fonls oI
them. They asked her, "Why didn't you
go over TO the minister's, and make sure
about the matter before you reported it ?"
And she retorted, "Why didn't you 20
and inquire into it before you called n
meeting7" Aud all the town that talked
yesterday about how the minist er abused
his wife, is talking to-day about what an
awful gossip Mrs. s. is, and how she fool.
ed the elders Of our church.
l am mortified and disgusted. Is
there any way to cure these mischief.
making gossips? Would it be right to
hang them Itseems to me that passage
in the third chapter of James about the
tongue ought to be printed 10 big letters
on card, and hung up in nll Of our
churches. Don't you think so?-The
Occidcnf.