Stephens City star. (Stephens City, Va.) 1881-1883, 1881-09-03
THE MINISTER'S WIFE.

mind what tell you The idea of
sober, respectable man of forty marry
ing chit of girl like thatI But it
pears to me that the longer 1 live the
more convinced I am that men are awful
fools when it comes to love. Whenever
they git struck, as my nephew calls it,
it just pears to knock all the sense out
OF 'em that they ever did have" And
Mrs. Hezekiah Winters settled her
spectacles firmly on her nose, as though
she meant they should always stay there,
and then jammed her needle energeti-
cally through her sewing.
You see Mrs. Hezekiah Winters was a
prominent member of the sewing So
ciety at L., and was generally first
spokeswoman everywhere.
81 agree with you entirely" said Mrs.
Anthony Evans, meek-faced woman
who seldom had an opinion of her own,
but always agreed with somebody.
"And he being minister of the gos-
pei, too" put in Miss Sophrona Dobbs.
II don't know what the world is COM
ing to, I am sure" said Mrs. Eben Rick
field; and there was general sigh of
dissatisfaction from all the members of
the sewing society.
II know that the duty of every men,
Der of this society is to convice that in
experienced child of her duty as min
ister's wife; and am morally sure that
something dreadful will happen to those
children of his afore six months. To
think of the way she has started out
already-got new croquet setl' And
Miss Arimintha Wright tossed this re.
mark like bombshell in their midst.
The ladies dropped the precious gar
ments intended for the heather amid
such CALCULATIONS as "dreadful /" "Atro-
cious ]" "What could he expect of her?'
"Did you ever?" And again old Mrs.
Richfield tried to imagine what the
world was coming to.
Snow don't think it looks very we'll
to see the whole society swoop down on
one little person like Imogene," inter-
rupted Mrs. Arthur Wilton, who had
not been member of the sewing circle
very long.
"We had better wait until she is here
to defend herself" said Mrs. Henry
Parsons, meek second to Mrs. Wilton.
II see plainly, Mrs. Wilton, that you
and Mrs. Parsons are taken by her silly,
childish ways. But I formed my opinion
of her that Sunday when she laughed
right out in meeting just because lit
tie poodle dog barked at the choir"
This awful evidence of the total de-
pravity of the minister's new wife was
revealed by Mrs. Hezikiah Winters.
"Almost everybody laughed at that"
responded Mrs. Parsons. Anything
seems SO much funnier if you hadn't
ought to laugh"
'And just to think of what she said
to me-" said the owner of the afore.
mentioned poodle. "Why, when sent
and asked her to join our society she
said she had two little heathens at home
to sew for, and that they took the most
of her time; but if we wanted to sew
for the neglected children living under
the shadow of our own church spires,
she would spare time to help us. Just
as if we wanted the lower strata in our
church p And Miss Sophrona Dobbs
shifted the air disdainfully.
"Now this is enough for one time,'
interrupted Mrs. Wilton. "Would that
ministers could have two wives, so we
might divide the blame"
The ladies looked bewildered, and
some of them laughed little; then
they launched into discussion on the
coming picnic. r.~
1t was to be the regulation kind of a
picnic for the ladies and children only,
and they were to have such nice time,
with ham sandwiches, pressed chicken,