The National tribune., 1882-03-25

! 30 the WldoW cneefed up on the strength
of her new resolution and, having disposed
of her effects in her native town on the sea-
board, moved herself, "all sole alone" to
another town in an inland State
It was fortunate for the widow that she
moved where she did, as the town boasted
of two railroads and a canal, and a river and
a lake were not many miles off, so that the
neighborhood was likely to have plenty OF
fresh bad news of railroad accidents, staamr
boat disasters and canal boatmen rows, inde-
pendent of the interesting chapters of hor
rors brought by the newspapers from all
parts of the world and parts adjacent.
Widow Dorothy Doleful had not long set
tied herself down in the town of Woeberry
before she made the acquaintance of nearly
every widow in the place.
Widowhood has great attractive power
and great fund of interesting knowledge
including that of woman's heart, might be
furnished to the world could the interesting
views of weed-sick widows be all faithfully
related. Practical experience is great
thing in all trades and sorrow makes folks
wise.
Our Widow Doleful, having had the ad-
vantage of all the other widows in having
lost so many husbands, became center of
attraction to them, and consequently there
was hardly any thing, in the female way,
but black that ever visited her house.
Widows, widows widows, kept pouring
and pouring in, and had it not been that
| heir oh fuo haI; ;al {loi l,ol
ments the very walls would have been
moved to sympathy, echoed with sighs and
streamed with tears.
Though this pen is well acquainted with
all that those widows said, in their various
interviews with the Widow Dorothy Dole
, full, it would refuse the ink were an attempt
made to WELD it in the betrayal of confidence.
1t never does such things. 1t is, however,
willing, for consideration, to give what the
widow said to some of her sister widows on
one occasion, in order to convey the idea of
her style of taste, and thought, and talk.
On the one occasion referred to she had
received two letters, black sealed, from home,
and was just preparing to break them open,
and have rich treat, when three or four
mourners came trotting in.
! After the conventional salutes, and the
visitors had each gladly accepted the invita-
ton to take their bonnets Off" Mrs. Dole
! full opened her soul as follows:
"Such dretful accident as I've Just read
! in the paper! A steamboats, busted on the
lake, and about sixty people blown sky
high! U, dear! Them steamboats, is always
busting. 1 shouldn't wonder if we all had
some relations or friends or something aboard
and perhaps they've blown up, too 1t would
| be some satisfaction to know it, Just to set
our minds to rest, but the names haven't
come yet-poor souls!"
With great effort she managed to i-. 4.
sigh, and one little tear crept out , ...
eye, which, notwithstanding, looked
full as ever, and not sign of ang, .-.
hibited itself in her face at all. en-.
tinued, with renewed animation:
"Ive just got two letters from home!
Both sealed with black, which shows that
somebody's dead! o, dear! 1 s'pose Unjust
read 'em. hardly dare to open 'em, though
0, dear! it seems as if everybody was dying
shouldn't wonder if one was Polly Crocker
1t is wonder she hadn't died long ago, for
the poor thing was always ailing. She tried
all the patent medicines, for she had most
everything; but there's no telling what was
the matter with her, for she never got cured.
How sickly some people be! Well-I sup
pose I must read my letters"
With this she broke one seal, but very re-
luctantly, for she hated to abbreviate the
pleasure of anticipation.
Il hope the news won't overcome you"
said one of the widows, winlling to the
others, who were laughing behind gayly
embroidered handkerchiefs. "Can you bear
bad news well?"
ooh, no! Pm a shocking bad hand at
that Bad news always goes to my stomach.
Ever since my last husband died I've been
shocking bad hand to bear bad news. Per-
haps it is the climate that makes it. The
climate is very poor, and growing worse and
worse every day. Once l could stand the
east wind, but now I can't stand any wind
at all. Sometimes it seems to ME as if there
was cholera or yellow fever or sickness of
some kind in all the air in this country, and
then 1 think perhaps it will kill Off all the
white folks Just as it used to the poor red
Injuns. That's what old Mr. Foresight used
to think. Oh, dear! He's dead, too. He
married Betsy Pail. She died within year,
and he had to marry Mrs. Sally Snapper to
get rid of his grief and care of the child.
! He hadn't been dead more'n week afore
she married-married-let me see; who did
Sally-who did Mrs.-who did she marry?
But, Lord! 1 forgot my letters! 1 must
read them. Excuse me bit"
With very faint ooh, dear!" she now
read the two missives, while the other widows
engaged in lively chat upon man and matri-
mony, with many significant mods and winks
and giggles, general and particular, from
which they were finally diverted by another
ooh, dear!" from Mrs. Doleful.
"Any bad news?" asked they.
"Not as bad as 1 expected" sighed she,
with look of disappointment
"Any relative dead?"
"Only little one-Mrs. Bixby's baby
a cousin of mine-whooping cough, and only
four months old. The letter is very affect
ing, but then never saw the child. I think
Mrs. Bixby's little teched in the head, or
else what did she harry up my feelings by