Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-06-21
(From the Springfield Republican,
MAS LOVE AFFAIR.


good while before yer ma was married.
Mighty good farmer yer grandpa was.
There wasn't his beat in all the country.
The old place didn't look then as it does
now. If there was stone off the fence
anywheres he'd make you go and put it
up. He KEEP three horses and two yoke
O. oxen and heap o sheep, yer grandpa
did. Oh, yes! lived to the old place
long time. Seemed almost like hum to
me, he! hep and the thin, soft old voice
ramblea on, ending with the suppressed
little giggle which always accompanied
its words like the interlude of a recit-
ative
Indeed, the gentle, mellow tones
would have surprised you, could you
have seen the tall, gaunt old man, with
weather beaten features and rough work
ing-clothes vino spoke. He was an old
retainer of our house, had come to my
grandfather's as boy looking for work,
had found it there, and being steady and
faithful had remained until grand
fathers death and the breaking up of the
family, As long as I could remember he
had been employed by mother, or by
father while he was alive, to do odd jobs
about the place. and we had come to re-
gard him almost as one of the family
Now he sat eating his dinner which had
been prepared for him In the dining
room, carrying his meat and potato from
his plate to his mouth on the end of his
knife with ali ease and grace which could
only come from long practice, and with
the privilege of an old servant relating to
me, who had been detailed to attend to
his wants, with gentle righteousness and
many details, stories of the old time to
which I dearly loved to listen.
'sThere amt any sech farmers here
abouts nowadays, nothin' like. They
jest get little piece O. ground now and
raise onions ont, and call it farming.
S'pose they get more money by it though,
and moneys what everybody's after,
he he !
"'Do remember how yer ma looked
when she was young Law, yes. She
was handsome as a picter. She was
taller than you be, and her hair was as
black-my as black as yer cats fur.
Gurus, too, fer her eyes was blue only
when she was excited, and then they
looked almost as black as her hair. Yer
ma was the youngest, and yer grandma
and grandpa and the boys thought heap
sight of her, specially Jack; he was
next but one, about i've year older'n her,
/ reckon. When she was little gal he
used to draw her to school and back
every day IN the winter, when there was
snow on the ground, on his sled, one he
made himself on purpose, and was mighty
proud on. Built it high with seat ont,
and ropes at the sides fer her to hold on
to so she wouldn't tumble off. Any of
the other boys would ha' been glad
enough to drag her, fer she was the pur-
test little gal in the school, and there
was something uncommon sweet and CO.
quettish-like In her ways with the boys.
But Jack never let 'em, and Lucy always
said she'd rather have Jack, he he
Beg yer pardon fer speakin' so freely O.
yer mother, but ye see I was a bow, too,
then. Wouldn't think it, would We
hey Yes? Well, bless yer heart,
was, and yer ma always let me call her
80 till she got married.
Did she hev many beaux 2 Well,
yes; pretty numerous. There was Bill
Curtis. His father owned the saw-mill,
and folks said he'd made heaps O. money.
His mother, too, was dreadful near.
ought to sawin' and his wife had saved
eAO ACoO 1C nO
"But Bill didn't hev no luck with
Lucy. Then there was two or three O.
the schoolteachers after her. One on
'em was cross-eyed, though, and another
parted his hair in the middle and used to
make po'try for the village newspaper
and then he'd come and see yer ma and
ask her if she'd seen the last paper, and.
if she hadn't, he'd send her one, perhaps
IL - he TT
brother used to bring it down, and when
we all got set down around the big open
fire in the kitchen (they always sat there
evenings unless there was company,
,Lucy'd bring out tie paper and read the
po'try to us, standin' up and goin
through all the motions just like play
actress. One night she and him set up
pretty late IN the parlor and after that
he didn't come no more. Next we knew
he was engaged to Sally Mills.
Well, yer ma had plenty other strings
TO her bow, some on 'em frst-raste catch