Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-08-02
HIS LITERARY WIFE.

quiet. coy SIDE street, ana n thrifty
looking cottage house, with grounds al
around it-a young farm" Guy Norri.
always called it-really well-kept
remunerative trucking patch, of which
Uncle Hiram Norris and Aunt Keturah
were Justly proud.
And in the warm, sunshiny sitting
room of this little house. where Uncle
Hiram and his spinster sister had lived
all their lives, Guy Norris was lying
stretched on the calico-covered lounge.
watching the quick, def fingers of the
tall, uncompromising-looking lady who
sat sewing in -bottomed, high.
backed chair.
He was as good-looking fellow as
one would come across in q years
travel; and Aunt Keturah knew it, too,
and gloried in it, for all her vigorously
stern remarks, on various occasions, as
to the undesirability of personal charms,
especially in q man.
He was handsome beyond doubt, in
a happy, care-free, debonair way that
never failed to extract all the sweet
ness there was in life, and as good as
gold.
He had been a boy who had usually
been very much given to ''back talk, :"
and Aunt Keturah could count on the
fingers of one hand the momentous oc-
casions when, in the course Of his life,
from four TO twelve years old, she had
been obliged to administer the slipper,
in earlier days.
country home the only home he ever
nd 20,
his fortune. He had paid yearly visit
regularly, and wrote TO them weekly;
but somehow he had grown away from
them-somehow, Aunt Keturah used to
say, with q sigh, he had got to do pretty
much as he pleased.
"Of course he hasr' Uncle Hiram
would return, cheerily. "Why shouldn't
he be his own master, Keturah? He's
twenty-six years old Why, / run the
truck-patch long before was that old"
Certainly Guy had done very much
as he pleased in those years'of shifting
for himself, and the doing so had re-
suited in making himself name of
good repute, saving not little money,
and-falling in love with Jessie Haven.
And it was on this one particular
point that Keturah was most oiiish 1t
was OF his sweetheart that Guy had been
talking very enthusiastically, as he lay
on the lounge watching the needle fly in
her hard, brown fingers for Miss Nor
ris scOrned the idea of using sewing
machine, arguing that they were pro-
moters of laziness, sheerest extrava-
gance, and n reflection on the good old
times before they were invented.
What served her mother and grand
mother were good enough for her, she
would say, proudly; and she was purely
conscientious, too.
81 am sorry you are so preiudiced
against JESSIE he said, at length,
grayely. IL intended to ask you to in
vite her here for week or so, before
we are married, So
IL shan't do any such thingr Aunt
Keturah said, with a sharpness that, had
he not known it was her manner more
than her feeling, would have made him
vexed; "for don't want her herel If
you'd picked out sensible girl. even if
she was ugly as sin and poor as Jobs
turkey, I'd never said a word, and I'd
had her here and showed her nv way o.
doing things, and, like rs not, give you
q good set-Out in sheets and table, linen,
and the like. But strange girl from
New York, and a girl that writes for the
papers, ut that! | know all about 'em
I've read how they never comb their
hair unless they go out, and they daub
everything they touch with their inky
fingers, and they can't do any other
blessed thing but scribble, scribble,
scribble all sorts of sickish trash"
Guy could not help laughing at
the picture in sables she had drawn with
such energetic skill.
II think you have been misinformed,
Aunt Kitty" he said good-humoredly.
"You would find my Jessie to be-
Aunt Kcturah laid her sewing DELHI
crately down, and looked at him over
her glasses.
''Sce here. now, Gny, there's no
earthly use talking. If you want to
marry her, marry her and take the con-
sequences. ia a thought you'd "a
preferred nice, handy girl, who could
do her own homework, and make her
own dresses, and do your shirts as
used to do. I'd a thought you d pre-
ferred good cookin' and clean house
TO good-for-nothing, shiftless creature,
cternally and everlastingly writing for
those silly papers, and neglecting her
family and children unless the LoHl
in his mercy denies them to your
Guy laughed outright. 1t would have
been almost impo ssible to do otherwise
SO positively indignant was Aunt Ke-
turah's voice and manner, SO awfully
solemn and forbidding her face.
IL see my little Jessie hasn't the
ghost Of chance to win your favor"
he said, presently. II wonder if Uncle
Hiram is SO prejudiced against her?'
Aunt Keturah's face relaxed into
brief. wintry smile.
''Your Uncle Hiram usually thinks
pretty much as do, Guy"
And the conversation ended just there;
while two months from that very after
noon. there came big white envelope
through the mail TO the little Norris cot
tage-a big white envelope, that con
tanned somewhat smaller unsealed
one, and which in turn held a set of
wedding cards-Guy Norris and Jessie
Ravens.
''All right Aunt Keturah said, caus-
tically as she spelled the fancy type
laboriously out, and handed the Cards
over the table TO Uncle Hiram. II hope
the boys satisfied! The next thing
wen hear is that he's either dyin' of
dyspepsia or starvin' for want of decent
cOokin'."
Uncle Hiram adjusted his glasses,
and looked good-naturedly Mt the pretty
white cards
"Mebbe not-mebbe not, Keturah.
Wen wish 'em good luck, anyhow, and
I'll send him down a weddin' present
out of the cellar Il bar'l of apples and
couple of home-cured hams. Eth,
ketury
IF YOU want to be fool and encour-
age him in his shiftlcssness,n she re-
torted, savagely-and yet, away down
IN her heart she was experiencing q
certain feeling of tender sentiment and
unspoken blessing she would not have
admitted for fortune.
Two months rolled II, and as no invi-
tation went from the cottage to the
Young bridal pair, there were not many
y letters reached them from Guy; but the
few that he did send were always bright
and happy, and breathed perfect con-
tent-to Uncle Hiram's delight.
"'Taint so desprit bad, after air. he
said, once, after reading one aloud.
DO you s'pose he'd admit.he d made
a mistaken she returned, sharply.
And after that, not much was said or
the subject for many long weeks, until