Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-08-14
THE MINISTER'S WIFE.

mind what I tell you I The idea of q
sober, respectable man of 40 marrying a
chit of girl like thatl But it pears to
me that the longer live the more con-
WINGED 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
damned her needle energetically through
her sewing.
You see Mrs. Hezekiah Winters was
prominent member of the sewing society
at L., and was generally first spokes-
woman everywhere.
81 agree with you entirely" said Mrs.
Anthony Evans, a meek-faced woman
who seldom had On opinion of her own,
but always agreed with somebody.
Sc And he being a minister of the Cos
pei, too, put in Miss Sophrona Dobbs.
" 1 don't know what the world is
coming to, 1 am sure said Mrs. Eben
Rih field and there was a general sigh
of dissatisfaction from all the members
of the sewing society.
" know that the duty of every men,
Der of this society is to convince that in
experienced child of her duty as a min
listers 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 al
read y-got a new croquet set |" And
Miss Arimintha Wright tossed this re-
mark like bombsheil in their midst.
The ladies dropped the precious gar
ments intended for the heather amid
such CALCULATIONS as dreadful !"
"Atrocious p What could he expect
of her?" "Did you ever?" And again
old Mrs. Richfeld tried to imagine what
the world was coming to.
CHOW I 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 a member of the sewing circle
very long.
eve had better wait till she is here
to defend herself, said Mrs. Henry Par
sons, a meek second to Mrs. Wilson.
g I see plainly, Mrs. Wilton, that you
and Mrs. Parsons are taken by her
silly, childish ways. But [ formed my
opinion of her that Sunday when she
laughed right out in meeting just be-
cause little poodle dog barked at the
choir"
This awful evidence of the total de-
pravity of the minister's new wife was
revealed by Mrs. Hezekiah 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 I
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" 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 q discussion on the coming
picnic.
1t WAS to be the regulation kind of
picnic for the ladies and children only,
and they were to have such nice time,
with ham sandwiches, pressed chicken
and lemonade made on the grounds, and
bugs and mosquitoes sd infnitum.
When the day OF the picnic arrived,
the mUch-talked-Of ministers wife went.
People had said that they didn't reck-
on Mrs. Merton would go, as the church
was at the bottom of it." and when they
saw her there they said it was "just
like q frivolous thing like her to go to
every picnic"
Nevertheless, church people at L.
were Ike church people everywhere !;
they SAID a good deal that they didn't
mcan, and. with few exceptions, blue
eyed, fair-faced Mrs. Merton was very
cordially treated, and her friends, when
She made them, were very true to her,
and always defended her when she ran
tha gantlet of society's tongue.
The picnic seemed a success generally;
go itNNi "'AN iIelN4llss ouOn p1SuuIO
tine;' and the mosquitoes had voted
picuia5 hcn0tiful invention, and were
singing anthems of praise at the pros
Pact of "good square meal" when
suddenly there was splash and suffo-
eating cries, and two little forms dis
appeared under the gliding surface Of
tie stream that wound like huge SER
pen5 through the woods.
There were shrill screams of genuine
terror, and white faces stared at the
rush of waters in an agony as the awful
Peril Of the children seemed to paralyze
them. Mrs. Evans, whose little, dark
haired boy had Ioosened the canoe from
IL fastening to take Winnie Merton for a
ride, had, while rocking it, rocked too
far and tipped it over, and now, while
her boy was almost drowning, she was ly-
ing IN a helpless heap on the bank of the
river. Some were beginning to recover
their sefpossession and were calling
iof ropes, when Mrs. Merton, stepping
o'lf 81 her slippers. poised herself mo-