The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1883-12-27


youth. Though her lovely hair is Just
beginning to be threaded with gray, she
knows not the feeling of growing DID,
neither do the passing yeavs bring any
definite sense of want to her peaceful,
sunny nature, except, perhaps, some
tines a dreamy feeling of incomplete
ness, like the faintest shadow only of a
pain.
Her city nieces tell her often, with
many a hug and caress, that her face is
the sweetest and dearest in all the
world, that she looks ''quite too utter
ly'' quaint and lovely in her lace and
muslin kerehiefs and her pretty white
aprons; and she always answers depre-
catingly:
3" But, oh, my dears, am so old-fash-
ionedl'
Nevertheless, when she is alone she
looks III the glass and bushes warmly,
half inclined to believe their sweet
words, and wholly glad that she is not
yet growing hOmely, though she feels a
| little guilty, too, as If size ought to do
so. Then she turns away and signs
softly; she knows not why.
Now fate had ordained that when
Aunt Bethia came to visit in our family
we should be entertaining, as an hon
Ored guest, our Uncle jeremiah Barker,
or "Uncle jerry" as we children IA
military called him, though he was only
! a distant relative on my fathers side.
He had been knocking about for the
last fifteen years or so in Australia, and
having amasseI a considerable fortune,
returned now to his native city, with
the hope of ending his days among his
kindred.
He was unmarried; and hidden Sc
cretly away in his rugged bachelor
| heart was the long-cher.shed dream of
a wife and Preside of his own.
Blu after spending the best part of
his lie in rough toll, separated from all
society of women-or, in fact, society
/ of any sort-he found himself now
/ labor NO under great disadvantages.
The girls that he knew and played
with when he was a boy had grown so
! far away from him in many directions
| that he felt he had no part or lot with
| them, and so, slowly and sadly, the
/ hope of years began to fade away.
| 1t was lust here that dear, Old-fash-
| toned Aunt Bethia came in o his life;
/ and from the first moment of their
meeting Uncle Jerry apprOpr ated her
/ in his heart of hearts, as the one woman
! specially provided for M, and straight
way elected her to preside over that
ideal future he had dreamed of.
In short, for the first time in his life
he found himself passionately in love,
and as men of his years arc apt to do in
such case, he resolved to make ''shOrt
work. of his wOoing.
Accordingly he spent one week in
watching her every word and action and
in studying her face from under his
shaggy eyebrows, while he pretended to
read his newspaper
Another week he devoted to follow
ing her about and waiting upon her
with such alarming assiduity, that the
little woman began to wonder and to
| tremble at she knew not what.
Finally, he grew impatient to know
his fate.
"What is the use Of beating about the
bushP'' he said to himse in his blunt
fashion; "if she don't fancy me now
she never will, and l may as we'll know
it."
So he came in upon her one afternoon,
the day before New Years. as she sat
knitting by the window, and, nerying
himself for a decisive effort, he thus adj
| dressed her:
''Bethia, I hain't known you long, to
he sure, but l feel better acquainted
with YOU to-day than | should with any
ObLC1 NN4AAtAlt III ~ y NFttL blAAAC" L AlliyA
have changed 'mazingly in the fifteen
years that I've been away from home,
and the women most OF all / find ]
don't know 'em.
THE girls that I used to study out OF
the same books with at school, l heaI
talking now about 'cultur',' and art.
and 'allinities, and so on and so forth
all Greek to me. l left 'em dom
Homework and knittin' stockin's, and
now / find EN- playin' on the pianner,
and ravin' over picters and statoos -
things I don't know nOthin' about-and
what more, don't want to!
The only statoos that I ever liked
the looks on at all, is the Iniun rls
standir' outside of the tobacker shops.
And as for muSic-why, Bethia, I'd
ruther hear you sing old Naomi, the
way you did last Sunday night, than all
their rattle and chatter.
Il did use to think, when l was out
in Australv that when | come home Il
git married and try to settle down, but
L don't s'pose any of these new-fash-
Toned, highfalutin' women would have
me with all my money; and" says he
ungallantly, by George! L don't know
as 1 want them"
Aunt Bethia looked mildly shocked
''You see he continued, APOLOGIZE
ally. 1--WE couldn't take much comfort
together less we felt somewhere nigh
alike about things, now could we?'
why, no, said Aunt Beth a, can
didly, looking up at him in a meditative
way; Il don't s'pose you could"
SAnd should hate to see my money
fooled away on trash that I don't care 8
continental for, though l know womer
are master hands to spend money, and
l mean my wife shall have plenty
too"
Il don't think all women are extrava
giant, I'm sure" said Aunt BE, hia, VII
some show of spirit. Il know 1 ain t.
unless" she added, deprecatingly,
..perhaps / am in the matter of white
aprons. Mother always sad so, AMI
do like plenty of white aprOns-say one
every afternoon.
"l5, wife shall have a clean one fol
every hour in the day, if she wants!
roared Uncle Jerry, with enthusiasm.
And, now l think of it, by George
if l don d believe a white apron dresses
up woman more than the big Ko0h-i
moor could!
"And l shouldn't wonder, after all
if them white aprons had somethin' to
do with your loOkin' so different from
other womeu-sO kinder good and old
fashioned, you know"
Aunt Bethia blushed and laughed.
They cali me the 'Old-fashionec
woman, " she said, simply.
And am an old-fashioned man.
he said, significantly.
Then he looked at her and met the
startled glance of her soft eyes.
May be it occurs to you, as it does
to me, that there's sOmethin' peculiarly
interestin' in the fact that l am an old
fashioned man, and g0u are an old
Cd nj