The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-12-29
AN ECCENTRIC GIRL.

county OF Arkansaw, is situated Ashbury
Mills. The surrounding country is
strangely like some old picture you have
seen. and the mill, ~ith its tall gables
and grea, wheel. standing out in cour-
ageous, not to say bold relief, is so con-
ven,ional, and in such tuneful keeping
with old mills you have read about,
tina, in passing along the winding road,
you would stop more than once to look
at so quaint grouping Of objects Why
the place was called Ashbury Mills, and
why mills at all, since there is only one,
is something which none ofthe neighbors
and certainly no grammarian can explain.
Old lobe Potter owns the mills-we shall
conform to the neighborhood custom and
use the plural-and so far as any one
knows, nobody named Ashbury has ever
been in the least identified with the in
stitution, and in fact, when old lobe is
asked concerning the origin of the name,
he hesitates in characteristic per-
plexity and replies Blame II know"
Tobe's daughter, Gralda. was the hand
soonest girl in the entire country. She
was handsome, not because she tried to
be so, but because she couldn't help it.
When the old man became afflicted with
corpulency and laziness. mainly the latter
G;alda took charge of the mills. She was
thorough business girl, and was so
lenient to customers that once when ALT
Galkins complained that she handled the
toll measure with recklessness leaning
trile to much in favor OF the mills, she
politely told the old fellow that if
he did not like the methods
she had adopted in her admins
tration, he could take his favors to
some other place. Nearly every young
man in the country was in love with the
girl, but the songs of their wooing were
not music to her. She often declared
that she did no, intend to marry, and
many an injured heart. beating under
homemade linsey shirts, believed the
terrible declaration. Simon Webliforoe,
a good-looking young fellow and thesac-
knowledged wit of the community, did
not escape the thralldom of Gralda' S
power. She had smiled at him, he
thought. What more could he ask of a
girl TO whom he had not made known
his feelings: He finished laying by corn
one evening in June, and after shaving
himself and brushing up his clothes, a
suit OF ex,ra-warp leans that he had not
worn since the last "protracted meetn'.
he mounted his high-headed horse, the
one he +" snapped from" Nata Patterson,
Gralda, dressed in kind OF a meal bag
costume, high in the neck and long in
the sleeves, attending TO her duties. old
lobe, her father, sat in an easy chair
fishing from the back door.
How are you, Simon" said the girl
Just in time to help me up with this
sack
Arers IN time when you are handlin'
anything good to eat, replied the wit OF
the community.
Yes said the old man, batting his
hook, an you are all'us aroun' when the
business OF putin i, away Is goin' on
Then they all laughed, and the girl
Simon thought, smiled at him.
Miss Gralda, if you amt very busy,
Id like to talk to you over here by the
window"
The girl brushed the meal from her
hands and followed Simon to the win
dow
st" laid by con to-day"
e Did your
Yes, an the bottom mel. pap lows,
will knock the spots often any piece o
con in this country"
Your father generally knows wha, he
is talking about"
Don't he. though? Wha, else do
you reckin he said: simon, saws he
all that cons your'n.' That's wha, he
said. Now, thar amt nu,hin' s,ingy
bout me. an when pap tole me that.
lowed to myself, hanged ef don't gi,
somebody to sheer all this here extrava.
gantness, an now, without further at.
temptin 10 thrash ole Satan round the
stump, want you to be my wife DOM
say no, fur Id do as much fur you any
time. You couldn't ask no favor o me-
; wouldn't grant immegia,ely,s
! I'D like to accommodate YOU" the
; girl replied, but I've decided never &c
marry unless can ind a man that car
, love"
/ You don't mean 70 say that you don :
: love me Z"
; That's what mean
! Hes a sucker" exclaimed the ole