, 1884-05-30
A WIDOWS NIGHT.


southern Tennessee and northern Georgia,
wns a northern man, usually from Connecti-
cut, who came south in search of thai fortune
which indisposition for labor denied him in
his native country. He was invariably long,
lank, with straight hair, a narrow fore
head, with small, cunning eyes under them,
and a stock Of perseverance, natural shrewd-
ness, and an entire lack of conscience that in
the struggle with n world full of roniding
people was sufficient to take him
He generally made his debut as a school
teacher, a singing or writing teacher, an
itinerant photographer, an agent for books
or fruit trees, or any of those occupations
which are not considered precisely labor, but
at which men do labor harder than they
would were they to hold u pillow or swing a
scythe.
But understand he did not long remain at
these e~mployments. He only followed the
one that brought him thither till he could
make acquaintance and better himself. He
generally found employment as overseer of a
plantation, or manager, and he was more
feared and hated by the negroes than
any one native to the southern soil
and to the manner born, and they had
good reason. When a Yankee goes
away from homo and takes nothing of Puri-
tanism with him but a nasal twang he is the
worst man In the world. his shrewdness
without the restraining power of grace
makes him a very dangerous neighbor, espe-
cially among supplemented people who have
no especial knowledge of guile and take men
as a rule for what they profess to be. These
fellows always managed in the end to marry
a widow with n plantation
One such, Abner Smith by name, so goes
the story, turned up in 1856 just north of
Chattanooga. He came as a teacher, and
progressed so far as to get the management
of tho nlantatiOn of a worry IN ralaag md i'm.
provident young planter named, we will say,
Porter. This was not his NAME, but it is a
good name and will answer the purpose.
Porter disliked to work negroes. He never
logged one in his life. and he disliked the
care of anything. What no wanted was
some one to work the place, give him all the
money he wanted, and let him spend it as he
chose, and take all the care and responsible.
ity off his shoulders. Abner Smith was on
hand just when Porter wanted such a man,
and he was installed.
Smith answered tho expectations of his
proprietor admirably. He worked the hands
on the place numerically and as he gathered
the crops carefully, and sold them well, and
as he actually turned over more money to
Porter than he had ever before made, he did
not suspect that his factotum was stealing a
good half of the proceeds of the estate, and
that while his patron was spending his share
u LILO piOhbo WI Dlllb WIS HlNlnR MS care
fully away with a view to future invest
ments.
Unfortunately for Mr.. Porter he went
hunting one day, and in stepping over a log
his gun was discharged, and, tho contents
entering his body, he never returned to his
home alive.
1t was a terrible blow to his friends and a
crushing one to his wife. Mrs. Porter was a
little, innocent woman, who was known
among friends because of her mildnes and
innocence as "the baby" She was the exact
opposite Of her husband, as is generally the
case. He was a big, burly fellow with a
laugh like the cough of a horse, and she a
mild, modest, unassuming little woman with
n half frightened way about her, who seemed
to care for nothing in the world except her
jolly husband and her baby.
The sudden death of her husband nearly
wrecked her, but she survived. Women
always do when they have a baby TO live
for.
After a decent time had elapsed the over
seer interviewed her. The plantation was
unincumbered, and properly managed would
not only support the widow and child com
fortably, but would accumulate and make
the little thing, now in its mothers arms, an
heiress of no mean property. But it must be
properly managed.
1t was therefore arranged that MI. Abner
Smith should take full charge Of the place at
n stipulated salary (he fixed it at no mean
sunni and manage as before, only with more
powers than he had ever had.
Immediately there was a change in the con-
dition Of affairs on the place. The crops were
very good, so far as Mrs. Porter could see,
but somehow there never was any money
visible to her naked eye. She was too inno-
cent to know much about business, but it
seemed to her that the place free from her
husbands eXtravagances should yield d
heavier revenue than ever, but it didn't. Mr..
Smith showed her accounts which seemed
regular and prope-, but the expenses had
mounted up heavily, and tn re were so many
charges for things that she knew nothing of
that there was nothing left.
There was no one that she could depend
upon for advice or ass stance, and Mr.. Smith
did everything without consulting her. Lit
tie by little tho management of everything
had passed completely into his hands.
Things went on in this way for three
years, when the innocent little woman was
astonished one morning when he informed
her that owing 10 the failure of the house to
whom he had shipped the cotton crop, he
was in a bad way for money and feared that
he should ha We to borrow a considerable sum,
upon mort to squeeze through. This
frightened the simple woman nearly
out of her wits, but her CONSERVATION at this
was nothing compared to what it was in the
morning when he came at her with a bill for
salary for three years.
Have you not paid yourself regularly, as
you went ouT' she queried.
mot at all. 1t has taken everything the
place produced to run it for the last three
years. Crops have been bad and we have
had bad luck all around. As l had to pro-
vide for everything l could not draw my sal
ary."
The amount Of the salary and what he had
said must be rails d in consequence of the fail
ure made n sum that would nearly swamp
the property. She did not cry, but said to
him that she would sleep on it.
The next morning she sent for him and he
came. She was in tears, with the lively
baby in her arms. 1t was n cold world, she
remarked, and especially chilly TO a woman
situated as She was. She was too ignorant
of the world to cope with it. and too innocent
TO live, anyhow. What she needed more
than anything else was some one to protect
and care for her, and look after her interests
aud those Of her baby, and
That was precisely what Mr.. Smith had
been waiting for. His cold eye g~littered as
no looked at her. She was 10 innocent, so
helpless, and with such n fine property. This
was his opportunity.
He answered that all she said was true. She
must have II protector who would protect
her, and who so H. for the place as hel He
lad been trusted by her late husband and by
her. He would accept the position, and so,
after very little delay, for the simple
woman could not resist anything he offered
her, il was arranged that they be married at
once.
While a negro wac sphdliug a horse
to ride over for u BAPTIST minister to