Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-05-07

them steers, II the man should como
along
81 think will, said she. laughing;
how much do you ask for emp
"Oh, seventy dollars, he said, and of
he went
81 happened to be in there when the
drover came. She talked around a
leetle about the price, and actually sold
them steers for eighty-five dollars, and
then she took the money, not bit
scared; she rung the silver and
squinted at the bills to see II they was
giniwin', as handy as them cashiers in
city bank; and she was about the pleased
est woman you ever see, when the
Squire came hum, and she told him
what she'd been up to. You see women
don't enjoy being so helpless, and havin'
overseers put over 'em, countin' every
cent for 'em as If they was ijiots.
There want much Squire Peters
could do with that ere one-third of his
wife's property-the will was such
drefful Gurus one-until he found a
German who wanted TO hire IL. He
leased it for some years, and what did
he put onto ii but slaughter-house.
You see Salem was CROWN proper fast,
and they wouldn't allow no KILN done
in the city. Now that jest split Lijah's
hull farm to him and to his wife. Not
that il hurt their feelin's so much to see
the poor bleatin' lambs driv' by, and the
cows with their calves a followin' EN-
I'm not sayin' but beef-steak and NUT
ton chops amt good and toothsome in
their way, but it takes the relish out o.
them TO see the dumb critters going to
the slaughter, lookin' up at you with
their great lonesome eyes-but Lijah
and his wife weren't no way tender,
and what fretted them was that there
got to be such drefful stencil from the
slaughter-house there weren't no Twin
near it. Mis- Peters lot was to the
south of 'em, and the wind was mostly
BLOWN from that ere quarter; and
Lijah was took sick and had heavy
doctors bill to pay-they all got ailin'-
the cows wouldn't drink out o the crick,
the water was 40 pisened, and folks
went along the road a-holdin' their
noses, till finally Lijah couldn't stan 1t
no longer; so he just buys out the
widows hull right in the place-pays
harnsom' price for it, too-and then he
buys out the Germans lease; altogether
II cost him one good sum.
Now said Squire Peters to Lijah,
hope you'll larn somethin'. Never saw
the time yet when the bitter didn't get
bit; and, furthermore'-you see the
Squirrel been q Justice of the Peace,
and had got into the habit o usin' that
ere word-I'll leave il to you if you
hadn't ought to have used your aunt
leetle better, seem you started poor as
poverty, and all you're wuth has come
from that ere poverty
"You see he give him an awful talk
in to, and it done some good, for the
Squire said that Lijah was the shamcd-
est-lookin' man that ever he see.
"Heerd how the Squire and his wife
died, hain't youp Well, twas drefful I
Gurus circumstance. They was both
took the same day with a fevcr-ketched
il from one another, ! 'spect. Years
gone by, when folks was took sick, it
was called 'Dispensation o. Provi-
dence,' but now nobody can't have
no fever, nor dipthery, nor nothin',
without somebody's a-talkin' about
sanctuary conditions, a-peeking into the
dream, or sarchin' the well to see if
some live critter hasn't got drownded
in it.
THE Squire and his wife never
knowed nothin' from the first mint
they was took One died one day, and
t'other the next, and for all the Squire's
trainin', and Esther being so capable,
she never lived to be Mis- Widow Peters.
They was buried in the same grave, and
the minister preached most feelin'
sermon from this ere text: They was
lovely and pleasant in their lives, and
in death they was not divided.
"Since that ere time wimmen folks
has made q dredful advance, but
whether it's back ards or or'ards |
can't tell. Now when man dies he
gives his girl jest as much as he does
his boy, and she keeps it, too. She
don't go to no man to count il for her.
You'll see her a-lookin' over the papers,
a-sarchin' how's moneys quoted, and
she goes to the bank all by herself, and
she has great roll of bills when she's
out a-tradin'; but whether or no VIM
men folks rs q hull is any better off
than they used to be is more'n | can
tell; still can't see as KNOWN some
thin has spilled EN-. "-Anna Linwood
in N. f.. Farmer.