Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-05-23

relation 70 Ia0itha Green; the old cou-
pie were grandpa and grandma of the
entire community, simply BY reason of
age and genuine worth cts Mon
day morning. you know, and you are
sick, too. aren't youP"
"Its my old tic-dullerroo. said
grandma. resignedly. going ON TO tell
OF her late suherings with IL, TO which
Tabitha lent listening ear. her sharp
eyes meanwhile taking an inventory of
the disorderly room, to repeat at the
first opportunity.
"And declare fort, Tabitha, seems
rs IL you were sent here this mornin'.
I want you to take this shirt and put in
the bosom, and do il up this week. I'll
allow 1t on your milk-bill. Don't fail.
for he hadn't fine shirt fit TO wear yes
terday"
'Therer' said Tibitha, triumphantly.
''that explains II. I knew YOU must
be sick yesterday, and / says TO one and
another, when they spoke Of Grandpa
Horner's shirt, saws l: 1T isn't grand
mas fault, you may be sure of that, for
she always gifts him up as slick as il
he'd just stepped out Of n bandbox.
Depend ont. she's sick"
81 icas sick Saturday." said grand
ma, tingling all over at the idea that
his shirt had been noticed and COM
mented upon, and thankful that he
wasn't present TO hear tie startling
story. Had she known that nobody
spoke OF it but Tabitha herself, she
would have felt better. ''If 1 hadn't
been sick ] should have had this one all
liked and done up, but Ann came over
in the afternoon. and said she'd send
him over one of Primes shirts TO wear
yesterday; and when he came to put IL
on. there want no bosom il IT,"
"Just sOr' said Tabitha, rising To
go. so full of her story that she was
ready to burst for lack of somebody to
tell Il 10 then and there. She had lone
been jealous Of Mrs Prime, and now
was her chance 10 tell a good story
against her. A church member putting
Oh her poor old father, and he one OF
salt OF the earth, and n deacon, too.
with common coarse shirt to wear
communion Sunday
Why she was Jealous OF Mrs. Prime
and wished to spite her. nobody could
tsll They were near OF an age, had
been girls together. and nobody could
point To any crime Ann Horner had
ever committed against Tabitha Green,
unless II was To get married. But IL is
just rs true as that there are loyable.
sweet-tempered old maids, that there
are sharp, spiteful ones who seem to
owe n grudge 10 all their mates who
fail to walk through life in single
blessedness. OF this latter class was
Tabitha Green.
That was the beginning of n busv
week with her. Under one pretext and
another she called at every house in the
village where she might get hearing.
and everywhere related the shirt story.
with such additions and embellishments
rs her lively fancy could invent. As
we all know. there is never a village Of
any size but contains more or lie x gos-
sips, whose interest in any bit of scandal
seems to be in inverse ratio To the inn
portance OF the matter; when you add
tn this the fact that Mrs. Prime was a
leader IN society, and rs such an object
oil Jealous envy to some narrow-minded
women who stood lower in the social
scale, you can understand how greedily
they drank in Tabitha's story.
81 allus said, and say it now more n
ever. that Mis- Prime amt what she
pertesses to be. I'm no perfesser nv
sell, but like TO see perfessers that is
POssessOrs, too. Her old father il a
Christian, II ever there was one, but be-
cause she married Ben Prime, and he
got into the Legislator last fall, seems
rs II she thought nobody else was Of any
count. hain't no doubt that. rs she
said, Prime has plenty of line shirts.
but you don't ketch her givin' one of
EN- away, even for her own father to
wear a-carrying round the clements.
She had the impudence to send him
over common coarse shirt. and il lust
about killed Grandma Horner. be-
lieve IL hurt her 'nough sight worse
than all her tic-dullerroo.
''She was rs earnest as could he IA
have me get this shirt fixed and done
up for him this week, and I'll do II, too.
II L don't DO another stitch of work. I
shant slight II, neither, II il is only an
old shirt fixed over. Ill show Mis-
Prime that / put my best work onto
things for good folks, and il grandpa
AMI my father, I'll do my best for
him.
she allus sot herself up TO be n lit
tie better common folks, but she aim
any better than she ort to b., and can
prove 10. did feel TO pity Grandma
hOrner, she looked SO mizzable. and of
all the ioOkin' houses hern was, YOU
never see the beatl I couldn't helm
thinkin' Mis- Prime had better leave
her own work and come over md slick
out her poor old mother n little. But
IL! SpoSe she had so many of Primes
shirts 10 wash she hadn't no time.
Grandma didn't say nothin' agin' Ann:
she tes' told how il happened that
grandpa didn't have on a fine shirt sun
day, but can tell by n little wba, n
| good deal means, and I'm sure she felt
rs though Mis- Prime didn't treat 'em
very well. But ! must be a-goin.' /
thought, scein' as was so near. I'd lest
rust run in and sec Mis- Brown a few
minutes / Jest came out OF Mis- BEN
sons, and l was a-talkin' IL over with
her. | says, SEE I; If Twas n member
of that church I'd have Mis- Prime dis
olpllnedi II Ain Twin up 20 her COW
enant VOWS. Mis- Benson Is An easv
soul you know, and she says: 'P'r'aps
II was n mistake But Won needn't tell
me; know Mis- Prime. Wall must
be goin'."
The lOungerS In the village stores and
Mt the post-oflice talked over the shirt
story. IL was in the mouths of the
sohOol-ehildren. and was rehearsed
again and again in tho milliner's shop.
And rs no two people had the same
version OF the story, IL was something
new and unique every time IL was told.
Tho people who are most directly
concerned in floating gossip, are usual
" the last ones tn hear IL, but the at
mossphere being so heavily saturated
with shirt-conversation that week. Il
finally bore down on Mrs. Primo her.
self.
IL was Saturday afternoon again, and
she went over to her mothers, rs she
had done every day all through the
week. The Maltese cat asleep in the
cushioned chair by the stove was the