, 1884-05-09
A MARTYR DOLOROSA.

Oh some man. OF u uloluor Oh = sOp. Ii tuA
phase of existence sheds but little glory pom
her, it also relieves her of many responsible
ties, and gives to her obscurity tho value Of
Contentment
Aunt Nancy was the wife OF Uncle LishA
1t would be impossible to give a biography
of Aunt Nancy without including Uncls
,Lisha, or to eliminate her individuality long
enough to serve her up alone. And l doubt II
the dear old lady would like such marital in
dependence. Nor do ! think she would recog-
nize any picture OF herself that was not q rs-
Election OF him. Like the moon, she shone by
borrowed light
Uncle 'LishA was a living illustration of the
old adage, at is better TO be born lucky than
rich" His property was inherited, and he
never did a days work in his life. But every
body else in his family worked, Aunt Nancy,
his wife, more than any of them- Uncle
'Lisha didn'tw work because he enjoyed poor
health. A partial list OF his complaints would
read about like this;
Fever and ague, chronic indigestion, pa
ralysis of the heart. paralysis of the liver. in
~nammatory rheumatism, lameness In the left
knee, lameness in the right knee, ossiHcation
Of the joints, hereditary consumption ION
the mothers side). hereditary apoplexy ION
the fathers side.
Those are Just a few Of the ills which besst
the poor man, and made him exceedingly
careful OF himself. He couldn't stoop for
fenr of apoplectic symptoms; he was afraid
to lift anything on account of his spine; no
never dared hurry, as his heart had a habit
Of boating, and in fact nothing agreed with
him except-doing nothing. He was the very
same boy referred to In the following incl
dent. l am aware it is credited TO the
Beechor family, but they never had n
monopoly of lazy boys, II they did OF bright
ones. Uncle 'Lisha's father, the good doctor,
had one time been away from home q few
days. leaving his two boys, Elisha and
Ezekiel, to do the chores When be returned
nothing had been done, and the boys were
discovered in a hay-mow reading stories.
"Zekeln Numbered the doctor, come here
yir.n
Zeke came and stood shamefacedly before
him.
what have you been doing since was
awayf'
Nothing, SIR"
elisha, come hore, you, and give an 10
count of yourself. Tell the truth now. What
have you been doingf'
Helping Zeke, SIR"
This faculty was Uncle 'LishA's stock In
trade, and he steadily improved 1t and made
others believe in 1t, until they really con-
iidered It wrong to expect him to do anything.
| can see him yet putting on bis boots OF .
winters morning. All tho cattle had bean
toddered, water drawn and wood carried in
Aunt Nancy had been up hours getting break
fast and hushing the children and telling
them not TO make . noise and wake poor
father" who hadn't slept q wink all night
Gentle soull 1t is possible that she believed
It, for she was too tired herself to lie awake
to see. And when he came down they all
waited on aim and handed him his boot,
while he fingered patiently In front OF ths hos
Ere. Then he would cough feebly, put his
hAnd to his heart, sigh-and warm the inside
Of ons boot. After resting from this
e~xertien he would take a strap in zach hand
and with several attempts get 1t on. Then .
long rest, before q similar process with
the other one. A drink Of reviving watsr
was then handed by one child, while another
stood by and looked at him as II he had bson
a ten-horned wonder. 1Poor father was
only afflicted with spring fever, which lasted
him the year round-in other words, chronic
lAziness.
81 sha'n't last long" he would say In that
Whitney .piney voice. which exasperAted all
who knew him as he really was -fhsa,
Nancy, you and the children can have 1t all
your own way
And Aunt Nancy would cry and the
children howl, and there would be soms
added delicacy at the sufferers plata for the
next meal
There's only a dozen eggs In the HOUSE..
that sanity woman would observe. ANow.
children, rm going to cook thoss for your
poor father-don't one Of you ask for eggA"
But when he reached tho last egg one Of
the tompted children would pluck up cour-
age to hint for IT.; Uncle 'Lisha would look
ut that child with a countenAnce OF meek re-
proach and say;
Eyes, take 1t, take 1t, and lot your poor
sick father starye.n
There was no chance for Aunt Nancy 70
AVE any pet Ailments- II she was sick and
complained, Uncle LishA would say.
ave felt just so, mother. (" and that settled
it. II he was going anywhere he would put
in the saving clause:
III l live, and Nancy's well"
Her headaches wore more chimsras OF ths
Imagination.
ave suffered worse and never mentioned
it-sufrered like . wi~nterYresn," be would
add, as II that were the ne plus ultra OF mis-
cry.
Every year or two he made a new will, and
every day he advised Aunt Nancy what TO
do when he was gono. In their early marrtd
life, when the children were small, he bad
dreaded that she would marry again, but In
later years this fear had no place In his
thoughts. The children themselves were mar
Ilcu anu gone, anu Aunt Nancy Wa an Old
woman with a white, placid facs, and bands OF
iron gray hair-not really old. but worn out
her life had been such a perpetual echo ofUncls
'Lisha- lie didn't like company, 50 she didn't
have any. He never wanted TO 70 anywhere,
SO she stayed at home. II she ever went to
church she had to go alone, and that was 50
dreary, and she had so many inquiries to
answer about his health that she seldom
went
you'll miss me when am gone" be would
say cheeriully, and so she would. And shs
would have missed the old clock In the corner,
too, IL it had suddenly disappeared.
"What does the doctor say about Nor he
asked her one day when the village physician
had gone out, first calling hor TO ono side.
Perhaps Aunt Nancy was . little worn out
that day, or believed In heroic treatment, but
she deliberately answered:
II thinks you haven't q disease In the
world, Elisha, and that II you would take
more exercise it would be better Tor you
He wa wounded to the quick, and did not
speak to her for twenty-four hours, and he
discharged the impolitic physician ths noxt
day.
Uncle 'LishA was fond Of lachrymoss
hymns, and when not singing
"Hark, from the tombs n doleful sound,s
he would tip back in his chAir-the easiest
in the house-close his eyes and chant by the
hour:
I'm going home
No more to roam,
No more to sin and sorrow,
No more to bear