Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-03-19


THAT depends These three amt
got but one atween 'em, but / reckon
the rest'll do better. Hens and chick
ems amt of any account ifyour children
don't do right. tell you, ma am, it's
mighty hard on an old man, who's tried
TO bring up children TO do what's right,
and then see 'em turn out bad. Jemi-
my was brought up as respectable as
any gal on the mountains, yes, or
of either for that matter, and she
oughter ha' stood by me. I'd n stood
by my father if 1t ha' broke my back,
but, dear me! children amt now what
they used to be. What if did take a
chair to him and tell him to get? I'm
an old man, and didn't meau any harm,
and he told me lied. Would an old
man do right to let any one tell him he
was liarp leave il TO you, ma'am.
Miss Stewart knows I'm telling the
truth, and I'll tell you the whole story
il you care TO hear IT,
He paused for me to signify desire
to hear it, and once more applied tho
red handkerchief, and then began:
"As | said before, my wife and ha'
lived together nigh onto fifty year, and
all our children are dead and Como OK
cept Peleg, who married and moved out
West, and Jemimy, the child of our old
age. She has been good gal, Jcmimy
has, willin', and handy, and smart TO
work, with no foolish notions or silly
ways about her, an, II do say it, she's
as likely gal as you'd find on the
mountains. P'raps we did spoil her
little, cause she was the youngest, but
taught her to mind her parents and
set store by everything good. II want
in the natur' of things that the follows
should not see how nice she was, and
last summer one on EN- his name Is Ed
Burgess, came to our house consider BILE
Wife and looked him over pretty well.
and says to ourselves: He seems n like
ly young man, and II take good care Of
Jemimy. and il he's n mind TO wait
year or two till she's tri1e older, we're
willin'.' You see, she was only little
over fifteen, and would not let her get
married So young; so, when she asked
us about il told her ho must wait
spell and then we'd see about
it; but wife says: Stop, Jcth-
TO, and let me reason with
you. We're getting old. Farm work
is hard on us both. If we let JENNY
get married, she and EG can take the
heft cf the work of our shoulders, and
We eau take things kinder easy. Besides,
shes older than | was when I married
you, and I've never seen the day | was
sorry This was a clncher; for we had
got married when she wore short
dresses; and what she said about farm
work was good sense; so | gave in and
they were married. though felt some
thin inside o me telling me | was fool
ish. JENNY was that happy, il would
ha' done your heart good to see her
She and Ed set sight o store by each
other, and they worked as clipper as
couple of robins, and took nearly all
the work off our old shoulders, and
everything went beautiful. We fixed
up the keepers room for her to have
for her own, for il don't stand to rea-
son that young folks don't like TO be by
themselves sometimes; and | took Ed
to the peak of the hill, and showed him
my farm. Do you see that sorghum
field! ! asked, and when he nodded his
head, said, half Of il is yourn.' Then
showed him the oats and patch of po-
tatoes, and orchard and Understand
and said the same thing. When the
cows came up gave him half o. them,
and just the same with the hogs. You
see | treated him like n white man,
never dreamn' the day ID ever come
he'd call me liar. Things went all
right till about month ago, when /
saw her out in the field helpn' him. 1t
warn't no place for likely gal to be,
and went out and told her So we
did not raise you TO do this way JENNY,
and you know it. Come along i'm the
house But not step would she take.
With this Ed says: You needn't GO
Mimy, if YOU don't want 10, YOU are
mine now That made my temper
rise and ! says to her, 'Jemimy,
I've alters tried to bring YOU
up properly and do well by you,
but YOU must mind. Come in
the house with me-. She looked first
at Ed and then at me, and red spot
came on each side of her purity face
(for she's a mighty purity gall, but
my temper had the best of me and
spoke sharp like and took hold of her
shoulder TO make her mind when that
fellow up and took me by the neck and
tells me to let go his wife. Wife OF no
wife, she's my daughter and must mind
me, ] says, and one thing led TO an
other till we both got mad rs March
hares, and when our spunk was up |
told him some plain truths and he told
me / lied. | never was called a liar
before, and | warn't a going to stand it
now from such chap as he, SO ] went
in the house and when he started TO
come in, lifted n chair above his head,
and told him I'd break every bone in
his mean little body if he ever put his
foot in my house again. Then he took
Jemimy by the hand and says to her:
Your place is with me, whatever
comes. We must start out and do for
ourselves, and let him take care of him
self With that they went off to his
folks, and left me alone. You see my
wife went away two months ago, TO
visit her friends in Pennsylvania. She'll
never 60 again 1 reckon, and j was
mighty glad 10 let her go, but now
need her back powerful bad, though
know she'll tell me il was all my fault.
I've never laid eyes on Mr. Ed Burgess
and Jemimy since they went away.
They sent after all their things and ha'
been Twin with his folks. / must say
miss her ut meal time and she had
bran new wash-tub nc had bought her,
which came mighty handy on washin'
days. / hated to see ii go, can tell
you, but they've got to take care o.
themselves" here his voice faltcred,
and he added in lower tones: IAN so
have !, reckon After u moments
silence he looked at me, and said: "You
don't blame me, ma am, for sending
for her, do youP seem ] am such an old
man and in such heap o trouble. ="
mo, indeed, you need her badly if
Jcmima is not coming back"
"Do you think I'd have that fellow
in my house?' His eyes flashed as he
spoke.
"How old was your wife when you
married herp" I asked, ignoring his
question.
"Shc was fifteen in December, and
we were married in October"
Just Jcmima's age" venturcd TO
| euuOpet