The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1885-05-23
AFTER THE LODGES SECRETS.
Seeking Information in Regard to Fer
Husbands Doipgs.


"Good evening, sir" said," said
woman whose face looked like boiled
salmon, with pick-axe nose and
voice that sounded like q far-away echo
from the housetops, as she addressed
young man who trembled as he viewed
her red hair.and stern visage. "What !
want to see you for, is to ask you If you
are an Odd Fellow--that is, do you be-
long up yonder2" and she nodded her
head toward building from which he
had just emerged.
He meekly replied, 81 do, madam"
"Well," said said, 'my man says he is
one of you, and want you to tell me If
he is an inside watchman, and has he
been appointed for 800 nights to watch
the jewels9 And do you have six meet
ings weekP And does he have to
crawl through some of them in the day
time, and lose a days work trying to be
noddle grand, or past grand bugler, or
past bugler, or some such name he
tells me OFF"
The young man said that she must
have been misformed, that there was
something wrong; but she interrupted
him with, "There' you needn't try to
play smarts. l understand all about
this grip business, and silent secrecy and
mum password, and you can't fool mel
You wouldn't tell me anything for a
Seekonk, would youP l don't suppose
you would tell me when my husband
comes home with hairpin in his boots
and lady's collar on instead of his own,
whether he'd been taking a Rebekah
degree or been at a surprise partyP Oh,
mol you're innocent, YOU are"
The young Odd Fellow ventured TO
remark that he did not really understand
the drift of the inquiry. son, no, see
1t is no use, you're all in for each other
and sworn to secrecy, and you'd say the
broken earring / found in his pocket
belonged to you, wouldn't you2 And
if l should ask you who Araminta is
that l caught him talking to himself
about you'd say it was the goat you
pretended to ride; and if 1 should ask
you about this muttering l hear OIL
pass'-'order it up'-'set 'em up and
give me another hot one,' and all that
sort of thing, suppose you'd sayit was
all connected with your hifalutin degrees
and necessary to the order"
Tho young man meelkly replied, as he
tried to move away, that he was in q
hurry; that perhaps Brother Buckur
would give her all the necessary inform.
alton; that he could not really under.
stand-but she caught him up before he
could finish the sentence with mo,
you don't understand, oh, no! You
wouldn't tell me for pan of doughnuts
what kind of laws you make that says q
woman shan't be daughter of Becky,
merely because she's got wart on her
nose. That's what he tells me, and
then he says / should have to have a
medical examination, and that the last
woman in always has to wash the dishes
when they have those stuffing jubilees,
Oh, yes, It's all very fine to leave youI
poor wife at home on account Of wari
or a sore heel, but I'm going to find ouI
about this business. / am going tc
know whether one man can hold all the
offices through the year and sit up nine
nights in the week and then tell his
wife she can't be a Rebekah, and be an
inside sentiment or whatever you cal
'em, just on account of little thing
like that I won't trouble you any
longer, as probably you want to pass
and set 'em up somewhere; but III
watch that chap of mine and If find
there's too much goat in it, III forget
that Pm a woman if don't make his
head look like double bumped bunion,
and he'll have TO wear my washtub ovel
it for the next three months" And she
slid into the nearest grocery and bought
dozen pickles and stove litter.