The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1885-08-05
TRAINING A HUSBAND.

So you want to know how came to
hev Caleb, when knew jest how he used
Nancy, his first wife. Wall, I'll tell you
all about it.
You know Dan'l left me pretty poorly.
had two little children, and what ter
dew didn't know. The mortgage was
ter run out in about year and half
after he died. I'd sent the children
down to brother Johns to get ter school.
Brother John wanted me ter give them
ter him an he'd do well by 'em, an / wus
meditating on it, orful 10th to dew it.
But what else could | dew with 'em
when the old farm was took away from
mel
One day when the time was near eout,
l was hoein' the beans one side of the
fence jinin' Caleb's cornfeld. tell yer,
Hannah, never felt bluer in all my days.
I'd alters lived an worked a farm, an
couldn't 90 no other kind of work; so
what was to come of me | didn't know.
''Purty good hoen for green hand"
sez somebody over the fence
"Yes, y SCI /. "rve done enough of it
since / was left alone. Practice makes
perfect, VIC used to write in our copy
book when we were children, an /
couldn't help heavin' sigh.
"Wall, Emmerline,n ~ says he, 'your'n
seem to be in the same fix. You need
a man to do your hoeing an / need
woman ter see ter my house, an if your
agreed Wen hitch horses and work in
'1uble harness. I can't find no hired
nelp that'll do as Nancy did, Thinks
myself. an you'll never find another that
will, oither.) $50, what aye say, EN-,
merline2"
P'raps / didn't think o. nothin' for the
next few minuits. 1t all flashed over me
in a second, what an unfeelin' man he'd
alters ben. Poor Nancy had ter dew all
the housework, an good deaf belong
ing ter him ter dew, an he was stingier
than an old miser, tew.
l knew he was a smart man to work,
was forehanded an was able to live in
good deal better shape than he did, an
you know, Hannah, that poor Dan'l was
just the opposite. He was a norful clever
man, was Dan'l, but kind o. shiftless an
easy, an it alters worried me ter have
things going so slack. Sez | to myself.
a body can't have everything; there's
alters some douts, an poor mans bet.
term none. So l speaks right up an
sez:
"Caleb, we've been nabors for many a
year. know your failins' an spose you
know mine; an so, if YOU say so, all
right; p'raps we both might do wuss"
Wall, ter make long story short, we
agreed to the business right off. Caleb
said that it was stylish to go on q we'd
din tower nowadays, and as he wanted
ter go deown ter Bangor to see about
selling his wool, an as Sarah Jane Cur
tis (wEo used to work for him) lived
about half way, an we could stop there
both ways and not cost us anything, he
thought we'd better go. His niece,
Rebecca Gilman, yer know, lives there,
and we could make her a visit at the
same time. Brother John lives there
tew, you know, an I'd made up my mind
that I'd bring home the children.
An so l did; but Caleb he was orful
sot agin it, but sed, "of course they can
come and make a visit" am l let him
think so, cause l wasn't quite ready to
have words with him yet.
We stayed about a week an got home
along in the afternoon all right. The
next morning woke purity early, an |
sez to myself: "Courage, Emmerline.
now or never" l kept still, for Caleb
was still a snorin', but bime by he
fetched up an unairthly snore that wak't
himself up, an when he sees as it was
gettin, daylight he nudged me, an sez
he:
"Wake up, Emmerline, Emmerline,
its broad daylight; come, come, get up,
we shan't have any breakfast ter day. ("
was orful hard ter wake, but after
while managed ter, an while l was a
rubbin' my eyes | sez, "Got fire, amt
ye, Caleb"
"Fire p sez he, ''No, / never build
any fires. Nancy alters built the fires.
''Did shean sez ], cool as cucumber.
"so did Dan'l.n