Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-07-26
MIS- HITS HUSBANDS.

| footed children of District No 10, East
| Centreville, johnson county, did not find the
| social element Of the neighbOrhood congenial
| There was no lack of society and social
| gayeties The schoolmaster had attended a
| mEprise party, warm sugar party and 80
| liable" during the first week of his residence
n District No. 10; he had been stared
| It by red handed, hair-oaed, tongue tied
souths; danced several Virginia reels TO the
! une of Pop Goes the W Weasel, rendered on a
ihreking fiddle or a hoarSe melOleOn; been
Kissed by scores of buXom girls i'll nnuner
| able oS,ulatnry games; and had since re
| 'rained from East Centreyille festivities with
1 sternneSS which had been looked upon as
stuck up" and which may, indead, have
! pcpn due III some degree TO that complacent
'elf-cSteem i'll which young schoolmasters are
not usually deficient
| He was fond of entertainment, however;
and being thus thrown back upon himself, its
.hances seemed small. The comfortable old
| ,ouple who boarded him were meek, indus
trious, deserving and commonplace, and he
was not hopeful of discovering anything
moro exciting in District No. 10. He was
reused to "A mild interest therefore, when he
found the "settin room" one morning, in the
possession of an cdd and somewhat startling
! DID woman.
She was whitewashing the ceiling. She
stood on top of a stepladder, and covered its
cracked and yellowish surface with long
strokes OF her stubby brush. She wore a
bright new calico dress with a short skirt
which exposed her heavy masculine boots
Her hair, which was gray and scanty, was
drawn back over frequent patches Of bald
ueSS and fastened i'll a candid knot Of the size
/ fa,N. Nx-aS hrhx md
wrinkled with bright eyes, and she held a
pipe between her lips
| The schoolmaster inquired concerning her
as he sugared his lettuce at the breakfast
table: sugar and vinegar We're the approved
salad dressing at East Centreville.
That's Mis- HIT" his hostess rejoined.
"She kind of jobs around-lays carpets and
whitewashes and papers and helps houseclean-
| in times. She's a master hand, Mis- Hit is. "
Miss Hitt-she is unmarried, them said
the schoolmaster
Law" the old lady responded, while faint
blush stole into her faded cheeks. she's ben
married four times HIT" she added, scrupu-
! Iously, want her last husband; but we didn't
never git into the way o callin' her Mis- Doty.
1t don't make no odds, as know of-Doty,
he's dead
conceived liking for the outdoor aspects of
| District No To- wandering in the dusk of the
evening through an empty pasture lot which
| copious spring rains had developed into a
| swamp, came suddenly upon a small red
wooden building set into the corner of the
| pasture and hacked by piece Of woods. Its
unstable appearance, produced by the piles of
! stones upon which its four corners rested and
| its several props, made it obvious that it had
! been moved hither from its native spot, where
| il might have been a corn or hen house. In a
chair in the open doorway, leaning forward
| on her elbows and smoking, was Mis- Hit.
The schoolmaster went nearer and raised
| his hat The old woman took her pipe from
| her mouth and eyed him with a ieeting sus-
| picion; then she got up and showed her chair
back Hospitality.
The schoolmaster stepped inside and sat
down on an anonymous object near the door,
while his entertainer lighted her lamp.
| Its light showed cramped interior of one
| room The walls were covered with news
| papers. tackled up; an unreasonable stove re-
tanned its place for lack of other refuge. There
| were a few attempts at adOrnment, which
the hardened fingers and beated tastes of the
inventor had not served to render successful.
The schoolmaster's seat proved to be q nail
keg. whose hardness was not helped by its
frill Of brown cambria.
Mis- Hit, from the one chair Of the room,
looked at her caller over her pipe with no visl
bic curiosity
Saw We tother day." she observed.
"Teachin' here, amt yef" And, when the
schoolmaster sssented, relspsed into silence
with nod
You are pleasantly situated, ," the school
master ventured, looking out somewhat
doubtfully over the shadowy pasture lot.
Il don't know as be-" said Mis- Hit, apa-
thetically. Il cit along"
The schOolmaster made second and
holder attempt.
Il have lately received the news Of the
death of-of an aunt he remarked at is
exceedingly sad to lose ones friends, is il
notf But. perhaps-very pOssihly-you have
had no experience of the sorti"
Mis- Hit removed her pipe, with face
wholly unsuspicious Her eyes shOne in its
darkened and withered surface with a sud
denly increased brightness.
I've buried four husbands" )" she said Her
expression was q mixture Of solemnity and
excusable pride
'Ah," the schoomaSter murmured. "The
great consolation for death" he continued,
"is the remembrance of the felicitous hours
passed with the deceased. Your married life
-lves-were happy, were they nOtr
Wal, | don know" said Mis- Hit. She
crossed her knees and clasped her knOtty
hands around them. Il didn't have such
powerful good luck gittin' husbands"
"Indeedf" said the schoOlmaster. "One
might judge, from a casual view, that you
had been highly successful
Mis- Hits seriousness did not alter Ap-
parently joke was not in the line Of her
comprehension.
Thar want none o nv men what We
might call likely she said, without disturb
ance from the recollection of her time soft
ened troubles. They was a pretty Urinary
set, call em."
She puffed away in silent ruminatiOn.
Your first husband, for exampler the
schoolmaster suggested"
Wal, he want much - Ike Hayward
want, the Old woman responded. Her eyes
were fixed unseemIngly on the blank stretch
of sodden land; her face was intent with the
absorption of reminiscence. Il was nigh on
to IL when ] married Ike. and Ike, he was
somewar' round ~. | hadn't been calCuatin'
to marry Ike Hayward; want lookin' to a
week afOrehand. I'd had il fixed up with
'Rastus Carter for considable spell; we'd
got the day sot and 'RaStus, he'd spoke to the
preacher. | don know as | recOllect jest
what spilled it; 'RaStus, he fiared up at some
thin er mother; considerable techy, 'Rastus
was-sandy topped, freckly folks most gen
ally be. Wal, didn't git him." said Mis-
Hit, Frightening the bowl of her pipe with a
puff or two. And Ike Hayward he stepped
in, and we were fined
Lived with his folks, Ike did; | don know
as | should a had no trouble with Ike ef it
hadn't ben fer that. Had the wing, Ike and
me, and the rest o the house was the ole
folks; but ole Mis- Hayward was into that
wing enough sight more'n she was to hum,
flssin and pesterln' and nOsin' round. She'd
come in afore breakfast, and set watchin me |
gettin' it, and telln' as how couldn't cook |
pork no moren a cat, and didn't know nc
more bout fryin' pancakes n l did bout |
fyin'; and as how l want savin', and my
washins looked yeller and my soft soap want |
half billed; and she'd 90 round erwin bout |