Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-07-21

BY MAMIE LANCASTER.

begged Johnfrom the very start to
try and forget it If hecould-someway,
it seemed sort of pitiful to take bride
out of prison instead of her fathers
loving arms-but John said pride was
ad company for q poor woman the
likes of me, and SO every night before
/ even so much as pulled his boots off
I had to listen to the jail's doings till
my blood got to bubbling one minute
and freezing the next; and there were
the grated windows and the big ch aimed
door, palmer, even SO much palmer,
before me that my husbands face
for I would see that through a grayish
mist of tears.
Understand me, John was as square
and honest a man as ever turned a
key IL the laws name, though not
CHEEKY, like married man ought to
be and mostly is, his excuse being that
'folks made fools Of themselves when
they gabbed;" but. Lor'! who minds
what q man says in his own home, al
lowing he gets it off in g. loving sort of
way I'm foolish, out and out, SO he
needn't a-minded mel
Now, | HADN'T always been the
draggIed, crushed thing John found
me; SO, after / had goC on friendly
terms with them four little cuddy
rooms over the junkshop, thought me
q pot OF daisies and set it on the
window sill, as eager as q child to see
what John would say. He didn't say
anything; but the first | knew, there
was q mess of broken pottery and
twisted daisy heads a-lying in muck
on the ground. First / cried, then
scolded; but, Lor'! John were that
used to women's CARVINGS on, that /
might have saved my manners; but it
did just seem to me that he had SHE'D
that pot at my feelings, and I couldn't
get over the hurt. You see a handful
OF daisies Is no end of company for
woman when she can take her eyes off
her lap of sewing and think of those
other daisies that used to grow in the
old garden at home!
Then thought it over. how being
q turnkey might harden q mans up
per crust-just likeyou find snow atop
OF the sweetest spring blossoms in the
woods. | couldn't help being dead
certain his heart was tender, because
there was me for living proof, seeing
he had took me in my shame to be his
wife-and some folks can't abide
flowers; SO frightened up, and, by
and-by-say a week after-in comes
Mrs. Dagger, next door, and gives me
a canary in q tin cage. First We had
tea and doughnuts, by way of celebra-
ton; and then | swings him in the
window; and when Mrs. Dagger went
home, blest if didn't tuck in and have
another cry-ioy, don't you know!
That night it turned out that John
hated birds worse than he did flowers,
and SO Mrs. Dagger got hers on her
hands again, because my husband
made me understand without any
fancy words that he had a right to his
own way, and he was bound to have
it-and the Lord knows he always
did,
HE gives me a respectable home in
stead of stonewalls and a straw shake
down." says | to myself, "and I
oughtn't to complain till I get a decent
cause to stand by" and so I let it GO.
| was SO in love with them cuddy
rooms at first, that every penny
could save from the week 8 living used
to go for some bright trifle that I
hoped would be pleasing to John.
You see, I've got kinCer pretty hair,
too, and plenty of it; and come home
any time of night he would, he always
caught it as smooth as an eel and
there would be the supper sparkling
with my bits of glass and china, and
there was me, In q trim frock, ready
and glad to be happy, if only he would
help me try.
But, some way, our path was all up
hill from the word go; and so, one day
I'D been married then the best part
of a year, was sewing by the kitchen
fire, when all at once it struck me like
a hammer that John was real old
man, and that / was young enough to
be his grandchild!
/ had been so grateful to him, SO
glad to get away from the prison, that
l had clean forgot what q scrap OF a
girl was, and John, in his turn, had
clean forgot to remind me. So, when
he told me that there was an honest
home, and a good fire and plenty to
eat, why, it just seemed as if Heavens
own door was on the latch and I could
see the blessed light through!
Johns wrinkles and shabby clothes
were beautiful in my eyes that night
when he took me into the winter street
and told me to waiJ while he gave the
other watch word-so beautiful that
| had my eyes raised in gratitude to
the big, yellow stars when he came
back and up and asked me, ssWhy
hadn't run ?"-as ifrcould q deceived
anybody that trustful and true
When cuce that notion run wild in
my head about how old John was.
und how cross In the bargain. T sewed