The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1886-07-30
expression was mixture Of solemnity and ex

the remembrance of the felcitous hours passet
with the deceased Your married life-lives-
were happy, were they not I"
"Well, doan' know, said Mis- Hit. Sht
crossed her knees and casped her knotty hands
around them. 81 didn't have such powerful
good luck gittin' husbands"
"Indeed" said the schoolmaster. "Ont
might Judge from casual view that you hat
been highly successful"
Mis- Hits seriousness did not alter. Appar
emily joke was not in the line of her compre
henslon.
"Thar wan none O. my men what ye might
call likely" she said, without disturbance from
the recollection Of her time-softened troubles
"They was pretty Urinary set, call EN-"
She pulled away in silent rumination.
your first husband, for examplei :" the
schoolmaster suggested.
"Wal, he want much-Ike Hayward want, y
the old woman responded. Her eyes were fixed
unseeingly on the blank stretch Of sodden land
iniscence. ~ singh onto sixteen when
married Ike, and Ike, he was somewhat round
twenty. hadn't been calculatin' to marry Ike
| Howard; want lookin to week aforehand.
| I'd had it fixed up with 'Rastus Carter for a
consid'able spell; we'd got the day sat and
| 'Rastus, he'd spoke to the preacher. don't
| know as recollect jest what spilled it; 'Rastus
he aared up at somethin' er mother; consdable
techy, 'Rastus was-sandy. topped, freckly
| folks mos gen'ally he. Wal, didn't git him.
said Mis- HIT, Frightening the bowl of her pipe
with puff or two. Sand Ike Hayward he
stepped in and we was fined"
"Lived with his folks, Ike did; dom know
as I shouda had no trouble with Ike Of 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, fussin'
and pesterin' and nosn' round. She'd come in
a ore breakfast and set watchin' me gettin' it,
and tellin'as how couldn't cook pork no more'n
cat,an' didn't know no more bout fryin' pan
cakes n did about fyin'; and as how l
want savIn', and my washins looked yeller,
and my softsoap want half billed: and she'd
90 round cryin' bout Ike gettin' sech a poor
shiftless piece. She was pesky ole creetur."
Mis- Hit spoke placidly. Her lopg ago
grievances had developed with years into i'm
personal facts.
"And Ike, he was jest as chcken-hearted as l
eyer see; he want no more count n a dish
rag. He didn't RELY know who to side with;
all ne figgered on was to get O the muss. He'd
take his fish pole and go off and stay all day;
oncet, when we'd ben havin' it pretty tough,
his ma and me, he staid off a week. Long and
spindlin' Ike was, and saler; alwus snortln'
round with a cold, and wheezin' up with asth-
my and ailin'; 'twan't no more'n was lookn'
fer when he started into cough stddy-thered
ben Heywards goin' off with consumption
sonce the beginnin' O. time. Ike, he didn' hang
on like some of 'em his Uncle Burrldge. now,
he was 30 year a-dyin'. Ike, he went off sud- |
den; but be went dretful hard. l never see no |
sech awful spells O. coughn' as he did have;
seems though he'd get ripped to pieces and
the way that creetur used to sweat nghts-wal,
the sheets ID be wringin' wet"
The schoolmaster listening with gratifying
interest, looked in vain for any softening of the
old woman's calmly narrative tone. The
tragedy of 80 years ago had become casual
memory, interesting only for its narrowing de-
tails.
"He was jest skin and bones when he died;
his arms want no bigger round n a broom
stick, and his cheeks was sunk in so it fairly
scarf We; he was dretful ookn' corpse"
Mis- Hit turned her eyes upon her listener in
peasurable anticipation of the effect of these
items.
'sHe was buried up in the old north buryin
ot-he was took up afterward an put in the
lew one-and went hum afin Twas power
ul glad to get shet O. ole Mis- Hayward, now
tell ye."
"Our most poignant sorrows have their allie.
rating features" the schoolmoster observed.
Mis- Hit pulled at her pipe. The chipping of
rogs filled the pause.
.You were induced to repeat the matrimonial {
experiment." said the Schoolmaster. "You {
married. again, infer =
81 was wilder for six months" Mis- Hit
esponded; "but could been married afore
hat eff I'd amin to. 'Rastur Carter, lie come {
ound soon as Ike was put in under. He'd t
craped up enough to get pace-pretty fore 7
handed 'Rasus was-and he was calculatin' |
o bug way up to the Corners, clus to the ole Y
annery. Wal, l told him eff he was goin to +
i've round that ar want, and all the powers t
oaldn't make me; the smell was fit to knock Q
g down, Jest about; and as to Twin with it
light under my nese--it made me sick as dog O
he idee ont 'Rastus, he was mad as hor- C
Jet: he went off ram pagn, and ,twant
week afore | heard he'd ben married Paulny 9
Yiswell. She was gettln' along Paullny was, g
nd she was terribly glad to get him. b
"Wal, [ didn't lay out TO wait fer ever to get y
mother man; but vow | was clean sot back
when Elihu Wilder come aidgin round. Ole
ach'ler, Elihu wos must a ben nigh onto w. g
led ben Twin by himself for long speIlover |
a the Holer; hadn't never seen HIM more n 81
meet or twicet. l deciar didn't know but n
,as gettin' loony and seem sperrits when ne r
ONE nippin' in. Want much higher than a v
ard stick, Elihu wa'n't-seemed to ben stunt Y
d. and be was so kind O. dried up, thar didn't Y
,ok to be nothin' to him. h
"Wal eff I'd a-knew wbat twas keepil S,
ouse for bac'ler / wouldn't never Undertook a
+ Fussiest narvousest little creature ever Y
,re within 40 miles of, Eihu Wilder was r,
ed lived thar by himself till he'd got as no ST
,nal as a witch; be want no ways USED to o,
,lks. and come to the PITT, be didn't RELY a
now how to stan it havn' me thar. guess Il
ed "a give considerable to git unhitched agln, a
nd wouldn't a held off nutEer. Q,
at was a sight to behold, that ar house o s
Ism. Thar hadn't been hammer teched to II "
once twas put up, and o. all the tarna! ole e.
olcs. The front steps was all rotted away. 70
har want huh winier in the house, and the h,
If o. the keepn' room leaked liz, sieve. ~
Thu. be wouldn't hear to xin' it up-tight as NJ
re bark OF tree, Eihu was. With all my 4
agein' be wouldHt do nothin' but put an old v
,whorse By the front door, place O steps and h,
oard up some o the winders. He'd ben "
ruug up sooner'n git shingles for that ruff.
sed to set tubs in thar when IL rained and
etch water Efor washin'; said twas handy.
Bout as close-fsted as l ever come acrost,
Thu Wilder was. And what with his ben SO re
otiona | don't know how stood him long as th
did. He was wuss'n any old woman | ever re
q. Had the fore-rocm all crammed full OF a %
ght O. ole truck he'd been scrapin' up and IA
win, the goodness knows what fer-dried n,
cribs and ole tin-pans and pieces o rope and a,
agon wheels and legs O. bedsteads; and he co
ouldn't hear to havu' 'em cleared out; a,
ouldn't have 'em teched. He was sot in his e.
avs as ever bein' was created-jest. Went I,
bed at O'Clock, year in and year out, and ~
1t up at 4 TO the tick, and haf-past of Sun
~; and all the saints couldn't made a min
e's odds. Eff thar was anybody thar when W
C clock pointed to s he never made no bones Sd
startn' 'em fer hum. Ell the heavens bad "a 81
II 'twouldnt a stirred him out o. his tracks. eS
I'd "a knew what twas Twin with bach'l- of
, | reckon I'd "A steered clear o Elihu w
'ilder. liz
"Wal," Mis- Hit pursued, with greater p