The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1888-02-09
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What the Telephone Revealed to
Aunt Sophronia.


John King lived three miles ont Of the
town or Stanton, in the country He was a
bright young fellow. VINO owned a pro-
Guctive farm, with all the stock his acres
could feed, and pleasant old house; vet
he found it hard TO persuade pretty MarthG
Carter 20 marry him. She liked him; he
had Coayed that confession from her OWE
rosy lirs. but she vas young, gay. very
fond of society and the only child of 4
widow; il was the old lit,
az Gamma Leave my nanny YETI
and John King, VINO was ten IiHes as much
in love with her as she with him. was
weil-niEh distracted. As his Aunt Sophro-
mia, a maiden lady who kept house for him,
said:
HE amt good for nothin' l wish't he
was married an done whit, ard was
safe back to Elnathan's. He don't remem-
Der nothin'. l send in 10 Stanton by him for
such things as is ueed;ul 10 keep the house
agoiu', and he don't never fetch one of
them, without l set to and give him writ
out list and pin 1t onto his coat. nor he
don't care nCthin' about the critters; Hiram
has to do the hull ont; and to leave costiv
critters like them TO hired help amt what
Il man had ought 20 dc. Not but what Hi
is real reliable but John don't take no
intrest, not miteI'
1t was all true. John was good for no
sort OF work as long rs Mary Carter turned
the cold shoulder TO him; but after a year
OF persistent counting she began 10 show a
gentler countenancc To her devoted lover;
he began 20 hope.
About that time a telephone company set
up its Office at Stanton. ana sent its spider
threads all abroad over the surrounding
country; and it struck John Stanton that
here was another way TO make his home
attractive to Matty BY this invention he
could establish communication every hour
with the village, even ofteGer if it was
needed; so that she ccl not be so separated
from her mother as she had dreaded-Mrs.
Carter being wise enough to refuse home
with her sOu-in-iaw.
So John had q telephone put into the
i'keepR'- room" OF the farmhouse, and
told Matte the very next Sunday night
that whenever she made up her mind to ac-
cept him he would place one in her moth
ers parlor, so they could talk together
whenever they liked.
1t was not so much this expensive atten-
ton that softened the little beauty's heart
as the proof it gave o. Johns eagerness to
do every thing and any thing for her COM
fort or pleasure, and, as she was more amb-
tious and selfish than afectionate, she be-
gan TO feel that it was ayreea BILE TO be a
queen.
However,, this is not love story. Matty
is only introduced to account for the tele-
Phone Now. about two miles beyond John
King there lived a family of Millers, con-
sisting of two elderly men, Aaron and
ToSoDb AyiIlar an1 n woman a litt1a o11o,.
than either of them, as their housekeeper
These men were farmers, but they had
had thrown q dam across a wild brook that
crossed their farm just where it dashed
through a small, deep valley, and. obtain
ing good water power, had built grist
and saw mill, which brought them in moro
money than all the rest of the farm.
Miss Sophronia Perkins, John Kings
aunt, whom we have already mentioned.
hated these neighbors thoroughly; what
reason or unreason there was for this feel
ing on her part, nobody knew; but there
was enough in the outward aspect OF the
men to account for a rational measure of
dislike in any woman; they were tall, stur-
dy fellows, dark of skin, rough, surly and
dirty always; stingy with their money, I'M
social in their manners. and the woman
who worked for them had an unsavory
reputation.
The Miller farm, lying far back from the |
high-road behind black hemlock grove. |
ION plateau half way up certain rugged !
hills, was the sort OF a place novelist !
would select for robbery or a murder, so
adapted was the miS6 "a scene 10 suggest |
such ideas, and so fit was the aspect of the
two Millers 10 their place OF abode.
But there are many Just such men and
inst such deSOiate far:n-houses in New
England. and no crime worse than greed
and seifishuesS enters their hearts or
homes.
The Miller brothers were proverbiallv
''noar;" but no one except Sophronia Per |
kins ever imagined anv harm of them. |
They were 'curus actin creturs,m or
smart at sixpences;' nothing worse was
laid TO their charge.
When Aaron Miller heard that John |
King had put in n telephone, he saw ii. |
rectiy the advantage the instrument would |
zoe to them IN their daily increasing bust |
ness, and after due consideration with Joe |
the wire was extended 10 their mill. and |
proved daily convenience; for they had |
-four and feed store in Stanton which |
Joseph attended 20, going in early every |
morning and driving back at night. Now |
he could send out orders to Aaron as soon
IS they came in, notify him Of the arrival |
at the station Of grain for their grinding, |
or transact directly any matter of bust |
ness heretofore necessarily DELAYED till he |
reached the farm at evening.
After the telephone was put in ct John |
Kings, Miss Sophronia found it a great |
solace to her loneliness, nightly enioying |
the few moments of daily gossip with her |
friends in the village who happened to be |
possessed of an instrument. In fact, it |
was to her like a new toy to solitary /
child, and when the line was extended to |
Millers' Mills, and she learned their call, |
she used her listener for the unworthy |
purpose Of listening to her neighbors' az |
fairs.
own that this was neither an honest |
NOR an honorable proceeding on Sophro- |
MAS part. do not mean TO apologize for |
IL but as tae papers say, there were Tex |