The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1889-10-15
THE vMoeRrAKeR's woo,Mo.

cepeea by 1--WE wtsiew~.
Prom the New York sum-
tains nestlrs the little village of Newton.
which ian che history Of the native plays a
suboriiuate and u~neventfnl part. but to
one with graphic instincts is rich in ro-
mantis traditions, ut which perhaps the
most quaint and unique In thu story Of the
sndersakcr's wooing - told ny Aunt Roxy
Bellinger. Sha always prs'faccs her mar
vativc with an account Of the u~ndertaker's
nrst wife. who was. as she say.. "a dre'd-
woman. Never was beforehand about
anything. Her washin' was never done
iii after every one else wns through. and
hang up her brown clo'cs when every one
else was -licked up and act DOWN to
done i'm time. and she WAS just as
apt tn leave her SOAP b'ilin' Til July ar
any other way. and then two to- One IT. y
to bile il. And she was such ~ discouraged.
sigh-away lookin' %critter; never had no
life nor ambition, tho don't know as
butter ~ carin' for corpses. and l had tn
have n layin'-ost hoard i'm my store room
Well. finally she died, and nobody ever
knew what were the matter with her. not
even the doctors. She just seemed tai he
glad Of IL; bat I don't know how they
Knew for the day OF the funeral he was so
worried for fear that everything wouldn't
his feelings. He'd buried every man..
woman, and child that had died there i'm I'D
year, and he didn't feel like trustin' the
buryin' ot his own wife to anyone else;
md when they cornc to show the re-
mains at tho funeral he just riz right up
Onss.r,wssi the lid of her coffin hisself for
fear t'woldn't ic all ight.,
'Of course. i'm IA little while he hogan to
look around for some one else. He tolu
me hc wanted to find some One to kind
e'help him with the shro,ids and the How
hand to handle "a corpse. so far as the lay
i'm out was concerned. b,t she hadnft mo
knack at maxim things look handsome
"But Il run along till revival time bc-
fore he really come right oit about II. Me
and h = daughter Li6dy Ann went 10
wing OF their house Their, To bc
for 'em, aud after meetin' had been he
gun awhile, i'm he walked. all sprticed up,
and will that kind OF "a fearful look in his
eyes that come OF crying 40 much ut fu-
nerals. He always cried when the MOURN
didn't sex,m Ia be enough effected he
cried cause hc thought somebody ortcr.
and il sort ~ made his eyes bleary all the
safer n,ectin' was out we missed him,
aud you never see u madden girl than
Lyddy Ann ,n. was S Tne, n~ ave Hns n~'n n;g Inn me-
pered, Lyddy Ann was, amy way, and then
she'd been disapIpointfd In love herself,
bos-in' her. and she wouldn't have il, SHE,
said; so she put her shawl over her head
and started out after him. saylin' she'd go
tn every old maid and widdcr woman
ther. was i'm the village hut what she'd
lind him. Sure enough she did find him
hSwn 10 lazy airS ".a h;s ss,., ~, H., s w
hearth, as tai home as you please. holdin'
"a skeiu % yarn for sally. She went right
hut she made. him put ON his coat and get
his lantern and come home with her. The
next mornin', as quick as l got my fire
1..s1 H.. .... IA viii IiA 1AAnf. i'm lla
hand and sot down to warm his feet. and
seq he: Aunt Rixy, II il my duty tn stand
this much longer? My home is regular
mp with it,
.Amd / told him I didn' think il was his
thing. hut that di.in't think neither
that he'd orter marry Sally, when she had
a good home of her own and was layin'
and to bring her there for Lyddy. Ann to
hetchsl and abuse. You sec Sally WAS
kind o, yieldin, and easy. and ! knew
l told him, jus, as would e hoy of my
was savin' and thrifty, and could turn off
the biggest days work of any one i'm the
neiRhborhood, and. a~ccordin' To what the
Ann would get the. upper hand Of her.
"'But ! don't believe she'll have me-
"''Tain't at all likely she will. il she
has to do the askin', ! told him, hut she's
gittin' along i'm years. and haas had quilts
and bssidin' and all sorts of hosscn stuff
all made mp and packed away i'm chests
for years aUin her wesldin', aud l think
'twon't do no harm tai ask her, Well. he
pIt on his boots AMI went off, and l didn't
say nothin' more to him for IA week. When
set my sponge aud turn i'm the emptiu's
don't keep pokin' il all the time to see il
it's riz. I let il work itself. and SD | let him
turn that idce over in his mind i'm peace.
In "a few days le had to go over that way
To bury SANDY Mcpherson. and though
twas "a dreadful dirty, drizzlin', thawy
day he hitchcd onto his best hearsc with
thc silver plunlcs all round the top, and he
raced all over town tryln' to- get gerauium
blows to put ina the little vases inside, and
when he couldn't git 'cm he took Lysidy
AIMS paper roses she had on the clock
shelf and put them in. Sandy was IA shift
less, no account Teller, and there wasn't
nothiu' left to pay his buryin' bill
with, and il made. me laugh To see that
best hearsc come out. but l didn't say
nothin'.
ale looked kind a-iown i'm the mouth
when he got home, and after he got the
chores done and the mud cleaned OFT the
hearsSa he come i'm and told me what luck
he'd had. IL seems after the funeral he
drove along there and hitched his hearse
out in 'front.', hut inst as he got to the pi-
azxa ther. was Widower Sttbbins with his
two twins a rappin' at the door and when
Mehitablc got "a glimpse at the mud ON
them twins feet, sh, jist ketched 'em up