Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-03-14
A YANKEE LOVE STORY.


from the meetin'- house, an hsvin' no
clocks you can depend on! Week days it
don't matter so much; I can kinder keep
strait by the fact'ry whistler. Well, it'll
give US a chance ter step inter the
graveyard. Agood many O. the monny-
ments have been PIT up sence you was
here. They're mosely alike, all 'cept old
Cap'n Broadus's--he was bound ter have
something different. He picked his'n out
nisself an had it put up fore he died ter
make sure there wasn't no mistake bout
it. That's his'n over there-a female
fgger holdin' urn. Some folks would
have it twas a goblet, an said considerin'
he'd KEEP, somebody a-standin' round with
a glass ready for him eli his life, he
might "a dispensed with it when he come
ter be dead; but he was dreadful pecu-
liar mai, an he didn't have many friends.
Didn't you ever hear.how he starved his
darter? Law, DOW we've got time 'nough,
We'll jest set down on this bench, in the
shade, an I'll tell ye bout it, while we're
waitin'; the fust bell amt but jest rung.
"How pretty them moss pinks look,
CROWN over there on ra Pratt's
grave! Will Rogers planted 'em there. He
was keepin' cOmp'ny with her when she
died. Folks said he was most distracted;
but land! men git over such things! he's
goin'ter marry Fanny Scott next week. He
bought the Dunn farm an they're goin'
to set up-Here. But / was tellin' you
bout Cap'n Broadus.
He was a great, rough, red faced,
black-bearded man, with voice like
clap O. thunder. He was cap'n O. one @
the big steamships runnin' out o. New
York, an he'd bin in the Chiny trade, an
don't know what not. He'd bin all over
the world, but wherever he we1t he bore
the same character-a dreadful rough
man an dreadful profane. I shouldn't
think twas right ter tell sica a story on
the Sabbath eff there want SIGH a lesson
to be larped by it.
"'Twas Gurus ter see the cap'n an his
darter tygether. You'd never at thought
they was related; but she took after her
mother, who died when she Was born.
"Well, you'd s'pose, pretty as Alice was
an rich as the cap'n was kno we'd ter be,
there'd be no end O. fellers hangin' round
her, like bees round honeysuckle; but
the truth ont was, they was all so scarf
% the cap'n, an Alice herself was so
took up tryin' ter please him, an keep
him from gettin' mad at folks while he
was home, an when he was gone a tryin'
to get braced up an ready for his next
visit, that she didn't have no time ter
think o. nothin' else. Eff you never see
the cap'D, you can't have no idee the sort
O. man he was. He'd STAN an swear till
he was black in the face when anything
put him out.
"But the young men got the idee that
Alice was stuck up, an felt herself
Dove 'em, count c her money an eddi-
cation; for the cap'n said he'd 'compl1sh
her an he did-she played on the pianner
beautiful. But they didn't like it cause
she never noticed 'em-'stead o. bein'
thankful as they orter bin. She had
queer, slow way o. liftin' her eyelids, as
Of her long, black lashes was so heavy
she couldn't hardly get 'em nigh 'nou6h
ter see from under; but when she did get
'em up-well she RELY did have the
sweetest eyes L ever see in a girls face,
an they had such inherent, appealin'
look. ] s'pose she got tryin' ter pacify
the cap'n. But she never needed to try
it twice on nobody. as one young Teller
found it out to his cost; but '0was ali the
cap'n's fault it happened.
"He was home one Sabbath, uglier'n
usual, swearin' at everybody an every
thing, high an low, an he kept it up
all the mornin' till he was fairly in meetin'
he alters went to meetin regular as
could be.
swell, he sot there in his pew, his
eyes rangin' round, spyin' out sunthin'
ter find fault with, when all at once they
lighted on Stan Purdey-Sq uire Purdey's
son, you know. He'd been off studyin'
ter be a doctor, an had jest come home
for little vacation fore he begun ter
practice. He was a good lookin' young
Teller.
"Well, ne was settin there Iookin' too
an it jest shows how folks git into
trouble when they spend their time star
in round stead O. payin' 'tention ter the
minister.
"But Stan, he'd bin lookin' at the cap'n
an thinkiu' what curious old critter he
was, an how his darter didu't look much
like him, an then, as was nat'ral, he
looked at Alice, an his eyes hadn't fair
ly lighted on her when the cap'n turned
an caught him. 1t seemed ez eff that
was what the old feller'd been Taitin' for.
He riz right up in his seat, his eyes roll
ing in his head, an he took Alice by the
arm, en- he marched right down the aisle
out G meetin', an as he passed the
Purdy's pew he glared SO Stan thought
he was goin' ter have fit, an didn't
know but twas his dooty to foller an
tend ter him; but twas Jest as well he
didn't.
"fhe cap'n made straight for home,
usin' most awful language. He said he
knowed now why Alice was alus so anx-
ious to go ter meetin'. An 'twa'n't no
use for her to tell him what was the
livin' truth-that she didn't know Stan
Purdy from Tom Nokes, and hadn't
never sot eyes on him. He wouldn't
b1ieve her.
"He had ter GO ter the city that night,
lucky for her, for she was clear worn out;
but ye couldn't blame her that next Sab |
bath she did look over ter the Purdy's |
pew, ter see who twas the oap'n made |
such fuss bout; an Stan, rememberin'
how the cap'n had acted the week afore,
looked Gross at her jest as she looked at
him.
swell, I'm too old a woman ter go
into ali the particulars O. that part of the |
story. Young folks will be young folks |
to the end O. time; an We all know how |
twas with ourselves. But eff Alice had |
had hard time afore, she had wus one
now; twas bad enough Ter have hot an /
hasty old father, but when you come ter
have hot an hasty young lover ez well,
things git complicated.
"Stan want 'fraid of the cap'n; he /
didn't care cent for his temper an his |
talk, an he loved Alice for all he was
worth. He couldn't see no reasoa why
she should be sacrificed ter the cap'n's
vhims. There Want the fust thing
bout him for nobody ter objet ter in a
he was stiddy an he had good