Arizona republican., 1891-12-03

sympathize, fur she wus naturally a moral woman and a pious one, and she'd been driven to sin by tho meanness of her pardner. You see, she was one of | them women that lives fur their child. | ren. Eff she'd been pelican she'd hev | took all the feathers out of her buzzim | to make 'em beds. and she'd sackerticed | herself fur Melindy, She looked kinder | better when she got to church; but our minister he wus young and hadn't mar ried nobody before, and, bein narvous, | he commenced fur to read the burial | sarvice instead of the marriage sarvice, and we bein all stiff with horrer hadn't presence of mind enough fur to stop him until he'd actilly buried Melindy, as fur as words could go, and Mrs. Wiggins wus in high strikes.
 However, she got over 'em, and the minister he said he didn't know after all but it was providence to keep us from bein too sot on the things of this world, and reminded how short life was, and went back and married 'em proper. And so we did got back to Wiggins', only Mir. Wiggins hevin been too mean | to get the wagin mended, the wheel come off and they wus all split out and eenamost drownded goin over Slabside bridge that ain't got no railin. Mrs. Wiggins, poor dear, was soaked, and when we tux her into our wagin she kept sayin, Acknowledgements | judgments is comin" We knowed what she was thinkin of, and we tried to cheer her up.
 | Well, when the folks wus dried and dressed over we all went to supper, and we praised it up as much as we could, but Mrs. Wiggins sot down in her place like ghost, and folks began to talk and laugh and help everything But she didn't smile.
 She passed the chicken sallad plates to the help, and the help gave 'em to the folks, and we all tasted it, but i: didn't relish. Still we tried to eat it fur her sake. Most of us done it, too, and the coffee wus good, and We cheered up some. Mrs. Wiggins didn't eat no salad herself, so she didn't know how it tasted. After supper we all went into the parlor and sot around, and Si Barker wus tryin to git up dancin, and l did hope things would end happy, when all of suddin folks began to look pale and say they wus p'isoned. So they seemed to be. One arter the other wus took sick, and they all said the same thing--it wus the sallad felt very poorly myself, and so did my Obidiah. The minister had gone home sick, and there wus regular panic. There wus one doctor there and he sent fur another; and old Miss Pee bles said it wus like old cholera times.
 It wus awful, anyway; but jest as we wus at the wust, we ladies lyin about in the up stairs rooms expectin to die and feelin sure it wus arsenic, Mrs. Wiggins appeared amongst us.
 "Friends and feller sinners" she said,
 we air all on the pint of death, and
 here, before you all, l make confession.
 1 am thief and n robber, and l shall
 never be pardoned. It wus me that
 robbed ey husband, and, more than
 that, l stole the chickens to make the sallad-one of em from each of my good
 friends and neighbors. Judgments has
 fallenr'
 You wus driv to it, Mrs. Wiggins,
 sez l, "by your pardner's meanness. We all knowed it, and none of us blame you.
 "You don't know all, said Mrs. Wig
 gins. "More'n that: went to the store
 and tux my chances and stole bottle Of
 ile--the recipe said to make the sallad dressin with ile I'd never made none.
 stole the bottle. Ohl sha'n't never be
 forgiven-I sha'n't never be forgiven! I've tux a bottle of pison of some sort,
 fur it wus in the drug department where lies is kept, and I'm murderer" "Oh-hoT says the doctor. Bring me the bottle, Mrs Wiggins, and l guess I'll find out how to cure 'em."
 Mrs. Wiggins fetched it; doctor he
 tasted it.
 "This ain't p'ison, ladies" sez be "There ain no grat harm done; only, don't suppose the recipe mentioned cas- 2 tor oil for sallad dressing. 'Tisn't usual anyhow. Nobody is goin' to die thi' time, Mrs. Wiggins, unless it is you : yourself. You lie down and quiet your self"
 Poor Mrs. Wiggins, she dropped or her knees and prayed right there ful thankfulness, and we all jined in; ant ! as soon as folks knowed they hadn't tuk arsenic they all got better. Mrs 5 Wiggins' solemn and distracted looks l and her not eatin any, had made then 1. that worn't in the secret think that she't gone crazy and done it purpose. whicl scared 'em more.
 And they do say MT. Wiggins ain P quite so near as he used to be since b r saw what might come of drivin
 woman into corner for want of penny.
 o Still, we shan't forget Melindy Wig gins wedding in hurry-those of Il
 that went to it.-Mary Kyle Dallas il t Preside Companion