Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-12-30
AFTER MANY YEARS.

Jane Eliza, said Jeremiah to me a-going
| home from the horticultural show, where,
| though l say it that shouldn't, our Bald
wins and our Golden Majesty punkins
showed out superior to all others and
| fetched a priZe-'Jane Eliza, it is time you
| spoke up and told the facts in the case
misrepresentation should not be permitted
! by perfessers''
Jeremiah, my dear, " says /, your words
express the thoughts that air in my mind.
I'll up and do it,"
| We warn't a-speaking of the Baldwins nor
| the Golden Majesties, as you may suppose
| 1t was the case between Tobias Starch and
Rosy Wood that was in our minds. How
it may be in New York do not pertend to
know. L should suppose folkses' minds
was too well occipied in them haunts of vice
and terror with savin themselves from
beln run over or electroated to death by
| busted light wires or bein smashed by new
houses comm down onto 'em as they walked
unconscious by-which is accordin to the
papers, the reg lar thing thereon account
OF builders trying to save in mortar, or
being pickpocketed or sandbagged in the
streets, or murdered by burglars into their
beds, to care enough about scandal to salt
1T up twenty years and then fetch it out
i
do it anyway. but they do in villages like
Soapstone, where everything goes Gu reg
ular and even for the most part, and the
majority lives till eighty and dies because
they air tired of hevin to get up and put
on their shoes and stockings only to take
'em off again at 9 o'clock and lay down.
Twenty years ago it happened" says ]
to Jeremiah. ut warn't sensible of Rosy
but she was a gal then, and it was New
Years time"
Now that again may not be understand
| able by city folkses, but in Soapstone New
Years day is the day for doin all sorts of
queer things; playin all sorts of tricks-a
kind of April FOOLS Day comm on the fust
| of January. And anybody that is tricked
at that time is bound to be forgiving, and
it didn't seem to me to be fair for old Mrs
Perket and Maria Beckworth and Miss
Maberly, all of 'em to speak to strangers of
Rosy Wood as ''the person that proposed
to the Rev. Tobias Starch in her younger
days and was rejected" Rosy hadn't ever
married, and spinsterhood of thirty-seven
feels such ISLANDERS kinder heavy. An old
lady could laugh it off, but when person
amt neither young or old it's harder for
'em to bear Mrs. Wood had said she
couldn't stand to see Rosy SO cut up, and
and proved 'em, and proved 'em before all
Soapstone, too, in a kind of public way.
at had ought" said jeremiah, ito be
writ down and read as a paper. Jane
Eliza, you air talented and hev the pen of
q ready writer then why not give it in a
literary form?"
Jeremiah" says ], Il will; you inspire
me. will write it, and l will read it at
the minister's donation party eff l am
spared. Only, Jeremiah, you must 90 to
the store and fetch hum bottle of ink, six
pens and quire of paper"
l said this in such a solemn manner that
jeremiah replied
Amen" quite unconscious, instead of
sayin Il WILL" as he orter.
Bright and early he got the literary fix
ms, includin a wafer, for we had re
marked that legal afferdavids always had
waters onto 'en, likewise postage stamps,
and day and night sat before the succer-
tary into the best parIor while things
went to rack and ruin. The turkeys ran
away, Jeremiah's stockings got holes into
'em, and Jeremiah's buttons came off and
were not sewed on ag'in. | began my la
bors in the latter end of October Novem-
Der passed, December came in and still |
writ, fur what with wishing fur to have a
and remarks of my own to add, and poetry
to quote, and getting it copied off neat,
and hevin to refer to Websters Una
bridged continual, the work was slow,
and every few days jeremiah had to buy
me another quire OF paper and more ink
However, it was finished at last, and the
appropriate time for readin 1.-THE New
Years eve donationparty-ha cen almost
arrove when put my MS into Jeremiah's
hands and said:
Jeremiah, my work air accomplished
return to my proper spear, and never will
| leave it again, for yritin one konsize
statement is more labor than housecleanin
kept up remitless fur a year. Eff this had
not been my duty as perfesser l should
hev fallen by the way. Read it loud, so
that shell know how it sounds before l
read it myself" | says, sinkin into the
largest rockin chair and foldin my weary
hands.
jeremiah took the passed. and reviewed
it with a kinder sublime expression onto
his countenance.
'Jane Eliza" says he, when view this
here noble work feel proud Of you. Your
thoughts and feelin's must hev poured
from your brain like it was fountain
But, Jane Eliza, l hev read papers before
the public and you hev not Ten minutes
is considered considerbul time for a paper
and fifteen is the limit of patience, unless
it air lecture with tickets paid for and
people anxious for the worth of their
money, when circumstances alters cases
This noble work. eff you was to begin to
read it at the donation party at about
O'Clock, would take you until that evenin
next week, allowin time fur meals 1t
would be profitable fur them to hear it
there amt no doubts. But do you think
the mass of the population of Soapstone is
capable of rivetlng their attention on any
thing fur that there length of timer"
Jeremiah's words was uttered with a
solemnitude that proved they were true
l looked at him SPECIFICS minute, and
says 1:
Land sakes alive! I see it ALL Ny
mental powers has got ahead of my con-
mon sense. What be to do?"
SEE he:
Before I speak you'll hev thought it
out, Jane Eliza. Reduce it to fax. Read
them to the donation party, and publish
the rest ont in the shape of a book here
after"
'.Pardner of my lifep' sez I. "a woman
that has no husband to ask advise of is
poor, forlorn critter. will expungh the
ideas and confine myself to the fax, and
read them to the meetin.'
But jeremiah saved me the toll of this
ruther mental labor by gettin copybook
and expunghing the facts into that in his
best handwritin, while / washed up some