The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1893-02-17
JARED SPARKS DIVORCE
Ee Got Instead New Dress for
His Wife.

nciGnUor dau Apol man TO KNOW, II
he is little peculiar. He owns a com
Portable little farm and he and his wife,
Mehitable, have lived on it ever since
was born, for they are as Old as my
parents They never had any children,
and like all married people who are
SO unfortunate, they have got some
what soured and, sometimes, show a
lack of human sympathy that leads
them into finding fault with each
other. have great sympathy for
people who have no children to plan
for and worry about, for they get into
habit of being selfish and fault-find-
ing to n degree that makes them, as n
usual thing, not the pleasantest people
in the world to live with. So it hap
pened that Jared and Mehitable had an
occasional difference of opinion, and
as neither of them could turn to the
children for sympathy, they had a
fashion of telling their troubles TO the
neighbors. AS am the nearest one
they have, | am the recipient of good
many of their sorrows.
Jared is the most omuivoroas reader
ever knew. He exhausted my library
long ago, and my new books, whatever
they may treat of, are read by him
with avidity. Anything Jared sees in
print he takes to be the gospel truth,
or else an unmitigated falsehood. There
is no middle ground with him, and his
Judgment is his only criterion. With
him Robinson Crusoe is history, for, he
argues, mo man could tell lie and
have it sound so much like the truth, .
and DR.. Salmons Investigations of the
swine plague are tissue of fabrica.
tions, because, he says, 'they don't
stand to reason" A consular report
or the statistics of Ohio are just as
greedily read as the latest novel, and
anything in print Jared devours with a
patient and conscientious diligence
that is interesting. don't know why
he puts so much faith in my opinion
unless 1t is because he thinks anyone
who "has writ things that has been
printed into the papers" is infallible,
but the fact remains that he consults
me on every occasion, from the plant.
ing of potatoes to the proper way To
vote.
From this it will be seen that the
appearance of Jared at my house at
any time of the day was not a thing to
cause remark. / was out by the stable
feeding some chickens when he came
up and gave me greeting. knew as
soon as saw him that there was some.
| thing of an extraordinary nature on
! hand, but was careful not to betray
my knowledge, for Jared is inclined to
! be queer, and l never anticipate when
he is around, for usually the thing
expect is not the one he has in mind;
so merely said. "Good morning"
One evidence that something out of
the usual course of affairs had brought
Jared over to see me, was his appear
ance. He was dressed in his best suit
L think it was his wedding suit,
though never asked him about it, but
i know he never wears it except to &c
to meeting Jared is not church
member, but it has been the rule of his
| life to go to the quarterly meetings of
| the Methodist church in the neighbor-
hood, and have the elder home with
ices. If che elder comes he gives liber-
ally when the contribution is taken up;
if he goes with some one else, Jared
cuts down the appropriation. As the
best suit is only brought into use once
in three months, and is laid off before
anything else is done when he gets
home, it shows but little signs of wear
more than it did when, as a boy, won
dered if | should ever be able to appear
in as princely array as his. The silk
hat that goes with this suit has been in
style number of times since | can re-
member, and it is good for several
more cycles of the mutations of fash
ion. The long-slirted broadcloth coat
and pantaloons to match are still
black, but are beginning to get some
what shiny at the seams, and the
suuare-toed calf-skin boots are free
from patches, though they show the eff
fects of age.
Jared returned my greeting in a
rather constrained manner and fdgeted
around as if not knowing what to say
at is wonderful how chickens grow
when they git start, amt it?" he said
at last.
said it was, aud branched out to
give him chance to pull himself to-
gather, for | well knew he did not come
over to talk about chickens.
''Goin' to set out any Strawberries
this fall?' was his next remark.
mo, shall wait till next spring, as
find they do better, on my clay ground,
when started in the spring. Are you
going to set some?"
81 Dunno" h. answered, as if in
doubt. 81 had calkilated on settin' a
few down by the ditch where the
ground don't heave with the frost, but
the way things is goin' 1 don't know
who would tend 'em, an I guess I'll
give it up"
He was getting around to the sub
iect Cd hand now, and began to won
der if he was thinking of selling his
farm.
''Do you think Of going away?"
asked.
YES" he hesitated; 81 guess I'll 90
west"
If he had said he guessed" he would