The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1893-07-19
SETTLED OUT OF COURT.
Divorce Case in the Mountain Districts
of the State of Kentucky.

A divorce case is a rarity in the
courts of the mountain districts of
Kentucky, yet sometimes among these
persons living near the country towns,
where lawyers congregate, such legal
proceeding occurs. Mr.. and Mrs.
Harvey LOCKER were of this class, says
the Detroit Free Press. They lived
near a country town and had lived
there for twenty years very comfort
ably and had accumulated some prop
erty. A difference arose between
them, however, and they agreed to a
division of the property and divorce.
Harvey let his wife have the house
they had always lived in and on that
half of the farm it was agreed should
be his he built log cabin for himself
and transferred to it his share of the
household effects. Each one secured
lawyer to attend to the legal part of
the affair and then they waited for
developments.
For the first month Harvey did very
nicely in his new home and was ap-
parently quite well satisfied. The
second month he was lonesome and
every evening he could be seen sitting
in front of his cabin gazing longingly
toward the much better house in which
his wife lived. If she appeared at any
time about her house, however, Har-
vey lodged out of sight and tried to
make himself believe that Mandy was
a woman any man ought to be glad he
had got rid of. He held frequent con-
sultations with his lawyer, after each
of which he felt better, but as the
rough winter days came on and he
could not get into town SO often and
the long winter evenings shut him in
by his tireside Harvey felt sometimes
that perhaps Mandy wasn't quite as
hard to get along with as some other
things he knew of. One day he went
to town for consultation, because he
couldn't stand it any longer. and when
he returned later in the afternoon he
looked as if he had been through a
thrashing machine, but there was
satisfied atmosphere about him which
had not been there in the morning,
After he had smoothed himself out
little at his cabin he started off to his
wife's house. 1t was growing dark
rapidly and Mandy's light streamed
from the window that led Harvey from
the gate to the house. He knocked
nervously at the door-the door that
he had opened SO many times as his
own.
"Who's thar?" called Mandy from
within.
"It's me-" responded Harvey with
nervous jerk to his voice that frighten-
ed him.
"Who's me?"
"Don't you know me. Man-Mrs.
TOOEprP Ttie Horyou
"Oh," he could hear her say, as she
unfastened the door, but he could not
find much welcome in it.
"It's you,is itP" she continued sharp
ly, as she stood in the doorway with a
candle in her hand.
"Yes, Mandy, it's me-" he confessed
come beyond the sill.
"Well, what do you want? thought
you lived down thar by the road. You
haven't made mistake in the house,
have you?"
"No, Mandy, 1 hain't. come up tc
see you about our divorce"
Il thought the lawyers was tendin'
to that.
"Your'n is, Mandy guess. he said,
rather vaguely.
"Ain't your'n tooP" she asked, mani
testing an interest that gave him some
hope,
Mandy" he went on hurriedly, II had
talk with him recently, am in the
course Nv his remarks he said some
things about you that I wuzn't goin'
to stand a minute from nobody, so I
throwed my coat and gave him such
whalin' right thar in his office that he
amt agoin' to be able to tend to no.
body's business for month, much less
mine, SO l thought I'd better come up
here an see you about it."
She made no reply for several
seconds, but there was something in
her face that had not been there since
Harvey went away.
"Been to support" she asked abrupt
ly.
mo, Mandy" replied Harvey, with
shiver, for it was cold at the door.
"Then come in and we kin talk it
over while we're eatin'," and as Har-
vey sat in the bright light and caught
the fragrance of the coffee and the ham
and saw the white, feecy biscuits that
Mandy set before him, touching him
now and then as she moved about, he
thought of his cold, cherries, COM
FORTRESS cabin and great lump came
into his throat and as Mandy sat down
at the head of the table he looked up
at her almost timidly.
"Drat the divorce" she said, i'm
petuously.
"Amen!" exclaimed Harvey. and he
didn't go back to his cabin that night
or ever again except to bring home
what was there of his and Mandy's.