Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1895-10-24
What She Learned.

lue lduAe udu OSSu oSS WIN "a HN-N'
care. There was a vase of roses near
Mr.. Hardware's plate and Mrs. Hard
ware, dressed in her best bib and tuck
er, looked remarkably comely as she
sat at the foot of the table and beamed
fondly on her liege lord.
"Oh, Joseph, J." she bubbled out in
her irrepressible manner, 81 have seen
and heard some of the most wondrous
things this afternoon. l declare, 1t
was truly marvellous"
Mr.. Hardware looked at his radiant
spouse and saw that something gilmore
than ordinary Importance must have
happened to work her up to such a
high pitch of enthusiasm.
What did You do?' he asked,
thinking it policy to humOr her by ex-
hibiting a slight degree of interest in
the events of the day.
Il had my fortune told, she re-
turned, triumphantly, "and l tell You
it was the greatest piece Ofsplrltuallsm
or mind reading, or whatever else you
choose to call it, that ever heard of.
| have been to any number of clair
voyants in my time but | never yet
saw this woman's equal Mrs. Wood
has consulted her often and referred
me to her. There no taking business
about her establishment. She just
tells you everything off hand, without
trying to pump any information out OF
her subjects in round about way, as
so many of her class do.
Mrs. Hardware paused long enough
to draw few good-sized breaths and
Mr. Hardware smiled.
What did you learn?" said he,
anxious to bring her to the core of the
subject at once.
ooh, everything. She told me that
my father and mother are dead that
my name is Maria Hardware and your
name is Joseph; that | am 43 years old
and you are AZ; that | have two chill
dren married and living far away
that you have always been successful
in business, and that you will be still
more so in the next six months. She
also said that my domestic relations
nave always been very happy, except
for a little tiff now and then that never
amounts to much.
She darted a side glance at her hus-
band at the conclusion of the latter
clause, but that gentleman, seeming to
be totally Indifferent to its significance,
she proceeded:
"She says that all my relatives that
are dead are very happy that | have
always enjoyed good health and am
fairly content. She even told me the
names of my parents and of our little
boy that died and what their ages
were. She described you to dot, not
even omitting that little lock Of gray
hair that will persist in hanging over
your left ear. She gets all her infor-
nation from the spirit of some depart
ed Indian chief. I'll positively never
ridicule people Of her profession again,
for they surely must derive knowledge
from some unknown, omniscient source,
since how could that woman have told
me things that no stranger could have
OWNED in any ordinary way? I've
merely given you an outline Of the
range of her wonderful power. Why,
she related the details Of incidents
that no one knew anything about eT-
cept myself and two or three others
and that had well nigh forgotten my
self. You must admit that it is some
thing remarkable.
Mr.. Hardware coughed.
Yes, yes, " he replied weakly. But
is that all she said ?"
Mrs. Hardware looked aghast.
"All?" she repeated, "All? What
else could you expect? She told me
everything there is to tell. No one
could DO more"
"How much did you pay her ?"
"Only 81. Wasn't that cheap !?
There isn't another woman in town
who would tell you as much solid truth
for that amount"
Mr.. Hardware twirled his spoon
thougbtfully.
Maria" he said, with deliberatioD,
"has il occurred to you that you have
learned nothing new today? Didn't
you know all those things before you
went? Now, tell me what you really
n oft