The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1895-10-26
sunday came, SO did Jim Kitchens.

ueW, Dut MISS 6lnES was too quick 1Or
him and lodged behind the curtain.
Once the idea Of going boldly up to
the siGor ana mailing Inquiries presented
itself 10 him. but he idea being alto
gether too ventUresome, and entirely
without parallel III the annals Of his
courtsllip. was abandoned as soon as
formed.
Then TIN church clock struck the
quarter before i. and with y st@rt Mr..
Kitchens realized that his 'Mciil was
not forthcoming that day.
Mr. Kitchens was fia~5bcrrastcd. As
Eo slowly tCrned and left the gate it
was TO him almost as though the uni
verse were turned upside down.
Mr.. Kitchens rubbed his left whisEer
against tie grain and opiEed that this
were IL aaeer %startr' So she meant to
/ give him q 20 by after AL these years,
did she: And all becauso-at least, he
s'pased that must be 1.-THE wasn't alto
setler prepared crush off and get mar
ried i'll about a couple of years time!
On the whole, lie wasE't sure that he
hadn,t had q lucky escape. Such a dis
play OF temper as he had just been
treated to seemed to indicate plainly
tia sc was not the sort Of young wom-
an ID have made him comfortable. A
party rs would turn nasty over such a
little thing as that wasn't the right
party for him.
All the same, as he passed absentiy
along, ho was conscious that the pros
pect OF commencing another lengthy
courtship at this time Of life seemed a
very uphill and doubtful sort Of one.
AS to the lady herself, 10 sooner did
she realize that she had actually sent
Jim Kitchens to the right about than
she sat down and had u good cry and
forgot all about putting the kettle On.
There was, as may be imagined, con
siderable comment i'll the town when it
became generally known that the court
ship Of jim Kitchens and Miss links
had come to an unexpected and untiIae-
~ termination.
In fact, it was such a universal topic
and source of comment and interest
that wherever two OF three, particularly
OF the gentler sex, were gathered to-
gether, they were sure to be engaged in
discussing the latest authorized version
Of the AFFAIR.
Gradually, from the time that Miss
BlnEs had refused to put Oh her bonnet
for his benefit, Jim Kitchens appetite
steadily declined, SO that his Sunday
clothes, when he had sufficient strength
OF mind to don them, hung on him in
bigger creases than before, his tendency
to k~nocEAnees increased, and he became
more drab colored than ever.
Spring passed, summer came, autumn
went and winter was at hand. when one
day things went round that Jim Hitch
ems, who hadfor a month or two past been
troubled with q little hacking cough,
had taken to his bed.
'Melia, my gal," said her father
about a fortnight later, eve Jest been
'earin as iow the doctors got but small
'opcs O. jim 'I1chens, and-Lor, 'Melia!'
Miss Binks had uttered a sharp, III
voluntary cry. But it was nothing, she
assured her parent, only 4 pin that she
had stuck IN Q little too deep.
The same afternoon, however, she
effectually ruined the kettles constitu-
ton for life by putting it on to boil
empty.
The next m~orning--it was SUNDAY
she received amessage. She had packed
her old father off to chapel as usual,
and was giving as much Of her attention
as was available to the dinner when it
arrived.
1t was to the effect 'as Mr.. Itcllens
presented he's compliments to Miss
Binks and would be 'appy to see Ter if
she would be SO good as to step up that
AFTERNOON bout 3 O'Clock or ha' past.n
Jim Kitchens lived in a little drab
colored corner house, about half way
down High street. Since his illness a
married sister had come over from one
OF the neighboring villages to look after
him, else he had always lived alone,
with q wonan to come i'll now and then
ito do fer him"
He was SO weak and such a ghost Of
his former self that Miss Binks' feelings
became too much for her, and she, 50 70
speak, boiled over at the sight of him,
just Ike the kettle.
"Oh. JIM" she cried. casting Ell
quette to the winds, och, jim, INV
dear, whatever ave you been a-doin Of
to yourself?"
"Nothin, Miss Binks, nothin To
speak OF" was the feeble reply.
Then, as she sat down by the side Of
the bed and listened to his labored
breathing, her heart smote her more and
moro for her faithlcssness and cruelty
III the past, until the tears ran even
down her bonnet strings, rusting all
the n1nS thax, opcoy,pforaI ,cJ %,l,,. eLo