The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-11-05
HOW QUARRELS BEGIN

reg lar OuJ al OuI pdFGeu me
an Mandy. That were more'n ten
years ago, though, when we wuzn't so
settled in the head as we air now, and
there weren't non o. these chatterin'
little heart-hOlders to bind u5 together.
IT wus the second year of our mar
riage, an I've sometimes thought
sencs that there must a'ben somethin' ,
in the air that season, q kinder
epidemic O. partin', an we ketched it.
Why, L mind mOre'n u dozen SIGH
partin's down at the Forks bout that
time. There was jim PEBBLES left his
wife and went clare out to Californy,
up before they'd been married six
months, an there was lots of others
that L don't think of jest now. Well,
everybody was talkin' bout these
things an our minds. like the rest,
wuz just plumb full of 'em, tell it
got SO every time we'd have q little
spat-ez man an wife often will, you
know-we'd just more'n threaten each
other with leavin.' Well, don't you
know things like hat grows on you
they did ON us, an after while we wuz
both jest lOokin' aroun' to find some
thin TO be erritated by, an that's the
easiest thing to find in the world. But
o. course, man like, | had to make q
fool " myself first. Seems like I've
jest got a 6nack fur dOin' that sort o.
thing.
You see, when | married Mandy. /
kerried her OIL from Il lot o. other
fellers that jest wanted her bout eZ
bad ez [ did; fur she wuz counted
nachully the handsomest girl that ever
set foot in the Forks. Now the Teller
that give me the very hardest chase
for Mandy weren't nobody but my own
chum, Bill Meeks-you've heerd toll
of Bill Meeks, | know: everybody bout
here knows him. Well, Bill an inc
wuz great pardners, an we must a
ben right smart similar, for it 'ueared
like Mandy couldn't mo ways choose
between us. Purt' near fallin' out
about it, too, Bill m me, but we didn't.
Finally Mandy she got her mind made
up. an when | popped the third er
fourth time, l reckon, she said, "Well,
Bills nice an you're nice, but you're
the n [ love, john"
SO we wus married an vent to house
keepin,' an Bill. cause we wuz pard-
ners, an he'd alters laid around where
| wuz anyhow, wnz alters at our house.
| liked him, an Mandy liked him, an
| thought nothin' of it, tell this
here partin' bee got into my bonnet.
Then l jest got mortally certain that
Bill we're maxim eyes at my wife an
she at him, an the Devil got into me.
When Bill nd come I'd git up an go
out. Now you know of I'd ben really
jealous wouldn't "a done that, bat I
jest tried to persuade myself that [
wuz deceived in Mandy till got TO
b~elievin' it fur sure.
But Bill, good, ole, easy. blind Bill,
he never seed nothin', an lest ken on
a-comin'. / know Mandy had TO stan
lots them days, fur | wuz constantly
sDappin' at her an a-throwin' up Bill
in her face. An | ust to tell her that
If she wanted Bill Meeks she ought to
married him IN the first place. [
reckon | plumb aggravated that woman
ontell h got TO sayin' that she'd do
like Kitty Carter lone by her man, an
then [ said | guessed I'd foller Jim
PEBBLES example. AN so things went
on, us a-fussin' az a spattin' like two
fools, tell | put the capsheaf ON by
orderin' Mandy to furbid Bill to the
house. L didn't have backbone enough
to do it myself. An she said she
wouldn't; he didn't come there to see
her, he was u friend o. mine, an alters
had ben.
He amt no friend o. mine" saws
|. He's u interloper an a deceivern,
He is your friend" she cried,
y and he's been good an gentle an at
tentive just the same Ell a brother, an
If you had any sense you'd know that
IL"
She broke down an went to erwin,
an that made me madder'n ever. fur
| thought she wus cryin' on Bill's ac-
count.
so L says Jest eZ stern eZ | could
Well, eff you're a Twin in my house
ar a-eatin' off o. my table and think
more o Bill'n you DO o. me [ reckon
it's time fur us to quit. Yo' kin go to
your folks an Ill go to mine an Pm
sorry ever left 'em fur YOU"
feel like kickin' myself fur q brute
every time | think about them words
o mine.
more spunk'n q Ohio volunteer. She
jest got up quiet like an vent To
packin' some Things to take along with
Ter. | couldn't set there an watch
her, fur scmethin' KEEP comm up in
my throat that 1T hurt me to swaller
down, so | won't out an put up the
chickens.
When | come back she was goin' out
the front doc and she took the kew
jest like she allus did ez if she were
comm back again. She looked back
at me a longin', lingerin'. lovin' look,
with her eyes full o tears-a look that
| never shell furgit-a' then with the
little bundle under her arm went on
down the street. An went an fell
down by the little hair trunk that ust
to be hers an kissed it an kissed il am
pulled my hair an cursed the day that
| saw her, fur wuZ still a-foolin'
myself a.tryin' to think that | wuz
wrODged.
shut up the house and went home
to my fathers. They asked me to sup
per, but | couldn't sat no upper that
night. / told 'em all about it, but not
a word did they say ag'in Mandy. an
| bless 'em to-day fur it.
Father wuz gruff an he said | II q
a fool but mother, bless her, she
knowed how to tech a Teller, an she
wiped her dear old eyes, an said
We'll John, you'll never git a%nother'n
like Mandy"
Well, you know that jest made me
worse, an | went to bed-well, you
needn't be sittin' there GRIMM like q
blamed idjit, cause the smokes bowed
into my yes an makes EN- water now
[ did. | went to bed an cried
myself to sleep like q child.
When / got up next mornin' | told
father that I'd help him with the
chores, but, bless my soul, | couldn't
q thing fur %runnin' down into the
yard an leanin' on the fence,
lookin' over the roofs towards Mandy's
house.
After M trip down there, Jest en-
was comm back to the house, [ seen
huggin' mother In the kitchen,
an then he stepped out an hollored
Of L couldn't do no better'n [ wuz I'd