Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-04-29
Aut1prnus 9epartment.
QUEER MISS HATCH.

"Talking of queer folks" said white.
haired MIR. Davis, as he sat with two
old cronies on the porch of the village
store. "reminds me of old Miss Hatch
guess she was about as queer as any
of 'em. Seems 8 though she didn't
have common sense, nor uncommon
either, for that matter. 1 amt eddi.
Gated nor nothing, and she was, pretty
consid able; but I guess l know 'nough
not to make myself ridiculous, which
was more'n she did,. I see her often
traipsing down the street with her bon
net a-bobbin', and her head a-goin
backards with every step she took
She was kind of timber in the neck
anyhow, and used to make me think o.
one of them circus camels a-goin' down
to water. And I don't want to see
/foolisher-lookin' woman than she was
them times.
"You recollect the Hatches, don't
We? Useter live down there in the hol
low. Useter be the bigbugs of the vii
Iage in the old days, and had the only
frame house there was. Marcus D.
Lafayette stopped to their place when
he come up to these parts, as I've
hearn tell.
"Well, the Hatches, they kind oi
died out till there want none on 'em
left but old Miss Hatch. She and the
old house lived along together, so to
speak.
"Well, Miss Hatch was terrible
'fraid of getting her feet wet. Nobody
ever saw her without rubbers on, never
She wore 'em, rain or shine, ~ddn'1
make no difference. And she wore
'em in the house, too.
"You might imagine her sloppin' 9
leetle water now and then onto the
kitchen aoor Oh moppin' or suthin' once
in q while, to kind of justify her wear
in on 'em about her work but it was
pretty hard to see any sufficient reason
for her wearin' on 'em in the setting
room, where there was a carpet, and
everything as dry as man in hayln
time.
"Well, mother and me kind OF
thought then that Miss Hatch wasjust
a leetle overkeerful, and said as much
to one or two, though We amt the kind
of folks that always 6ndin' fault with
the neighbors. But we didn't have no
idee just how fur Miss Hatch was a
carryin' on her notion.
"After spell she took sick, and
mother, she went over to nuss her:
After she'd sit there spell, she reached
under Miss Hatch to kind of ease her
up in the bed bit. Mother says she
never was so took back in all her
borned days.
"tGood land of Goshen = said she,
what We got them things on for?
aye see, she'd diskivered that Miss
Hatch was a-wearin' them rubbers OF
hern in bed.
"'Wal, ye see,' said Miss Hatch kind
of feeble, L didn't useter. But now the
selectmen have gone and bought that
new tangled frepump, ye never kin
tell where they won't squirt water, II
the house caught fire or anything.
And if it should ketch, and they should
wet the floors, I'd be sure to ketch my
death with pneumony, delicate as De-
ifI didn't have my rubbers. And it
did't have 'em on my feet handy, 'tain'
like could find 'em soon enough, in
the dark SO. 1 guess you'd better lei
'em stay right where they be.
"And mother, she couldn't persuade
her to let them rubbers be took off.
dunno but she left it in her will to bury
her in 'em, for fear it migh bit rain
on the last day. Seems g though
remember codicil, or something tc
that effect"