The Press., 1896-02-27
HEARD ON THE CARS.
By Mrs. E. v. WILSON.
[oopxrieht, lsas. bx the Author. l

lCOPyE1B4eS AcO1i Uy OA0 AuouOE.I
 It was very tiresome riding on the cars all day, with the same monotonous stretch of prairie to be seen from the window so Lam sure it was pardonable in me to listen to the conversation of my fellow passengers.
 Just in front of me (their bundles on a seat before them) sat two elderly women, old friends, it seemed, who had chanced to meet ill their journeying, and it was sentence or two of their talk that caught my attention, and pres ently I became so interested that no longer felt my weariness.
 "An so," said one, "you say they are Twin all alone in that big house of their'ni I knowed the girls was all married an gone, but I heerd Jim had tux a wife home to live with the old folks, an said to Simon, says l, Well, it'll take more'n mortal woman to live with Mary Ann Curtis onless she's nightly changed sence I use' to know her, says l..
 "Well," said the other voice, and a sweet, patient sounding voice it was so sweet, indeed, that glanced over to look at its owner. She was little, quaint old woman, with soft brown eyes and pathetic, lOvable face. l fell in love with her at once. Her compan- ion was a younger woman, with shrewd, black, observing eyes and sharp nose and chin. From appearances and manner, I judged both were wives of we'll to do farmers.
 "Well," said the sweet voice, "Jim did marry mortal woman, but Mary Ann soon made angel cut of her. knowed Jim Curtis wife as we'll as if she'd been my own child, and no won- der, seein as she boarded with me an Jonathan nigh on to year. You see, she was left an orphan, an her uncle that raised her, not bein we'll of, give her what schoolin he could, an then when she was about Is year old he got her first the summer school in our dees- tric', an then, as she suited the folks, the d'rectors they let her have it for the winter. I was sort of feared for her to tackle the winter school, seein as some of the big boys, an girls, too, for that matter, s pritty Obstreperous, but Rhody she laughed an tossed her head an said, I'll git along, Aunt Nancy r (You know everybody in the neighbor- hood calls me Aunt Nancy, an Rhody she picked it up as nat 'ral as could be.
 Well, she did manage somehow, an never had bit of trouble An use' to watch of evenin s for her to come, allus smilin, an with somethin funny to tell oh coh01orc 1ooIoro $0 Mis- Johnson, if she'd been our own, Jonathan an me couldn' t sot more by her. Why, whenever it was rainy or snowy the ole man would saddle horse an go for her, an she'd look that cute, settin behin on ole Molly an holdin on to the ole man
 'One cold evenin Git was a Friday evenin, too-I'll never forgit it), jist as Jonathan got the saddle on the mare, we heard sleighbells, for was out at the fence talkin to the ole man, an who should come sailin up the road, large as life, but Jim Curtis in his new sleigh, with our Rhody, smilin an rosy, beside him. There, ole man, says l, your cake's dough. An declare for it, if he warn't that cut up he could scarce be civil to the youngsters.
 "Of course you know how it was aft CT that-no needcessity for the ole man botherin any more; not at it was both CT, for he allus liked goin for Rhody, but laws! Jim was allus on hand, no matter how the weather was, an he tux her to her uncle's two or three times, an to meetin Sundays, an up an tole her one day that b'lieved I'd ask Jim to board with us, an her face got mighty red, an she stepped up an put both arms roun my neck, she was such lovin lee