River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1896-12-17

for my Dan1 Webster TO H.arry Bram-
wells Betsy, bein' as they was the old
est of our children and nearly the same
age. Lee see" and he paused. and
taking OF his hat ran his hand around
for some fact that had gCl lost on the
shelves OF memory.
Eve come here in the fan Of 81, = he
said muSingly, 'an' tho Camps an the
Bakers come out in 81. cause know it
was the year of Re panic, an three
wears later / married Sary Camp, an
the next fall Jud married Lucy Baker.
That must a-been in go. Yes. Irecollect
now il was the year Lincoln run for
president. an / belonged 10 wide
awake comply an went prancin' aroun'
with a tin lamp on role, an one night
remember there was a speech over to
the village an we had the biggest time
you ever heerd OF. Say, are you old
enough to remember the wide-awakes?"
acknowledged dim and misty recol-
lection of those days.
"Them was the times, he asserted,
Shaping his hand on his knee end with a
grimace carefully caressing that mem
Der Immediately after this display of
enthusiasm. Them was the times
that politics was politics, l tell you,
young feller-" But | did not want
to be told. and suggested that he was
going 10 tell ne about Betsy Bran
well.
"Yes. was Jest figgerin' it up" he
said, corning back to his story. "Dan1
Webster was born in the fall of '62,
cause that was the year when listed
an the doctor throwed me out an said
| wouldn't live a year. Betsy was born
the next spring. an l remember as well
as il Z was yesterday. the mOrnin' When
Iud Bramwell come over before break
fast an said: See here, 81, I've got a
wife for that boy of yOurn over to my
house, an that was the way it all
come TO be Planned that Danl Webster
was TO marry Betsy some time. Wy
.hat was 80 years ago" he exclaimed. as
If a veXing problem had just been
solved.
THAT was a long time ago." ven
tured.
YES" he assented. time flies, an il
only seems a few DAYS ago that my boy
an Jud Bramwelrs girl was running
about barefooted. Catch either of 'em
doin' amy such trick now. Betsy was
one o the slickest girls | ever see. /
used to say that she got the color of
her eyes from the blue Johnny-jump-
ups, that growed everywhere in them
days. and that her nair was the color of
ripe wheat straw
"AfOre we knowed IL them two was
grOwed up to be man and woman, an
they didn't seem TO hitch at all.
s'pOse it was the contrarine IS that is in
all human natur', but W felt pretty bad
about il, an l wrastled with Danl
Webster and Jud an Mis- Bramwell
talked to Betsy, but we might as well
a-saved our breath, for they was all the
more ObstropOlous. Two more hippo
canarious young ones 1 never set my
eyes On--fer spell, that is"
My friend stopped TO think over these
failinss of these young people while
] mentally attacked the photography of
the two new words with which he had
enriched my vocabulary.
1T used to be good place to hunt
duck in the ponds over yon way" re-
sumed the story teller. presently, IAN
a lot of young fellers used to come down
from town in the fall to waste gun
powder an have good time for few
days.
"0ne o these was big Teller tha-
looked as Il he might be doin' better
than tramp around with a gun an
dog, for he looked as IL he could do
big days work if he wanted to. The
hunters used to come TO orI house an
to Bramwell's an stay 2 day or two an
sometimes a week. They was free
handed with their money, an l kind
o. liked some o. EN-, but when it come
to be whispered around the settlement
that this big feller-his name was
browning, HugA, the boys called him
was a-castin' sleeps eyes over lords
Betsy Bramwell. see at once that there
was moro danger than ever of our
plans miscarryin'.
81 went over to Jud's an looked at
the lay o the land one day, when young
Browning was there. and | see that he
was clean took up with Betsy. thought
sic hAA0NNN4 IT. to- ull SHE WIS putty
sly about il, an didn'. let on very
much.
Il spoke to Jud about = n he an his
wife an me an my wife got together
an tried TO fix up a plan TO stop mat
tiers from gOin' any further.
I'VE didn't see our way very plain,
but trusted TO Providence for some
thing 10 turn up. an sure enough,
something did, for Hugh Browning got
; shot one day, an hurt so bad that he
couldn't be took back TO the city for
weeks. Our house was the nearest
one where the accident happened, an
they brought him there. an there he
laid, helpless as a babe, for weeks.
Ills folls come down from the city
an they said never mind expenses, an
his sister staid with him an his mother
come out every day or two. an his IA
tier twicet a week, an 81, y a TODD you
never did see.
Betsy was Almost distracted, an
Hugh asked for her as soon as he come
to, an as we all thought he was done for
we thought 'twant no difference any
way. and 50 we had Betsy come over.
Betsy an Hugh's sister took TO each
other right away an got to be great
friends. We finally zee how things was
liable % go. and that he was more'n IL
able 10 get well. an so Jud kept Betsy
away as much as he could an he decent
about IL, an she begun to pine TO shad-
der. We talked il over during the time
that Hugh laid there. an concluded
that il would he the best thing all
around 10 break up the match afore il
was made. Betsy was only a cOun-
try girl, an Hugh was city-bred boy,
an we knowed that even il he now
thought he wanted to marry Betsy,
honorable like. ne would yet tired OF
her al likely misuse her or neglect her
when he see her alongside the uppity
city girls with their feathers an fur
bellows.
so Jud an Mis- Bramwell told her
she had better not pay any more atten-
ton 10 Hugh nor let him to her, an
when she didn't want to mind what
was said to her. Jud Jest put his foot
down an told her that she couldn't go
to see him any more. and that ended
il, for Jud is powerful set when be
gets set.
Il never see a girl go down hill as
fast as Betsy did for awhile. She looked
oS - Shasd Lost her ms frfDrI aud har