Middletown transcript., 1897-10-09

'
EN Greenville, Z
MMto ga the Pennsylvania
EDaHN HHF hemIock belt, y
FMasSa @ said John Gil.
EsF bert, the travel.
~ ing grocerymanr
''and stopped at the tavern there. Inc
only man I saw at first was a jolly
looking, red-faced little old man, on
whom care or sorrow seemed TO have
never laid a finger.
"'Flne day. I said. getting off my
blackboard.
'P'tic'lar fine an cheerful the
little old man said. Il han't see q
cheerfuller day in 40 year an better.
"Then he went down the road whist
ling. was gazing after him yet when
some one said:
"It's leetle queer that Uncle Abel
went away without waitin' to see
whether you want goin' to buy snmp-
in an asst him in; but he's feelin' over
powerin' glib to-day, an mebbe thought
nothin' could make him feel any bet
ter
"This speaker, as l saw when /
turned to look, was tall and slim and
lanky, and was whiting q stick. He
had come from the barn, end, as l
found, was the landlord. walked in.
"tYes,' said the lanky man, Uncle
Abel is feelin' oyerpowerin glib to-day.
You wouldn't take him to be a lone an
lorn Widderer, which the pardner of
his bosom was only laid away yiste'day,
now, would youP'
# had to admit that the old gentle
man was trifle clipper and cheerful
for one so recently bereaved.
EYES, the landlord went on, 'Augt
Huldy's left Uncle Abel at last. 1t was
sort of an accident like, though. l
don't think she ever would although
o. doin' of it, cause Uncle Abel. was
four that Aunt Hubby had handled,
an she had wore black bombazine fer
three on 'em, an it was jest as good as
ever, that black bombaZine was, an
there amt no kind o. doubt that she
had stiff idee o. wearin' it fer Uncle
Abel, an mebbe fer somebody that had
the courage to be M. 5. You see, Un-
Gle Abel is the harmltssest man that
ever sot round, an Aunt Huldy's dis
position was sol sump:n' like cross
cut saw, an when She got to movin'
she was ripper. How would some
fresh tansy scrunch d in a glass and
moistened With about three fingers o.
J'maky rum strike your
81 was willing to risk it, aud The
lanky but garruIous landlord scrunched
the tansy aud moistened it per recipe.
".Yes, SIR he went on, having
scrunched and nfois' ened for himself
also, and taken pay for both. Aunt
Huldy was ripper when she got to
movin' most o. the time. I've knowed
Uncle Abel to roost in an apple tree on
his clearin' all night, waitin' for Aunt
Huldy TO quiet down, an I've heerd
him say, more'n wunst, that it was a
JOd thing he'd BEEN kicked in the head
by mule wunst and got over it, or he'd
be afeared o. the eonsekences if Amt
Hubby got to moyin'.
"tAunt Huldy she was tremeL dous
sot ag'iD Uncle Abel goin' fshin', an
Uncle Abel he'd ruther go fishin' than
to the circus. Last week he couldn't
hold out no longer, and he went over
to Ben Runnels' po.d to troll for pick
ell. The fact is, though, that the pond
amt Ben Runnels, 'cause there amt
no setch person as Ben Runnels, nor
hain't ben this 20 years an better, an
when there was q Ben Runnels he
didn't own he pond. The last day
there ever was Ben Runnels he went
fishin' On that pond. If the fishin'
hadn't ben 50 uncommon good that day
Ben mowt be with US yit. Ben had
half piut o. fish worms with him in
an old tomattus can, an half gallon
o. worn o. the still in jug. This was
for exhilaratin' purposes. Ben alluz
exhilaratin' arter ketchin' fish, but
the fish bit SO fast that day that they
KEEP Ben buster than usual exhilaratin'
so that when folks went to see what
was the reason Ben dicn't git home that
day, an found the boat upset an Ben
an the jug f0atin in the pond, there
was less than two little jiggers of ex-
hilaration left IN the jug, but there was
more than Eve gallon o. water in Ben.
1t wasn't drowndin' that killed Ben.
some folks thought. They said it was
the sudden washin' of all the exhilara-
tion him by SO much water gittin'outen
inter him that done it, Ben not bein'
used to setch overpowerin' disapp'iut.
ment. An that's the way Ben got he
title to that pond an it's ben called
Ben Runnels' pond ever sence.
"'Well, there's where Uncle Abel
went Iishin,' spite o. Aunt Huldy's
warnin's, an when be got back I don't
s'pose that Aunt Huldy ever moved SO
rippin' in her life. All that Uncle Abel
has ever said about it is that she jest
swatted him over. an then sot on him
tillshe what peeled ULcle Abel said mus
a ben more'n bushel o. taters. Aunt
Huldy weighed in the vicinity o. 200
pound. an every time uncIa Ahal WIG.