The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-02

Of her needle kept time with the move
ment of her lips,
I've bin watchin' you, Elvira." sh,
went on, looking over her glasses at tn,
younger woman, ever since you've bin s
Wldder, an it seemed 10 me you were
golu' over the same Cd road | went over
It's mighty hard road. There amt NJ
sort places in II. I've seen you tryin' C
get along, Twin with your sister. l know
what that is. I've bin all through il. An
there one thing I can tell you from ex
perience."
She paused for an impressive moment
ana stabbed the air with her needle by
way OF emphasis. The needle pointed
straight at Elvira.
What is it?" she asked, lodging In
voluntarily
If you want TO find hard hearts in the
time of trouble" answered the widow
McClane, you don't never need 10 go out.
side OF your own family, specially il
you're pore"
Her mouth, swapping shut with the las
word, settled itself into hard. firm lines
Elvira, catching glimpse of her owl
RED mouth in the narrow mirror over the
mantel, fell to wondering If it would look
like that twenty years later
III you've got little money" the Wild
ow continued, IF you're independent OF
en-, you're all right; but the good LORD
help a wilder woman that's pore. There
amt forlorner creature on top of the
earth. Yes, I've lived with my relations
I've worked like niger day In and day
out. scourin'. ceanln'. an scrubbin. an
then had the cost of my keep thrown in
my teeth from mornin' TIL night If l had
1t to DO over again, I'd go an hire out
to strangers before I'd work for my kin
folks. servant is welcome to what she
can eat an drink an wages besides ev-
erywhere in the world except with her
own kin.
i've watched you slavin' over there
at Sarah AIMS. Elvra, cookin' an wash
in an ironin', an when you was through
instead of restin', like any other servant
would er done, tendin' to the baby, I'd
ruther break rock on a turnpike any day
i'm the year than tend TO a baby-whlle
Sarah Ann run around to the neighbors
a-telln' 'em how she was bein' imposed
on havin' TO take care of her pore rela-
tons"
Elvira gave a little sigh. She opened
her mouth to speak, but the widow was
before her
Il was mighty glad when see Joe a
shyin' round after you" she said. mighty
glad Take him. That's my advice. 1t
don't make any difference how trihin' he
Is; take him. A woman has a hard time
alone in the world. 1t takes a good strong
woman to fight her way through. As
said before, the minute her husband dies
she's common piclfin' for everybody. Did
you ever hear of bank that failed but
what 1t had some widder woman's saw
ms in It? Did storm ever blow over this
town that II didn't tear down the widder
woman's fences an leave all the rest a
standin' high an dry? An lawyers!
They're allus layin' for the wilder wo-
mems money, alusy
Elvira was amazed at the unwonted gar
rulousness of the old woman Ordinarily
self-contaned and seemingly steeled to
endurance, she had not dreamed that In
her heart she kept bottled up such bitter
thoughts Laying the hem across her
knee she ran the back of her thumb nail
down the length of 1t with a grating sound
that set Elvira's teeth on edge. Her harsh
voice broke shrilly upon the silence that
followed as he proceeded to demonstrate
her theories by pertinent examples.
Don't you remember The Wilder Dob
SOM" she asked. How her old man kept
up his life insurance policies till the week
before he died. an then dropped one OF
EN-? Somehow, 1 allus thought It was a
pity s'long as he had to die he didn't peg
out before he dropped it; but 1 reckon il
was just as well as II was. 1t would 81
bin all the same in the long run Whal
the insurance company didn't cheat hel
out of the lawyers got so 1t was six OF
one an half a dozen of the other. Wild.
ders amt got no show. They amt gol
even the ghost of a show
There was Matilda Lawson too. HeI
husband hadn't bin dead a week before
his kinfolk trumped up another will an
took every blessed cent she had away
from her, every blessed cent! Now she
takes In washin' for a livin'.
by rights, a Wldder ought 10 he burnef
to death as soon as her husband dies
like they burn 'em over there in then
heather countries. II would be a Ions
sight the best thing that could happeT
to most of 'em. Look at me, for instance
settln here a-sewln all day long. an
sometimes way in the night, an barely
maxim enough money to keep a roof ovel
my head at that. An what's It all for
For nothin but to keep the life IN my OLE
body. What's the use In keepin' life II
my body? Who cares whether / live o.
die? NobodyP'
Elvlra made a little deprecatory move
ment with her hand. She would have sal,
II care" but, Notwithstanding her plants
the widows stern countenance repelle,
undue demonstrations.
This thing of not belongin' to nobody
she went on, that's the worst of IT, II
think you haven't got even a good-for
nothing man to set down by you of al
eNenln an thlK 10 you. Mnen things Il
wrong, an they mostly go wrong.
you've got somebody to complain TO
takes away half the trouble of II. Sup
posn you fall down an hurt yourself
Where's your shoulder to cry on? Sun
posn you cut your finger. Who's to wral
II up for you an tie the ends of the tw,
threads. sayin he's sorry for you, evel
If he amt? Supposn the world get
blackern usual, so black you can't Sc
sign of day breakin' nowhere, an yoi
fan to sobbin' about it. Who's to nut hi
arm around you, an say: There, there
Nobody. Nobody In the world! / tell you
It's mighty lonesome life; mighty lone
some lifew
AS Elvira sat silently listening. a sud
den fear sprang into her eyes. What IL
since she had started out over the sam
road the widow McClane had Travelled. sh
should DO forced 10 travel 1t to the end
What If there awaited her too, twent
years Of that lonesome life?" A sicken
ing thrill Of apprehension shook her. Sh
looked away from the woman before heI
who, Old and wrinkled and care-worn. sit
ting there stitching, stitching, stitchin
for the sole purpose of keeping body an