The Wilmington daily Republican., 1899-08-02

ndo seen yn0 g00d OF II Tor h6f. Ef "
could all b. schooled an live in Strath
hoEo, there might b. profit in it. I,
go through fire an water to make tina
little gal happy, but l kint feel at eas
In my mine about maxim her diffe
from all her kith IN kin. don't se
the mex step satisfactory. ] don't 10
the nex' STEP"
Sure enough, what would It be7 Il
September my mother and I again lef
Tennessee. We went abroad and wer,
gone three yearA 1t was as II we hat
spent that time on another planet. Ou
foreign postofilces eifectually estoppet
IN our Tennessee frienA any possible
impulses to write to u.s.
After We returned to America We got
an enumeration Of events covering th,
three years. in four pages, from my
Amt Sally Kilbraith:
"Cousin William Anderson IL mar
risd to one Of the Merriam girls--th,
second one Abe Tnckerman has sole
bis place and Is going to Texas, Cousin
William has bought it Elmore Clay
more Is dead, died year and o hall
ago."
Two months later we sat with thu
good Aunt Sally around the wood firt
in her own room. Uncle John smoked
bis pipe in the corner.
"Poor Elnore" " said Aunt Sally, al
she was completing chapter of details
about his death and burial. "You did
not know Of his engagement. did you p
"No" said my mother. "Was be
engaged to be married o.
"Oh, yesl But it was not generally
known at all-isn't now. It's quite a
secret But, dear me, don't see any
reason for not telling you. SO long as
you don't speak about it. The girl got
us to promise not to let it be known
among people here She is John Penker-
mans youngest. Edith is her name. 1t
would have been counted mighty
good match for Elmore, John made a
deal of money in those Texas lads, and
Edith's pretty, Int l never called her
a good match for anybody"
"Why not?" said my mother. with a
courteous effort at interest She knew
nothing of the other story.
"Why, because she is two faced.
cold. calculating little cat. She loves
admiration and to show her power.
That's all she ever loved And she has
not been any too nice in her way Of
getting what she wanted either. She
had no brains. She had to manage her
men--oh. Mr.. Kilbraith, Adeline and
Martha are prudent, If I'm notI You
might let me free my mind. They'll be
bff to tbs ends Of the earth pretty soon,
and what they've heard about people
in Strathboro will make no difference
one way or the other. You see hate
the girl-Lena. child. put your foot on
that spark-but you don't have to
stretch the truth to find plenty to say
against her. She'd been flirting with
Tom, Dick and Harry ever since she
was s. Her looks turned her mammys
head to begin with She'd been engaged
to half dozen, more or less, but some
way she didn't get married. At last
Elmore was put on the list. He was be-
dazzled with the idea Of marrying Edith
Penkerman, He didn't know enough,
poor fool. to understand that other men
looked upon her as being too much of
belle. She and her mother thought, l
reckon, that she might do worse. So
they kept him in reserve.
ttnoutf pboLo yo,, hand .,,a NJ
Kilbraith; you know m quoting your
own words. Well, they kept the en-
gagement mighty secret-gave Elmore
come rosewater reason, you know.
When he died, 10 and behold, they were
more anxious to keep 1t quiet than
ever, and In less than year she mar
ried this Tom McGrath, who was
hanging round her all the time and is a
better match than Elmore was. See2
didn't care 80 tremendous much about
Elmore; 'tisn't that, but that kind of
female creature, the smooth. pretty.
plausible ones-Lord'
During the week l learned that there
was then on the place a negro woman
who had been for years Cousin Nancy's
servant Recently she had married one
of my uncle's hands and was living in
a cabin at the back of the orchard. l
made occasion to call upon her.
'La, yes, Miss Leny," said she, after
seating me in her splint bottom chair
before riffraf fire. Miss Patsy lv-
in; leastwiss dat wah my informa.
tion at las accoun's. Dey do circulate
de repohts dat she amt long foh dis
wohl, an deed / reckon what she amt
Mighty funny, Miss Leny, how you
come to member little slip OBJ poah
white folksy gal like dat all dis time.
gallivantin roun de wohl like you is
loo. What Miss Patsy goin to die obj
"La, Miss Leny, she nebah wah no
count ahtah she went off seezin lahnin
At dat ah boahdin school. I know
CONAN what hab dahtah, yellah
gal, what's hiahd out at dat school, an
'he say dat little Patsy, she say she
wuk huhself to def at dat shool f'om
'taht. She study an study huh book
much as any two gals, an not bein use
% it it woh upon huh. But dat wah't
le whole cb what broke huh down. You
inow, Miss Leny, when Mahs Emore
lie2 Well, she home f'om de school fob
sunday dat day when de news come,
IN she sisted on comm down yuh to de
un raj, an when huh pappy he won't
ring huh she 90 an AK place in Squiah
donsen's wagon, an dey say what she
lat white an still an cur'os lookin out
b huh eyes dat dey was sohey fob huh,
n dey was wonderin wheddah she was
ahin entity bout Mahs Elmore. ah
Vheddah she was jes' natchly wohn out
Vid school lahnin. Den dey reckon she
'ahn' cabin so much bout Mahs e.
lore, cause she nebah cry ma nothin
t de grabe-dat what Miss Monsen's
lilly done tole me. But enhow she
otch cole on de way home-it was cole
'eddah--an den she hab de lung fevah
n spit blood. She got up out OBJ dat.
at she amt nebah quit spittin blood.
be boun' to die foh great space OBJ
me. Don't you want to roas' sweet
tier in de aches, Miss Leny, like you
sef La, no, Miss Leny, she amt at
ome She up on de mount'n. Huh
Apply mighty exuhcised bout huh, an
> meek huh stay dah. cause she don
lit so much blood up dab, an lawsy