El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-17
A JEST OF FATE
CONTINUE from Ist p gel
Aunt Sally KIIoraIth:

Aunt Sally K11ora1th:
cousin William Anderson is mar
ned to one of the Merriam girls-the
second one. Abe Tuckerman has sold
his place and is going to Texas. Cousin
William has bought it. Gilmore Clay
more is dead; died a year and half
ago.
Two months later we sat with the
good Aunt Sally around the wood fire
In her own room Uncle John smoked
his pipe in the corner.
Poor Gilmore" said Aunt Sally, as
she was completing chapter of details
about his death and burial ''You did
not know of his engagement, did you 2"
NO" said my mother tWas he
engaged to be married p /.
''Oh, yesl But it was not generally
known at al-isn't now. It's quite a
secret But. dear me. 1 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 a mighty
good match for Gilmore. John made a
deal of money in those Texas lads, and
Edith's pretty, hut 1 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 II be
and what they've heard about people
in Strathboro will make no difference
one way or the other You see I 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 Is. Her looks turned her mammy's
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, I
reckon, that she might do worse So
they kept him in reserve.
"Don't shake your head at me, Mr..
Kilbraith; you know I'm quoting your
own words. Well, they kept the en-
gagement mighty secret-gave Elmore
some rosewater reason, you know.
When he died, 10 and behold, they were
more anxious to keep it quiet than
ever, and in less than a year she mar
ried this Tom McGrath, who was
hanging round her all the time and is
better match than Gilmore was. Seer
didn't care SO tremendous much about
Elmore; 'tisn't that, but that kind Of
a female creature, the smooth. pretty,
plausible ones-Lordr -
During the week 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. 1
made occasion to call upon her.
La, yes, Miss Leny,'' said she, after
seating me in her splint bottom chair
before riffraff fire. ''Miss Patsy's liv
in; leastwise dat wah my informa-
tion at las accounts. Dey do circulate
de repohts dat she amt long fob 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.
galiivantin roun de wohl like you is
too. What Miss Patsy goin to die obj
''La, Miss Leny, she nebah wah no
count ahtah she went off seekin lahnin
ut dat all boahdin school. / know
'ooman what hab a dahtah, a yellah
gal, what's hiahd out at dat school, an
she say dat little Patsy, she say she
wuk huhself to def at dat shool f'om
staht. She study an study huh book
much as any two gals, an not bein use
to it it woh upon huh. But dat wah't
de whole CD what broke huh down. You
know, Miss Leny, when MANS Gilmore
die3 Well, she home f'om de school fob
Sunday dat day when de news come,
an she sisted on comm down yuh to de
fun'ral, an when huh pappy he won't
bring huh she go an ak place in Squiah
Monsen's wagon, an dey say what she
dat white an still an cur'os lookin out
OBJ huh eyes dat dey was sohey fob huh.
an dey was wonderin wheddah she was
cabin entity bout Mahs Gilmore. ah
wheddah she was jes' natchly wohn out
wild school lahnin. Den dey reckon she
walnut cabin SO much bout Mahs Ell
more. cause she nebah cry ma nothin
at de grabe-dat what Miss Monsen's
Milly done tole me. But enhow she
kotch cole on de way hoL1e-it was cole
weddah-an den she hab de lung fevah
an spit blood. She got up out OBJ dat,
but she amt nebah quit spittin blood.
She boun' to die fob great space OBJ
nor,t ION 70 r0aS, sweet