Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-11-12


When he got home, he cried and said
he wished he'd Civ Mrs. Virgins the
money for Melindy's things, but she
said 1t happened fortunate that her Sis
ter, Melindy's aunt, had sent her a
present fur her weddin.
The help now, she don't think them
robbers wus supernatural, and she sez
IL ever Mr.. Virgins finds out the truth
she dunno what will happen to Mrs.
Virgins. kinder think myself that
the robbers wus Mrs. Virgins and
dressed up In some old clothes,
with cotton batting wigs, and l don't
blame 'em.
Well, Melindy had her clothes after
all, but before they wus finished Mr..
Virgins he'd got over his skeer and
got as mean as ever again, and he
wouldn't give his unfortunate wife moth.
in extry for the supper. She borried
The Tide Of Fashion from the Rabbits
and found out that she'd orter hev
chicken salad.
But Mr.. Virgins, he said he wus
sellin his chickens, not devourin Of 'em
hum, and I suppose what she had done
before kinder weakened poor Mrs. Wig.
gins conscience, for, seein her own
coops wus locked up, the poor soul went
around to the neighbors and stole one
chicken apiece from each of us. 1t wus
kinder just to do 1t that way when she
might have took 'em all from one Of US,
and those Of us that caught her at 1t
made up our minds not to say nuthin,
but jest to pray fur her, and we'd sent
over word that eff there wus anythin
we could do to call on US. And per-
haps she felt we'd be willin to spare
the chickens, but wus proud about ask
ing fur 'em.
Well, she got the things together
somehow, and she cooked the chickens
and made. the salad and borried chany
of most of us and got up a real fust
rate supper and sot the table with
flowers. They wus mostly marygolds
and old man, and some folks don't like
the smell Of neither, but the yaller
and green looked pretty, and 1t wus
all ready for the company when they
cum. hum from church.
We that knowed things felt that we
could see marks of innard torture on
poor Mrs. Virgins face, and we felt to
sympathize, fur she wus naturally a
moral woman and q pious one, and
she'd been driven to sin by the mean
ness of her pardner. You see. she wus
one Of them women that lives fur their
children. Eff she'd been pelican, she'd
hey took all the feathers out of her
buzzim to make 'em beds, and she'd
sackerficed herself fur Melindy. She
looked kinder better when she got to
church, but our minister he wus young
and hadn't married nobody before, and.
bein narvous, he commenced fur to
read the burial sarvice instead of the
marriage sarvice, and we, bein all stiff
with horrer, hadn't presence Of mind
enough fur to stop him until he'd actil'
ly buried Melindy as fur as words
could 90, and Mrs. Virgins wus In
high strikes.
However, she got over 'em, and the
minister he said he didn't know after
all but 1t wus providence to keep us
from bein too sot on the things Of this
world and reminded how short life wus
and went back and married 'em proper
And so we did get back to Virgins,
only, Mr.. Virgins hevin been too mean
to get the wagin mended, the wheel
come off, and they wus all split out and
eenamost drownded goin over Slabside
bridge that amt got no railin. Mrs
Virgins, poor dear, wus soaked. and
when we TUX her into our wagin she
kept sayin, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Judgments Is cominw We knowed wha,
she wus thlnkin Of, and we tried to
cheer her up.
Well, when the folks wus dried and
dressed over we all went to supper, and
we praised 1t up as much as We could
but Mrs. Virgins sot down in her place
like a ghost, and folks began to talk
and laugh and help everything. But
she didn't smile.
She passed the chicken salad plates
to the help, and the help gave 'em tC
the folks, and we all tasted 1t, but II
didn't relish. Still we tried to eat 1t frII
her sake. Most Of us done 1t, too, ant
the coffee wus good, and we cheered
up some. Mrs. Virgins didn't eat NJ
salad herself, so she didn't know how
it tasted. After supper we all went In
to the parlor and sot around, and s
Barker wus tryin to git up dancin, ant
1 did hope things would end happy
when all of sudden folks began tt
look pale and say they wus pisoned
So they seemed to be. One arter th'
other wus took sick, and they all sale
the same thing-lt wus the salad.
felt very poorly myself, and so did m!
Obediah. The minister had gone hom'
sick, and there wus a regular panic
There wus one doctor there, and III
sent fur another, and old Miss Peeble
said it wus like old cholera times. !
wus awful, anyway, but jest rs w
wus at the wust, we ladies lyin abou
In the up stairs rooms expectin to di
and feelin sure 1t wus arsenic, Mrs
Virgins appeared amongst us.
"Friends and feller sinners" she said
1--WE air all on the pint Of death, ant
here, before you all, I make confes
sion. am a thief and robber, and
shall never be pardoned. 1t wus m
| that robbed my husband, and, NOR
than that, l stole the chickens to max
the sallad-one of 'em from each of m
good friends and neighbors. Jedgment
has fallen!'
"You wus driv to 1t, Mrs. Virgins,
sez I, "hy your pardner's meanness
We all knowed 1t, and none OF u
blame you"
"You don't know all" said Mrs. Wit
gins. "More'n that, I went to the stor
and TUX my chances and stole bottl
of lie. The recipe said to make the sa
lad dressin with lie. I'd never mad
none. I stole the bottle. Oh, shan
never be forgiven. I shan't never be fo'
given! I TUX a bottle Of pi'son of som
sort, fur 1t wus In the drug departmer
where lies Is kept, and I'm a mu
dererw
"Oh, hop says the doctor. Bring M
the bottle, Mrs. Virgins, and gues
I'll find out how to cure 'em."
Mrs. Virgins fetched 1t; doctor .
tasted It.