The Washington bee., 1902-03-08
MRS. WILKINS"PHONE

Isl" Blkins down at "the corners" talk,
ing to Jim" Henderson up at the ''Aic,
] Nish place" or to pete" Lanpipan con-
versmg with Susie Biggs, "old" Squire
Biggs second darter by his fust mar.
riage"
The introduction of the telephone into
the country was the dawning of a new
day for this woman Her life had been
lonely one. For over ten years she had
been confined to her bed. She lives with
her son and daughter. The son is al
ways too busy around the farm and the
I daughter around the house to permit of
their being much with their mother, ex.
eept for the hours following supper, and
, 50 the Widow Wilkins had a lonely time
Of it.
| She didn't get much sympathy, either.
] The neighbors couldn't understand why
she didn't either die or get we'll II she
was sick. Farmer Matthews said that he
allowed the wilder were Just too law
| tew draw her breath, an she oughter
be ashamed Of herself tew act ike that. !"
WruOw Wilkins got her revenge when the
party line telephone was put through the
county and carried down the road on which
her house stands. Her son subscribed and
telephone was duly installed in the house
There are ten other subscribers on the same
line. The widow discovered quite by acci-
dent one day that she could listen to what
other people were saying on the wire
without their being any the wiser. When
the widow found this out she was happier
than when Robinson Crusoe was when he
! found Friday.
1t had been hard work for her to keep
in touch with current events and the
happenings down at Elmtown, FIVE miles
away. Suddenly she discovered that all
| the events, news, scandals, political in
trigues and miscellaneous gossip of all
sorts were, so to speak, kept right in
| hcr room, nice and fresh every day, and
| all she had to do was to turn on the tap
and let it run into her eager ears. The
/ first day the widow discovered that
BILL" Dawson was going to sell his
farm for 5000, that Tom" Yunt wanted
to be a constable, that Bill" Aliens COW
was dead, and that Spruce Hawkesby
was sparkling Luke Twanby's Sue.
After she had discovered all of these
state secrets Widow Wilkins had to
| hang up the receiver so as to give her
self the opportunity to lie back in bed
| and gasp. 1t was more news than she
udu HtdIO before LOT Two weeks.
| 'LaWsy sakes alive" said Widow VII.
| kins, them new-fangled things do beat all %
| The next day Widow Wilkins had
! the receiver at her ear before break
| fast. She heard some more strange AID
| startling information. Malinda Haw-
kins was talking to some man in the
| city about selling out her millinery
| store, and Pete Saunders was swearing
at the man down at the sawmill for not
| sending up the sills for his barn. 1t made
! the widows blood run cold to hear the
| flights of rhetoric used by Pete, but some
| how she could not put the receiver down.
"Orful, orful," sighed the widow, Ito hear
that Pete Saunders talk that way. He used
to be in my Sunday school class, too.
wonder eff he's swearin' yet. III see"
And she hurriedly picked up the re-
| ceiver.
The widows room used to be a rather
| dull place to spend an evening, and her
son and daughter were wont to yawn
many times before nine o'clock, and wait
wistfuly for the hour to retire. But
now it was all different. The widows
room was turned into a social club. The
| widow became a most delightful con-
| veTsationahst.
The various church societies and the
| quilting bees were never fond of holding
| any of their meetings at Widow Wilkins g.
| The members said it was because Widow
| Wilkins lived so far away, but the fact was
| that Widow Wilkins, confined as she was to
! her house and having few visitors, was la
| mentally ignorant of good lively morsels
| of gossip and an afternoon at the widows
was unusually uninspiring. But some way
all of the societies, the quilting bees and the
| sewing circle began going over to Widow
| Wilkins to hold their meetings. She had
seemed to suddenly acquire wide and
| comprehensive insight into the lives of those
who lived around her and her converse
tiOn was most interesting.
But after awhile the farmers who had
telephones on the party wire that ran
| through the widows house became tired
of having their secrets spread broadcast
over the country. Farmer Thompson
found out that everything he told Hi
| Miller and Bowers was known to every
member of the Baptist Aid society, and
| Farmer Thompson knew well enough
| that only one or two members of the
Baptist church had telephones. Farmer
Thompson had his suspicious, so he
said, but he decided to wait until he was
sure
So he sent a decoy telephone message
to Hi Miller. He told Hi that ne intended
to set up a saloon at the corners" and sell
the best Kentucky whisky at two drinks for
five cents.
"ShO," said Hi, "kaint do that,
Thompse."
"Yes, kin" said Mr.. Thompson. 'It's
goin' ter be moonshine leker, Hi, from
down in Kentucky"
Better look out fer revenooers," an
sWered Hi.
The next day the report was spread
broadcast that Farmer Thompson wa going
to start a saloon and sell moonshine whisky.
Farmer Thompson traced the report down
to Widow Wilkins. He went up to see Wild
Ow Wilkins.
"Widder," said Mr.. Thompson, 81 hearn
tell you circulated the story that l was go
In 10 start a saloon and sell mOOnshine"
The widow began to weep. Eyes, did,
Thompse," she said. But it was the best
fun ever he'd in my life a listening to that
telephone. You hain't laid in yer bed,
Thompse, fer ten years er you'd know what
blessin' that telephone wuz ter me, and
hope you amt gOin' to say anything to hev
il taken out. Honest, / hev been gettin'
( b.4tar ayerv day since thRt telenhOnA'S