Sharp County record., 1903-01-30
HER VULNER-
ABLE SPOT 8 8
BY LAVON c. CHENEY.

NERS. POTTSEY stood on the top
lVI most round of the ladder Of fame
erected by the people of Shultisville.
She had been placed in her exalted
position by the male portion of the
community, as a shining example Of
what woman should be, and used by
it as prod to the energies of the re-
luctantly admiring and secretly en-
yious female inhabitants. The con-
census of opinion was expressed by
Deacon Wilson when he said:
"She's the best worker fur ten
miles round, and 'es got git up
enough fur two wimmin!"
From this it may readily be gath
cred that the villagers standard of
excellence in a woman was not beauty
nor intellectual gifts, but ability to
work.
Mrs. Pottsey's capacity in this direc-
tion was a never ending source of con-
yersation among the women, and the
a
in the life of this remarkable piece Of
femininity to buy calico for dress
one morning and wear the finished
garment on the day following, was
something of which to brag to less ia
vored communities. And the work upon
il was done entirely by hand, for sew
ing machines were not considered a
necessary article of furniture, and
were looked upon as a luxury 70 be
indulged in only by the very rich, al
though they were sometimes acquired
by the very lazy.
Mrs. Pottsey's crowning achieve
ment was the trousers of the late
Mr.. Pottsey. During the lifetime Of
her husband, she had purchased the
material for pair of pantaloons one
morning, and that gentleman had
donned those same garments in the
afternoon as a fitting-or, possible,
on-ftting-tribute to his Office as
pail bearer during the obsequies of a
neighbor.
Whether these strenuous eXertions
on the part Of his spouse had so wear
led Mr.. Pottsey that he was glad to
seek a place where work is unknown,
1t is impossible to say. He had been
a pale, meek, little man, lacking in
the energy which the woman, beside
whom he had been obliged to spendhis
life, possessed in such superabund-
ance-and she was not at all backward
in showing her contempt for those
whose endowments were not equal to
her own, This, no doubt, wore on him
to an extent that rendered him per-
fectly willing to exchange the real
ities Of the world he was leaving for
the promises of the world to come.
The inscription on his tombstone was
Characteristic of his relation in life,
for even in death he was not allowed
to assert himself, but was laid to rest
as "Washington, beloved husband of
Zenobia Pottsey"
There was no suggestion of meek
ness about Mrs. Pottsey. She was tall
and rather thin, with swapping black
eyes and smooth, black hair, showing
no thread Of white. Very courageous,
indeed, would be the hair TO dare un-
furl q white banner in her head. Its
death would be sudden and ignomin-
ious. Commonreport provided her with
a sharp tongue, But this detriment, in
the mind Of her male acquaintances,
was more than balanced by the mate
rial advantages she could confer on a
possible successor TO the late Mr..
Pottsey, Naturally, a woman who split
her own wood milked her own cow,
and did other things commonly sup.
posed to be mans work, had many ad-
mirers.
As Lemuel Jones-called "Lazy
Jones" by his friends, in playful aIu-
sion TO his well-known dislike for
manual labor-expressed it to a select
coterie Of his cronies: "You would
not have to do a thing but jest set down
and take it easy; she'd do the hust-
ling. A woman thatll climb n ladder
and paint her own house is the woman
for me-"
When Mr. Jones one afternoon in.
terrupted Mrs. Pottseys strenuous
processes by knocking at the door, she
was engaged in putting the finishing
toOshes to "color scheme" in her best
room Ihe predominatlng shade was a