Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1903-08-26
~ R. RHODES.

1872
"No."
"Aunt?"
"No."
Grandmother"
"No."
"Grandfather?"
"No."
"Steal anything3"
"No."
"Tell a lief"
"No."
"Then what under the sun is the
matter with YEP" demanded Hiram,
pushing his hat back on his head,
and looking at Silas with a puzzled
air.
II dunno 'zactly," answered silas,
removing one hand from his chin and
resting the side of his head in the
palm of the other; "seems as eff !
sort o. got the m~eloncolly."
Hiram removed his hat, scratched
his head, then put his hat back on.
Then he asked, somewhat irrele.
vanity: "What're We dom now, Si?"
Lh0AhAh annMGAEA 0AAdHa SUN
keeping his eyes on the ground.
got a wife, amt We, Si?"
Eyes"
"An' a famblyP"
"Yes."
"That reminds me-" said Hiram,
stroking his beard, 20 a man I
knowed in the town where I was
raised. He had the meloncoIly fer
awhile-tiI he got cured. Want me
TO tell ye about him, SIP"
"Suit yerself," answered Silas, ex-
p~ectorating a mouthful Of tobacco
Juice on a large green worm that
was crawling across the toe Of his
right boot.
"Then I'll tell ye. I reckon there
did live a crittur that the
world could have got long without
easier fer 40 years than Job Prince"
began Hiram, removing the hoe from
his shoulder and using it as a sort
OF prop to lean upon. "How he ever
managed to grow up is a considerable
o. mystery to me, fer he was the
most indolent, ~no-'count boy I ever
see. But grow up he did, though II
wasn't no fault o. his'n-ef he'd "a
had to exert hisself any to grow he'd
a eve growed-an' then he got
struck with what the poets call the
tender pashun, an got married
Seems as eff a man never gifts so
Onery that he can't git married."
Here he paused and looked hard at
Silas, who went on chewing his to-
bacco and expectorating the Juice
snow, I amt no objections TO 8
mans gittin' married." Hiram re
sumed, "ef he's got a sack O. -four
laid up fer the future, ans got money
enough to pay the preacher, an 8
hull lot o. energy o. soul an body
But I do hate to see a mar a-enterin
into wedlock that's Altered O. ex
ertin' hisself. Becuz, somebody's got
to do some exertin' after the weddin,
bells is rung; an eff it amt the man
it's morally sartin to fall on the
woman.
"Wall, as I said, Job got married.
Fer awhile he lived easier than he
ever did, I reckon, fer she was
splendid worker, an kept herself an
Job without much trouble. But ore
day Job came home an found that
the weight O. his family was in.
creased by ten pounds. NatchurIy
times got harder fer Job after that. an
IS he had to do a little sum in addition
bout every year frum that time on.
supportin' the family became a mat.
ter o. consequence. But Job didn't
undertake the task. He shifted the
hull responsibility or onto his wife's
shoulders, an took to wanderini
through the woods or long the river
with his gun or iskin' pole. OF
a-loafn' round town, always a-Iooldn'
as eff he was the most abused crittur
on earth. But he always managed
to be home punctually at meal hours.
But finally n day he didn't come
home fer dinner. This bein' a most
extraordinary thing, Mrs. Prince was
sure that somethin' was wrong with
him, an commenced a~-frettin' an
a-worryin'-jest as eff he was wutb
frettin' an worryin' bout. An when
two o'clock came, an Job hadn't put
IN an appearance, she put on her
bunnit an went down town an told
everybody she me- that Job hadn't
come home fer dinner; an she axed
every man she came across to look
fer Job. Most Of EN- laughed. an
said that It was good radiance O bad
rubbish but Mrs. Prince answered
right back at these real mad. an
told 'em that he was her husband
Al the same-no matter what he was.
Jest like g woman; seems as Of the
onerier husband 4 Of EN- gifts, the
harder shen stay By him. But
6aally she got i've OF six men to e
On q hunt fer Job.