Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1903-08-07
BONA Eide EXCUSES.


time or other to be made to feel as | felt
o. an occasion last winter.
when my weeks wash was two days
overdue in the returning ! began to boil
with all of the hot effervescence of male
person who has lived alone ever since he
left home. My washing was called for and
returned by the husband of my washer.
woman, and, somehow or other, although !
did not know anything about that black
man and brother, | couldn't dssassociate
him in my mind from crap shooting and gin
"a palpable injustice, as frankly tell you,
because | had never seen him toss dice
nor absorb glass of gin. He just looked
that way to me, that's all. Well, | held
him responsible for the overdue wash. |
figured him as having lost it on the way
to my boarding house, or even a. having
pawned it for juniper juice, or something
of the sort.
MY washerwoman husband brought
my wash back on the fourth evening. |
was rather astonished, and, in fact. put
out, that he didn't bear any marks of re.
cent dissipation On the contrary. he
looked very subdued and humble OF course.
l opened up the heavy battery on him. He
took it all without a word of humble ex-
postulation until had quite finished, and
then he said:
My wifes sistuh, sub. she done drapped
daid on de av'noo day befo' yistiddy. an
dat de reason, sub. nah wife couldn't
git de clo'es done no soonuh, sub
81 greeted that statement with the deri-
sion it seemed to deserve. ! took it out OF
hand as another, and a rather unusual.
variation of the darby excuse for derele-
ton
Ieah's my wife's note bout it, sub
said the husband of my washerwoman,
handing me grimy note
81 took the note and read it, It was
quantity written and mi,spelt, and it told
me of the sudden death of my washerwom-
ans sister on Pennsylvania avenue. con.
Guiding with an appeal to me for little
something to help bury the dead sister.
on wrote this yourself my man. said
] to the husband Of my washerwoman. and
this IS put-up job on your part to gouge
me for gin money
"The man looked hurt but that didn't
bother me at ALL know what clever actors
our colored friends sometimes are when
circumstances require.
g Deed all didn't. sub he replied. ap-
pealingly 'Ah sut'inlv didn't write dat.
suh-ah can't write nohow. Nah wife she
done writ it.
Well. I'd like to believe you, hut 1
don't see my way clear to do it, | an
nounced to the man. Here's the money
for the wash You may tell your wife
by the way. what wa, the name of this
sister-in-law Of yours that dropped dead?'
MY idea was to trip him suddenly. He
stammered and looked foolish
All don't quite remembuh. sub: all
think il wa, Lily somethin'- but ah neveh
seen much of my wife's -i~tuh an
"Of course. that convinced me that rhe
man was lying and that the note had been
trumped up.
Very well said to the man in a tone
OF finaity. It, pretty fshy when You
don't even know the name of this dead
slsterln-law. | shall engage the services
OF another washerwoman, YOU may tell
your wife
Ah'll tell huh, suh--good ev'n'n'. sub
and the man SUNK ont of my door and
closed it softly after him.
something of what You might call down
/ in hi, look, a. he went out struck me and
/ hurt me bit It was bitter cold evening.
/ am the wind was bowling outside. and per
/ hap~ that mad something 10 do with the
vague feeling Of selfreproach that ! ex.
/ perienced soon as the man Went away.
/ l wonder if it could be possible thatthe
/ fellow is telling the TRUTH: asked my
self
Then It occurred to me that an &C.
count Of woman having died suddenly on
pennsylvania avenue must surely have been
/ given in the newspapers. thrashed
around and found a newspaper Of the dav
before. You can picture to yourself how
felt when found n crcumstantial account
OF how Young colered woman had suddenly