The Globe-republican., 1903-05-21

AAhthVhJ AANhy NA3t ASNs -
1I as the poet says, ito elm
@H !sl|| life's rugged steep alone
By Anthony I mean Nj
Jones, Of course; and II your NAM
good reader, happens to be Jones, IL
me say he was no relation of yours
nor yet Of the Jones round the col
ner; nor of the Jones at the foot Of til
hill, whose wife has just had twin
for the third time, and all living; bu
another Jones altogether.
Now, l just mention this by the way
and not with any intention Of glvin
an account of my dead husbands ar
tecedents; for If there is one thin
i dislike above another, 1t Is tracini
back ones pedigree.
Not but what I think MI. Jone
might have had an alderman, or evel
a Judge, among bis great uncles o
great-great-gl arafathers but I mar
rled him for what he was, and not TO
what any of his relations were. AM
/ hope that none Of my friends whit
are Giving on the reputation of thei
deceased relatives" will think that
am limiting at themi for l am not. a..
As I said before, 1t Is just fourteen
years since | was left widow witt
one child, a girl Of eight. We had lai(
three beneath the willows, over thu
hill; so you may be sure I chung to THU
one with fourfold affection.
When the funeral was over ut wal
quite respectable funeral; there were
Twenty-Five carriages, besides two mer
on horseback, Deacon Wilson was
called in to look over my husbands
papers. Mr.. Jones had asked him to DE-
this before he died, and as I knew the
deacon to be an honest and trust
worthy man, was sure they would be
safe in his hands, and that he would do
the right thing by me and my father.
less child.
After all debts were paid, there re-
manned just $500. OF course, the house
and lot were my own; I had the deed,
and saw It registered myself; but $500
was very small sum. and my heart
sank when the deacon handed 1t to
me with the remark:
"I've done the best could, Mrs.
Jones, but I'm afraid it won't 60 far.
My wife and l were talking Of you
last night, and we thought 1t would not
be bad plan for you to start small
grocery. The village Is growing, and
this new factory will bring a good deal
Of trade here. Then there are my own
hands at the mill; | think / could send
q little your way through them. If this
partition were taken down, you would
! have plenty of room for the shop, with
-Four kitchen back Of 1t, Which would
II real handy" I thanked him for his
adkice and promised to think 1t over.
The partition pulled down! Well,
well, and my beautiful little parlor
turned into filthy grocery! The pretty
green carpet and the nice cane-seated
chairs, that did not look bit the worse
for ten years wear, put up, perhaps,
under the auctloneer's hammer! No,
no, not this; anything but this; at least,
not yet! What would poor, dear An
thony have thought Of pulling the
house to pieces; the house that he had
taken such a pride in, too? looked
over at his big armchair, almost ex-
pecting to see him frown Indignantly
at the very thought Of such a thing;
but, there 1t stood In its old place,
and 1t was empty.
:, Then I thought Of Hetty's rosy
cheeks, and of the money in my hand.
How long would 1t last? Even with
the strictest economy, one year would
make a big hole in 1t. These things
passed rapidly through my mind, and 1t
became evident that something would
have to be done, and that very soon.
The deacon's proposition came up
again, and l thought Of Tomkins little
grocery with Its atmosphere of smoke
and Its carpet Of tobacco juice; with
Its daily loafers and Its evening
loungers; with Its unceaslng clatter of
cowhide, and Its great outlaws.
"No, no." | said aloud; ut can never
be-" For, to use the words Of Charles
Lamb, "the more thought Of 1t, the
less thought Of IT."
Weeks passed by and l had come to
no decision about my plans for the
future, when one day Mrs. Porter, a
neighbor,. who had proven "a friend,
indeed" many a time, suggested that
1t would be good thing for me to take
In a few boarders; | would not feel
30 lonesome like, she said-with deli
cacy that I could not but admire. i
Now, strange to say, / had not
thought Of this before, and the idea
rather pleased me, as prlded myself
on my housekeeping, and had plenty
Of room to accommodate three Or four
persons-the house being two-story |
frame; so | set about furnishing the
two upstairs rooms, which had never
been used, and at the end Of three
months after my dear Anthony's death, |
1 was ready for my first boarder.
l had said nothing to Deacon Wilson
Of my intentions, but somehow his
folks got wind Of II, and he called one
day to testify his approval Of the step
which was about to take, and kindly |
offered me bis two apprentices to start