The Tupelo journal., 1905-08-18
tho nub wuz Off the upstairs closet

E&
the postman had a wart on his nose
that wuz repulsive to her. And the
minister, though a good man., wuz
dull, and couldn't hold the audience,
specially the children.
John said seem the children wuz in
the cradle yet, as you might say, 1t
wuzn't necessary to have 'em held by
the minister, only in his lap, when he
visited 'em. And then she complained
of the air; she mistrusted it wuznt
good, and she'd hearn that right where
their house stood used to be a swaie.
But John said seem the swale wuz
filled in 200 years ago and wuz good
dry land now, he didn't see what diff
ference it made.
And finally she come out and owned
that accompanied by Miss anson
she'd hunted round sarahuptishusly
and found a place that in her feverlsh
| state seemed all that could be desired.
She thought the house more con-
venient, the neighborhood better, Miss
| Hanson wuz goin' to live only a few
doors away. At which information
| John groaned, for Miss Hanson n
her house might as well been put on
| casters since she never stayed Ion
enough in one place to pay for settln'
down.
And then SEE Azalea the rent is 50
| cents a week cheaper, land jest THINK,
john" SEE she, $50 cents a week Clear
| gain. two dollars a month, that VIII
buy our bread, and you know, John,
that bread is called the staff of life.
And if we can save twenty-four dollars
a year on a few more items in house
hold expenses as we'll as rent what a
savin' it viii be for. us. Why three
more would make" and she begun to
sing:
"Fourstimes four is sixteen and one to
carry,
Four times two is eight and n is
Excuse me-, John, but | learnt the
multiplication table on a tune and l
can't reckon numbers unless sing the
figures"
John patiently listened until she
sung the sum through and announced
that the gain would be ninety-slX dol
lars a year.
Just think Of that. John, what a
help towards our dear little home in
the country; most a hundred a year
But how are we to ave the rest?'
SEE John. You forget, my dear, that
the rent would only be t~wenty-four
dollars less and it is so far from my
work that that wouldn't begin to pay
my car fare"
ooh | can save on something else
and will. And John, | have set my
heart on moving"
Well, we all know how it ended.
John ,aginst his interest, his wishes
and good judgment yielded to Azalea.s
%pleadin's. And the first day OF May
saw their house invaded by a couple
of strong armed %vandals, who tore up
the carpets, smashed round the furnl-
ture as if they loved to hear things
rattle and tear. John could not pos
sibly leave his work that day, anG
havin' hired two men and TWO furni-
ture vans and a stout woman he with
a sinking heart betook himself to his
| office, expecting to go to the e nome
at night, away forever from the little
home in which he had been SO happy.
Azalea's first venture in settlin' a
home had been made under JohnS
protecting wing, and she thought 1t
rather a pleasure than otherwise as he
lifted about carefully the dainty new
furnishings ana they both deciding
where things would look best.
But now. oh how different. Early
in the morning her maid of all work
in going about the upset rooms
stepped on a rusty nail and in trying
to save herself had a severe fall that
made her perfectly helpless and Azalea
had to call a cab and have the girl
taken first to a doctors to extract the
nail and then to her own home, as it
would be some time before she would
be able to resume work.
One of the men Wuz a new hand Ind
wanting to rise in his employers es-
timation he charged on the dainty fur
niture as Japs might on a Russian
OUTPOST. He threw small chairs, stools
and stands about and then rushed 'em
into the yawning van that seemed to
| Azalea like the gate of doom, from
which her treasures could never re-
turn. And indeed they never did in
their old perfect shape. Azalea
watched with trembling lips the leg
of a small rosewood table split from
top to bottom and a picture frame con
tanning an oil painting of the great
aunt smashed and then sought the
older man and complained.
She found him at the dining room
sideboard p%artaking of a bottle of
brandy which they KEEP for sickness,
and the stout woman, bein' also of a
convivial turn. wuz also assuagin' her
thirst from the same bottle, which wuz
lust emptied as Azalea found them
He promised to look after his assist
ant. But from this time Azalea dated
her worst sufferings. The brandy wuz
first proof and their brains bein' sort
O. second proof, the brandy come out
ahead. And then as she discovered
afterwards the woman had a private
bottle, of the effects of which more
anon.
From this scene Azalea wuz called
by the screams OF the twins; rushing
upstairs she found them with both the
priceless vases in their laps, she hav-
ino tamnnrariJy loft thar in thair