The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-12-06

were told, she had rather felt as If
Peaslee were doing the handsome
thing by her when he caught the
measles. He was seventy-eight or
nine before he did this, and. having
escaped the contagion during his first
childhood he had a perfect right to it
in his second, but it went hard with
him, and after an interesting illness
Of fe IT days, during which he "swore
the very hair off her head as Mrs.
Peaslee informed her neighbor, Mrs.
= Brown, he passed on.
He was a man of property. and or
course Mrs. Peaslee wept becominSly
at his funeral, and made herself as
gloomy as possible with Grape folds
and bombazine.
She employed Paul Julius. the vii
7age poet, to write a poem of sixteen
stanzas by way of an obituary notice
q poem which Mrs. julius. who was
not romantic, declared touching
enough to wiring tears out Of a grid
iron.
She also haG a $500 tombstone set up
to his memory, with a very much bent
over angel, with spreading wings, re-
clining against an urn which looked
like a patent coffeepot, and underneath
the announcement of Mr.. Peaslee's age
was inscribed this sentence from the
Spanish: MAS vale tarde que nunca."
She had asked one of her nephews-
a wild, young chap. just entering his
senior year st college. for some ex-
pressive sentence from some foreign
Language to put or his Uncle Eben's
tombstone, and the Young rascal had
imposed this: "Better late than new
err upon her, assuring her it meant:
~There is rest in heaven"
When Peaslee's will was opened the
widow was raging mad. Most of his
property had been willed to a certain
Jonathan Ebenezer Peaslee, a relative
of his, and the widow had only her
t'third." But she charged the tomb
stone, angel and all, to the estate,
and recovered the price of it. After
that, finding she was a desperate wom-
an to have around, Jonathan Ebenezer
bought out her thirds" and the
widow set up a house for herself.
Directly Grape began to give way to
lavender ribbons, and when a widow
begins to dor. lavender the fact is sig
nificant.
Mrs. Peaslee was still young-she
owned to thirty, but was really about
forty-and a very good looking woman.
I suppose she had IN undoubted right
to look around after a second husband.
Barzilla BODICE was her first fame.
The courtship was made easy. Every
thing was lovely, and the course of
true love ran smooth. The wedding
dress, white silk, with pale lavender
trimmings, was ready, the day was
set and the cards printed. But, to use
the language of the twentieth century,
life had soured on Barzilla, and a week
before the wedding he was seized with
cholera morbus, and i'll a few hours he
was no more. Mrs. Peasiee was again
a widow.
She put on the old mourning-it was
tby no mean rusty-and wore it three
months. At the end of that time she
got a little bilious, and black was not
Becoming, so she went back to the Law
Eender.
Squire Legro began to visit her. The
squire was a man of wealth, and Mrs.
Peaslee considered herself very fortu-
nate when he proposed. Again the bri-
dial day was appointed, but, alas! fate
was still u%npropitious, and stepped in
between the widow and her fond
hopes of felicity. in the shape of Annie
fTracy, the squire's seamstress. who
threatened to sue the squire for breach
of promise. This was too much for
that worthy gentleman. and he packed
up his movables and escaped. His hat
was found on the shore of Swift
River, together with a note directed
ito Annie and the widow saying that
he preferred death to disgrace, and
announcing his intention ito shuttle
off," ct cetera.
His body was never found. and two
years afterward he was seen in the
1esh-1S0 pounds Of it-in Chicago,
along with his wife and a pair Of twin
babies. So, of course, he had not died
when he expected to.
A month or two after the squire's
exodus John Nugent came to town to
engage in the very striking business
of putting up lightning rods.
Immediately the widow was seized
with a terrible dread of lightning. She
had rods put on all her buildings, the
hen house included.
Mr.. Nugent took a room at her house
When it Numbered she flew to him fol
protection. He protected her. Wher
t did not thunder she wa afraid il
has going to, and sought consolation
from him. He consoled her.
There was lightning ,Ean usua
hat summer, and Mr.. Nugens had hi:
hands full. Altogether, it was delight
kul time. Everybody was happy.
August the fifth was set for the wed
ding, but, alas! on that day Of all 9th
ers appeared at the Widow Peaslee'!
front door, inquiring for Tim jenkins
q freckled faced woman with five chill
|dren.
y Mrs. Peaslee told her that she hat
not tha honor o. Mr.. Jenkins acquaint
ance. And she called Mr.. Nugen
,own to protect her from TIE woman
Fbusc.