The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-11-15

ara found tba
r1a ava. with i lightning roa
RAJ. I ...4D't fol'er her. but let her
m erI Aase never heard ot her since
| Where | thought ! knew ali didn't
know the first gosh-hanSel thing.
Il wasn't going 10 be made = fool OF
the second time. and after | got my
divorce ! went up town for the winter
a-G - i~5a -T,1Dl cot a boarding
/ house, and I hadn't looked at the land
lady twice when knew she was the
sife for me. She was motherIy: she
was sympathetic; she was saving: she
was mild Never saw a wAaan on the
| hustle like she was. WeM 10 church
as regular as a clock, and took IL out
on me cause I stayed home and reaa
q novel.
WAL, l married her. There are men
sitting right here who can remember
the night l bruug her home. I was
mending the back fence q day q
week later when I heard her swearing.
I went In, and she swore ut me. She
sat with her feet up in another chair
and said she wasn't going to do any
more work. She didn't. I had 10 do
it all. She got beer and whisky. and
she choked money out OF me and made
1t fly. Nothing was like what I thought
it was I'd made a bigger fool OF my
self han before. even though I had
my eyes open.
Two months had gone by. and ! was
trying to stand it, when the preacher
called u day. l had taken it that
religion was Sarah's stronghold. but
the minute the preacher mentioned II
she run him out of the house and down
through the gate.
| How Il All Ended.
II reckon there's nobody in Jericho
who don't know how it all ended. One
|! night after she had pulled me out
| Of bed and dragged me outdoors |
| started for Texas and stayed there
| long huff to get my second divorce.
I'm a-telling you that | don't be-
| Iieve there's Il man or q critter on earth
! who can make a fool of a man more'n
| twice over-a man with any brains I'M
| der his hat-but you leave ii to the wo-
men folks, and they'll do it half a dOZ-
| en- times over. When | was sorter shy
| ing around after my third wife there
was folks in town here who said they
should think I'd had all the marrying
| wanted. | didn't pay any attention
to the remarks. Getting married or
| staying single is a mans own business.
A tin peddler told me of a wilder wo-
man over in Dobbs Ferry, and l ven
over to see her. | was took again at
first sight-forty years old; strong as
a horse; never'd had n days sickness;
could eat raw turnips like a COW.
Il didn't say nothing about marriage
till I'd been over there n dozen times
and asked a heap of people a heap OF
questions. | sat with her. | talked
with her. | ate with her. Nothing
WRONG: everything all o. *. Then |
popHr:. an! sac said yes. You all re-
uIvl.irr = hen / brung her home. Some
OF ynu va. s.1;l he as good as another
vChe OF o-cu TO ne.
F,rct Tang she Did.
"Nus she: The first thing she did
Wa Ia &; .'hr' il and ind fault with
ego. .ai.:. ...rn She had liver co.n.
l,!,,I.!> a.. 'nirE a"h"% and consumption
aud | GrH i...nm villa, else. but ! pail
nHt uiGh LOOT i"r !r.tcut ulciIcines la
two Years. and then She died just AT
the tine ";Dlt$ W:.:< ready for drying
/ amt ...&liI- 4 word against her.
Cause she's dead. but she wasn't 10
more .iln "n.ulD | ook her to Ne aud
aii the folks said she was than buck
wheat is ike corn.
IN now aIiving with No. 4. I'm
a-S2EinC so cnuSe yOu all know so and
'rauSe most OF you remarked when
was counting her that | Orter be sen
la aha idiot asylum. l hain't never said
Anything lIck. take it that its for Il
& to say whether he'll quit the jOl
at one or tive wives or to keep on tho
fDnrth. This one. rs you know, was
an cid maid, and | was two years
cUurting and finding out about her.
haiI't got but jest a word to say 1
started out by saying that we men
folks don't know women folks and
never will, and to prove it I'm declar
ing that when ] go home this evening
[ don't know whether my wife viii
p~recipitate herself into nay arms and
give me a kiss or whether she'll pre-
cipitate me outdoors and give me q
kick: And now there comes tBe naI,
and that's al" II. SAD.