Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-12-10

heard the same thing and are aware of the fact that in the morning the pond is to be dragged for the body.
 There may be some among you that think Joel has taken skip and is still alive, but 1 am not of the number There is no doubt in my mind that we shall fish him out of the water and that his face will wear the same pitt ful expression that we have seen rest ing there for the past five years.
 The Question among us Is why Joel should want to die, and it is a Ques- our own satisfaction. He has simply got tired of life. He could look back for five years and see nothing but ashes. When he looked ahead into the future he could not see that it held anything for him. He has been gath my way of thinking, he is now draw ing long breaths of relief in that other land
 "Gentlemen, what was the matter with Joel Taylor? Why didn't he go around whistling Yankee Doodle and feeling that this was good old world to live in? The answer is not far away. He married the wrong woman Some of us who knew what he was planning to do argued and rastled with him, but it did no good. Joel would lend blow, hoe or shovel as quick as any man on earth, and he was hon est from head to heel, but at the same time he was sot in his ways. I hain't saying that it wasn't the right thing for him to fall in love with and marry a widow. but what I'm contending is that there are several kinds of wid- ows, and he ought to have taken ad- vice. If he had married one who had been widow only year or so, with the tears of grief still in her eyes, he'd have been alive and happy today.
 What sort of q widow did he mar ry? I'm not going to say anything par ticular agin her. I'm jest saying that she had been widow and bossed things for leven years. She had got the bossing business down fine Even the ducks and roosters around her place would jump at her call Joe. had come up by himself without any bossing. and he was ore that couldn't take kindly to 1t. And he didn't know womankind. He thought every mau was an oak and that every woman was a vine that wanted to cling to him and ask nothing better than to n17e master.
 Well, as said, it was no use to ar. que with him. He was sot and went ahead, and most of us here know what begun to happen almost at once. Tho widow had farm, and she didn't turn 1t over to him. No, sir. She kept it right in her own name. She told him she was perfectly able to boss that and his, too. and she went ahead and did 1t. Joel hadn't been married three months when his days work was planned out for him He couldn't buy nor sell without his wife's consent. If he got roasted on the fence to chin with tin peddler or a lightning rod man, he'd hardly get his mouth open before down would come the wife to hustle him back to work.
 Occasions When Joel RebeIIed.
 T know there were occasions when Joel rebelled, same as any man of spirit, but rebellion was crushed al. most in the bud. His wife had way of looking at him that set his knees to wabbling. If he still held out she starved him into submission I've known him to live for four days on raw turnips before he gave in. but knuckle he had to. There was even ings when we used to see him here. He'd slip in with jug or s can for lasses or kerosene and if he couldn't he waited on right away he was in a sweat No matter how good q story anybody was telling. he never dared l to stop and listen. On five or six diff | ferent occasions when he had stayed | a minute over his time his wife ap- peared at the door and beckoned him | out and took him by tEe ear and led i him home. The next day he got noth- | ing to eat as punishment.
 As if this bossing business vas not | bad enough for man who imagined | he was a sturdy oak and capable of | supporting dozen cllnging vines, the | xife was a woman of fads. She took