The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1909-02-27
THE DIARY.

THE DIARY.
The look of satisfaction on Caleb
| Jenkinss face when he came home
one afternoon attracted attention al
most as soon as the bulky parcel that
he carried in his hand.
"What on earth. have you got now
that you re so tickled over?" demand
ed his wife. She took the parcel
from Caleb's unresisting hands.
He watched her with kind offas-
cination while she impatiently tore
off the brown wrapping-paper, and
as she brought to view something that
looked like an overgrown account
book he found voice to say. Its
only a diary"
"a diary p echoed Mrs. Jenkins.
"Just as though you had patience
enough to keep diary I should
Judge by the size of the book that
you expected to write in it every day,
and live to be hundred, at that -
Then, as she opened the book, she
exclaimed, "Why, it's been used |
Somebody has palmed off second
hand diary on to you, Caleb Jen-
kins?"
"Oh, that's why I bought it. I
wanted to see if / couldn't floor Zen.
as Perkins with it once in while.
You see, Zenas has got to be consid-
erable of nuisance with that diary
of his, that he's kept for a dozen
years or more.
"He doesn't allow anybody else to
know anything. If anybody remarks
that this is the warmest October that
he ever see, why, Zenas is ready to
prove that the mercury averaged to
run higher In October only two years
ago.
"Then he's always wanting to
know If we remember that it is just
so many years ago to-day that Joel
Pike barn burned, or that something
or other else happened. Only the
other day 1 was saying that Cap'n
Bakers third wife hadn't been dead
more'n n six months when he married
his fourth, and Zenas took me right
up, and got his diary, and showed by
1t that the cap'n had remained wild
over just eight months and eleven
days.
"You can't bring up nameable
thing but Zenas is waiting to pounce
on you with his diary. And 1 don't
believe he's right more'n half the
time. I calc'late he doesn't keep the
diary along regular, but writes it up
at odd jobs rainy days"
"I s'posed Zenas spent his rainy
days hanging about the 're, like
some other folks I know.
"Time and again" conl.nued Ca
leb, disregarding his wife's thinly
yelled alIusion, "I've thought of
keeping one myself but diary has
to have some age before it's good for
mnch. and Zenas had most too much
of start.
Zone day, when I had an errand
at Uncle Artemas Baxters, I found
him writing in a big book, and he re-
marked that he had kept diary for
thirty odd years, and thought then
that I'd kinder like to get hold of it.
Well, when the old gentleman passed
away, and heard that his .in-law,
Seth Strout, was a-disposing of the
household goods, I reelected the di-
ary, and thought I'd see if couldn't
dicker for it. I've just come from
Seth's, and there's the book. I'm
| going to read it all through, and then
I'm going to keep it along myself,
and we'll see if Zenas Perkins will
be the only authority on happenings
in Pondtown !'
"How much did you pay tor that
book ?" asked Mrs. Jenkins. "If you
paid for it by weight it must have
come to considerable.
"Well, l paid three and a half for
it. I offered two, and Seth wanted
FIVE, and finally we split the differ
ence."
"Three dollars and half ! Well,
never did p and Mrs. Jenkins re-
tired to the kitchen, leaving her hus-
band to the undisturbed perusual Of
his dearly bought treasure.
When she looked in on him, an
hour later, Caleb was still poring
over the book, but the exultation had
faded from his eyes.
"Alvira," he said, mournfully,
eve spent three dollars and a half
dreadfully foolish"
II guess that's no news, Caleb
Jenkins" was the curt reply.
"Now just listen to this, )" said Ca
leb, too much-absorbed in his trouble
to notice his wife's displeasure.
"This is one days record October
the eighteenth. Oh, the wickedness
that stalks abroad We have indeed
fallen upon evil times. myself am
as prone to evil as the sparks to fly
upward. Rheumatism about as yes
terday. Applied skunk's oil, but de-
rived no benefits.
"There, it's just like that, Alvira,
all through the diary. There is plen
ty of the old gentleman's reflections
and accounts of his ailments and moth
ing about the weather, and I have moi
| ~,,,, ocroce a cinO1e event vet.