The Hayti herald. (Hayti, Mo.) 1908-1922, 1914-01-01
.YfkryT.Wilkins

r. ~ she died. di;'nt
:, hnoW now they
would Set along at
first but all Of The boys had been used
To helpin' ma a good deal, and they
were real handy, and when l asked IT
they wasn't gcin' to have a house
keeper, they wouldn't hear to it.
They said they wasn't goin to
have no strange woman round in
mas place, nohow. So Silas he took
hold and did the washin' and ironin',
and Reuben did the sweepin', and
LeEnuel, he was the youngest, next to
me, did the cookiI'. He could cook
dinner equal to any woman, and his
pies beat mine. My husband said SO,
and had to give in they did.
Well, they seemed to get along so
nice, and none of 'em had ever seemed
to think much about the girls, not
even when they was boys, that must
say was astonished when Lemuel he
up and got married to Mehitable
Pierce. She was a little along in
years, too, rather more so than Lem
uel, and a dreadful smart piece. She
was good lookin' and she had property,
but she was dreadful smart and up an
comm. I could never see how Lem
| uel ever got the courage to ask her to
have him, he was always kind of
mild spoken little fellow. Reuben he
declared he didn't. He vowed that
Mehitable asked him herself. He said
he knew it for a fact, and he said it
with the tears rollin' down his cheeks.
| Reuben was the Oldest and he'd al
ways been terrible fond of Lemuel.
THAT poor boy would never have got
in such fix if that woman hadn't up
an asked him, an he didn't have
sphnk enough to say no." said Reuben,
and he swallowed hard.
Mehitable had nice house of her
own that her father left her, all fur
nished and everything, so Of course
Lemuel he went to live with her, and
Mehitable's house was pretty near
where | lived, SO l could see every.
thing that was goin' on. 1t want very
long before I said to Hannah Morse
my husbands old maid sister that
lives with us and teaches school, that
1 believed Lemuel was henpecked
though l hadn't anythin' against Me
hitable.
81 don't see what else anybody that
married Mehitable Pierce would eX
pect," said Hannah. She spoke rea
sharp for her. I've always kind OF
wondered if Hannah would have haC
Lemuel if he'd asked her. WELL" sale
], II hope poor Lemuel will be happy
He's always been such good, mild
wilIin' boy that it. does seem a pity
for him to be rode over rough-shop
and have all the will he ever did have
.rodden into the dust"
well, that is what will happen, o.
I'll miss my guess" said Hannal
Morse. For long while thought sht
was right. 1t was really pitiful to SCI
Lemuel. He didn't have no more lib
erty nor will of his own than a five
year-old boy, and not SO much. Mehit
able wouldn't let him do this and that
and if there was anythin' he wanted II
do, she was set against it, and he'd al
ways give right in. Many's the tim
Lemuel has run over to my house, AM
his wife come racin' to the fence an
screamed after him to come Nome, an
he'd start up as scared as he could be
And manys the time I've been /
there, and he started to go out, an
she'd tell him to set down, and he
set without murmur.
Mehitable she bought all his clothes
an she favored long-tailed coats, an
he bein' such O short man neve
looked we'll in 'em, and she wouldn
let him have store shirts and collar!
but made them herself, and she didn
have very good patterns, she used he
fathers old ones, and he wasn't n
such built man as Lemuel, and, i kno'
he suffered everything, both in hi
pride an his feelin's. Lemuel bega
to look real downtrod. He didn't seel
like half such man as he did, and th
queerest thing about it was: Mehi
able didn't pear to like the work {
her own hands, 30 to speak.
One day she talked to me about
II dunno what 'tis," said she, "b,
Lemuel he don't seem to have no c
ahead and no ambition and no will I
his own. He tries to please me, bl
Q 1t don't seem as if he had grit enoue
8 even for that. Sometimes l think
l. amt we'll, but / dunno what ails hir
r I've been real careful of him. He
q worn thick flannels. and he's hi
J. wholesome yictuals; amt never /
= him have pie"
: "Lemuel was always dreadful for
o of pie" said /. felt kind of sorry, Il
n n n n