The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-11-10
The Euenire Story
What the spirits Said.
(By John DarlinK.)

Jared Schermerkorn was strapp1ng |.
young farmer Whose lands were on the |
outskirts of the village OF Rawsonviiie. !
He had a house, cows, horses. hogs
Jared didn't graduate from an agri- |
cultural college, but he was up and at
work before the lark had shaken the
dew off its tail.
planets. and he hasn't 50 sure about
there being q south pole, but his wheat !
was a humping yield. and the way his .
cornstalks bore cara and his potatoes
rolled out Of the ground In the fali
was the envy OF all other farmers Tor
miles around.
Jared was not 3 vain young man. |
He had large ears, but he did not seek
to curb them. His nose grew red and
blistered in the sun. but he did not
seek the drug store for cold cream
Nature had given him large hands and
feet, but he felt that he needed them |
for farm work. 4
A young man fixed al this one was
need have no trouble In finding wife.
but at the age of twenty-four he was
still kinder looking around" That
Is, he was attending writing school,
singing school and q 'lasses candy-pull
or husking-bee now and then to wear
off his natural bashfulness.
1t is idle to try and give the exact
number Of women that could have
been coaxed to bake Jared's bread and
make his soft soap and put up his
picked peaches # he had come court
ing, but why shouldn't there have been
a dozen at least? He had come to q
certain decision before he had thought
much about marriage, and it was an
upwise decision. Under no circum-
didn't exactly know why, but that was
his decision. Had he gone tc Deacon
Shadrack and asked for advice he
would have been tcld:
less than five children-a widder
wuth at least $2,000--a wilder who is
a good hOuSekeeper-a wilder who
has carried her children through the
measles and the whooping cough. and
is as sound as a dollar herself, don't
you let the grass grow under your
feet!"
But Jared didn't go to the deacon.
and thus missed a gocd thing What
he did do was to go right on saying
widow, and somehow his decision be-
come known and three or four would
be contestants did not enter the race.
The farmer bachelor had had a
bowling acquaintance with Miss Hya-
cinth Jones for q year or 30. He had
been introduced to her at Sunday
school picnic, but they had not wan
dered under the green trees together.
Instead of referring to Miss Hya-
cinth as an old maid, which Is al
ways an ungallant thing to do. she
may be spoken of as rather old girl.
1t was he. name, more than her
looks, that left her on Jared's list of
eligibles. In case she became his wife
| 1t would be a handy thing to call her
High.
| 1t is generally supposed that when
an old girl turns her eyes on a man
| with mat-inony in view she pursues
him like fox after a rabbit. There
-
| il 1t is a rule, and Miss Hyacinth was
an exception. She sighed but she
didn't pursue. She limited that Jared
might call, but she didn't say that she
would be waiting at the front door
with beating heart. When he did call
| he found her coy. He began to- talk
about a romance he had read, but she
! switched the conversation to astron-'
omy. When he said that he must be
going she didn't ask him what his
| hurry was. When he spoke of being
a great bread eater. and asserted that
he could eat apple pie at every meal
| the year round, she did not brag of
her light loaves and fialxy crusts.
| The time came when Cupid should
have got to work. and when Miss
Hyacinth was willing to help him. but
Jared was in an undecided state of
mind. There were others. There
were no others named Hyacinth. but
! could shorten the name to Bet" when
| in a hurry.
It was when his interest began to
flag that Jared went over to Lorain
on business 1t was there that he
| found everybody excited over spirit
ualism. A stranger had come to town
and delivered lectures that aroused
the people. He had done more than
that He had sat with his hands on
| q table and called up the spirits of the
dead. and they: had answered him by
raps on the table.
One rap stood for YES" Two raps
for no.. Three raps for "I can't
The medium" as the lecturer call
ed himself. would call up the spirit
of some ones dead grandmother ana
TASK:
Are you In heaven?''
One rap-"Yes.' :
IT'S 1t . beautiful placer"
One rap.
Are you playing on harp"
| "Your daughter Eliza 10 here. Can
you see herr"
4 One rap.
/ Are you watching over her all the
time ?''
.Wili she join you in Heaven when
she dies?''
Then Eliza would break down and
weep. and other women would weep.
whisper to each other with scared
3 faces:
-sy hohsy. but did you ever hear
Then the medium. would call for
1.-THE spirit Of Napoleon. and when the
raps came to show that the hero wa
at the other end OF the wire he would
be asked: