Year: 1875

the road to Deacon Goodman's house.


He hitched his horse, and then raped
mt the front door, instead of going to the


side porch as usual, and Nancy--that


was their hired girl-supposing that he
must have some solemn business, took


him into the great solemn parlor, where,


venture to say, no one of the family
sat down six times i'll a year. The
deacon was out doing some fall planting.


His wife brought out his other coat and
helped him spruce up little, and then
he went, with little cough and hem or
two, and feeling very stiff, into the great
stiff room. How dye do, Parson
Snowdon Glad to see you. And how
is your wife The parson and his wife
were both pretty smart, and how was the
deacon and his wife Well, both clev-
erly, except that the deacon's rheuma-
tism held on in spite of his good wife
great care of him, and she herself was
troubled with weak eyes. They looked
red and watered all the time, and panied
her considerable. The parson had no.
ticed along back that her eyes had looked
red, and he was afraid that she was tax
ing on, maybe, about losing Matildy so
soon. We'll, no ; it wasn't exactly that,
for Matildy was going to wait while till
her cousin Spring got home, and then,
very likely, his wife would go to Boston
to stay with her while she set up house
keeping And he told the rest, about
her wishing him to go with her, and
about their never having been separated
since they were married, and he repeat
ed his little joke about their never hay
ing had a disagreement before.


"The parsons face grew broader and
shorter, and presently, as the full
light broke in, he brought down his
foot with stamp, and threw back his
that Nancy declared that if Parson Snow
don wasn't master-hand to laugh, then
she eli Mt know; and Mrs. Goodman
ventured to show herself TO ask him not
to go home without taking along II few
notions for his WIFE The chaise box
was packed with fall sweetings, pair of
chickens, half q pack of doughnuts, and
cheese to go with them; and soon the
parson, in the best of humors, went tee
tering homeward.


"The whole matter was soon eX-
planned, and the stories traced to the
Snuffer girls. They were dreadfully cut
up, and laid the whole on nay shoulders;
but nobody else blamed me; and as for
Betsy Jane and Lyddy Ann, they knew
it wouldn't do mite of good to
keep put out with me. 1t was
only cutting off their own noses,
for they couldn't do without me, any
way. The best of it was when Lyddy
Ann came to be getting ready all of n
to marry widower with five
children, and didn't want n soul to know
of it till the last minute, especially as
she had always declared that she never
would marry widower-no, not if she
had to live an old maid till the day of
her death-and the girls would never be
done hectoring her


"Now, girls, let me give you one piece
of advice; never be telling beforehand
who you will or who you won't marry.
According to my way of thinking, it is
more prudent and more modest to wait
until you are asked.


GAS for Lyddy Ann, she owned that 1
was all right in keeping things to myself,
and that she had been ugly in running
out SO against me; and she went on to
say that she had learned one lesson from
me, and one that she should try TO in
doctrinate her step-children with, and
that was, not to fetch and carry from
house to house what they might happen
to see and hear. ."-IfdrDer'S Bdzdr.