Year: 1875

| that / followed sewing for living. cOuld
do tailoring and dress.making and mend
ing and quilting, and such, as well as the
best, and so l was sent for far and near.
Now suppose had allowed myselfto fetch
| and carry from house TO house whatever
might happen to hear of peoples affairs,
| like some folks, should have got myself
into a muss many's the time. My mother
taught me better. Now Sall,' says she,
when irst went out 10 work, be mighty
careful how you carry news from house 10
house, or tell what you know Of peoples
private matters, even when IL doesn't seem
as If It could do the least mite of harm.'
| And she went on to say that some people
never liked to have a tailoress or seam
stress or even washer-woman around,
because some of them are apt TO be full OF
gossip, and TO fetch and carry from house
TO house. Even when there isn't single
thing they are ashamed to have known,
people like TO feel that they can keep their
| private business to themselves. So my
mother said, and found 1t TO be exactly
so. thought all the more of it after my
mother was dead and gone. Most people
seemed 10 like my way of keeping myself
TO myself, and again there were others who
acted as il they were really provoked be-
cause they couldn't get more out oil me,
and they pestered me to death, limiting
round to see if by putting that and that to-
gether they couldn't make out something
without asking me out right. There were
the two SnufIer girls, Lyddy Ann and
Betsy Jane they wanted to know every
body's business, and was always trying TO
find out something. And such ridiculous
things !-how many table-cloihs the Snow
dons used in a week (that was our minis
ter's family, and how much they paid
their hired girl week, and If she ate at the
table with the family. If a stranger came
TO church with any of the girls, they
couldn't listen 10 the sermon until they
had found out who and what he was, and
The next day they made business Of col
lecting information about his family, his
property and all such. l always hated TO
go there TO work when any of the girls in
Shrewsbury or in the towns round were to
be married. They most generally sent for
me TO help spell, and Of course l knew
pretty much their affairs But / was not
going to tell what the wedding-dress was
| TO be nor Just how much ii cost yard, nor
whether they bought 1t in Boston or nearer
home, nor how many pounds of cake they
were going TO make, and all such. The
girls said it kind of took the edge oil TO tell
every thing beforehand they had rather
come out new. Well, when it came time
for Deacon Goodman's daughter to be mar
ried, there was great stir among the girls.
Matilda had lived in Boston, consider able
with her uncle Joshua, who was rich and
lived in good deal Of style, and so the
girls all expected that her outfit would be
something pretty handsome; and so 1t was.
Why, her wedding dress, with her gloves
and slippers and little notions cost we'll
nigh thirty dollars! Matidy said herself
that she thought part OF the money ought
to be given TO the missionaries, hut then il
was a present from her uncle, and SO there
was nothing TO be said. was going there
| to help about some matters, and so l hap
pened to say that there would he great
curiosity among the young people TO know
the particulars OF the wedding.


"'Lawful sakes = says Mrs. Goodman,
do, dear tell them all they want TO know :
|
in The least stuck up. They were only
waiting for Spring TO get home from Ohio.
That was cousin of Matildy's who was go.
ing TO stand up with her. lie was named
Aminadab, after his grandfather but as
people that had known him from baby
would keep on calling him Minny, and the
young meu called him Dab, his folks con-
cluded TO call him by his last nane-Spring
said 10 Mrs. Goodman that she would miss
Matildy when she came TO go away for
good. oh, yes, of course; but she went on
TO say that she and the deacon might go
with the young folks TO Boston, and that
would make II seem not quite so sudden.
Matilda was very anxious 10 nave them go
and stay until afler Thanksgiving. The
deacon insisted that his wife should go,
but he said, what with his rheumatism
and some che res he had 10 do on the farm,
he thought he had better stay at home and
see TO things. His wife would hardly agree
10 this. She said it would he the first time
they had been separated for thirty years,
and, as the deacon said, the first time they
ever had serious disagreement and he
laughed as if it was an uncommon good
joke.


"Well, as left the deacons with such n
budget of n ews that l was at liberty TO tell,
thinks TO myself shall he quite well
come visitor at some house know Of. AS
1t happened, l was going to work for the
Shutters the very next day, and so should
haye a chance TO make up, in a manner, for
being so close minded, as they called me,
by speaking out for once as free as other
folks.


"I got there the next morning rather be-
fore they expected me, and as stood ready
to knock at the side door heard my name,
and waited a moment. A window was
open, and as one of the girls was laying the
table In the kitchen, and the other out in
the back room ironing, they spoke pretty
loud 10 each other, and l could hear every
word they said, though they didn't hear
me knock and knock. One of them said,
Don't tell me about Sail Barker's pru-
dence, and her being so mighty conscien-
tiO1s and all that. / warrant you she is as
glad TO poke that great long nose of hers
into other peoples business as anybody
! and II is only because she is so contrary
that she likes TO keep things TO herself
She feels so important when she has some
great secret that she can keep from every
body elseI II Is the way she takes TO pes
ter folks And she went on about old maids
in way that was scandalous. But am no
going 10 repeat ii. You may be sure that
felt pretty well rlled up, and I had half !
mind TO go straight home but had sen
nay goose and lap-board along, for had /