Newspaper Page Text
BY E. B. MURRAY & CO.
ANDERSON, S. C, THURSDAY MORNING, JANUARY 1, 1885.
VOLUME XX.?NO. 25
REMEMBER THE OLD MAXIM,
LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP!'
c
YOU wish to makejyour friends
happy. Of course you do. Then
follow our advice, and present each
with a handsome Holiday Gift.
Come at once and make your se?
lections from our stock of beautiful
CHRISTMAS PRESENTS, which
is the largest of the kind in the city,
and sure to please. Elegant Goods.
Endless Variety. Moderate Prices.
Now is the time to make your se?
lections- Don't wait until the last
moment, when the choicest, perhaps,
will be then sold, We will store
away your Presents, if desired, until
you wish to carry them home or else?
where.
Christmas Presents, Wedding and
Birthday Qifls! Before you buy
them call and see us. Our Holiday
Goods are now being opened, display?
ing the highest decorative art, and
are strikingly beautiful. They must
be seen to be appreciated, and are
certain to please the taste of your
relative or friend, and the selection of
any of these Gifte will be highly ap?
preciated by them.
We have the handsomest Pluah
and Velvet Manacure Sets, Shaving
Sets, Smoking Sets, Dressing Casts,
Thermometers in plush frames, Whisk
Brooms and Holders, Writing Desk
and Work Box combined. Also,
Fine Cut Glass Cologne Bottles, Fin?
est Extracts and Perfumery, Beauti?
ful Hand Mirrors, Shaving Mirrors,
Velvet Whisk Brooms, Gift Cups and
Saucers, Bisque Goods, Plush Frames
for Placques, etc,
If you don't care anything for the
above, we have the best 5c. Cigar in
the city, a box of which will make!
good Present for some of your
smoking friends.
Besides the above, we have the
argest stock of Lamp3 seen ? in the
up-country, and the greatest variety,
one of which will make a useful
Present, and be an ornament for any
Parlor or Drawing Boom.
3
o
Which is Fittingly Shown by the above.
GOODS WERE NEVER SO LOW.
This fact We are prepared to Prove to cor Friends and
Customers who may favor us with a call.
"TTTB are now receiving the largest and most carefully selected Stock of General Mer
V V chandise which we have ever purchased, and will make it to your interest to
call and examine for yourselves. We have added to the lines usually kept by ns many
new and desirable ones, embracing? .
?
Ladies' Dress Goods, Flannels. Suitings, Shawls, &c,
And the best CORSET on the market at 50c, worth $1.00. Also, a
A LARGE LINE OF READY MADE CLOTHING,
HATS, TRUNKS, UMBRELLAS,
BLANKETS, SADDLES and HARNESS.
Also, the Celebrated "NEW GLOBE" SHIRT?the king of all 8hlrts. It needs
only to be worn to be appreciated.
We are agents for the Celebrated Mishawaka Sulky Piows, Cultivators and Hand
Turning Plows.
The "White Hickory" and "Hickman" one and two-horse WAGONS, every one of I
which we guarantee.
The attention of Ginners and Farmers is called to our?
COTTON SEED AND GRAIN CRUSHER,
By which yon can crush yonr Cotton Seed and make your Fertilizer.
Get our prices on Plantation and Gin House Scales, Cotton Gins, Feeders and Con?
densers and General Farm Machinery.
' We are at all times in the Cotton Market, and will do you right. We will pay all
ties who owe ns for Supplies and Guano an extra price.
A large lot of BAGGING and TIES at lowest prices.
Oct 2,1834
McCULLY, CATHCART & CO.
12
THE NEW FIRM.
CUNNINGHAM & FOWLER,
Successors to J. G. Cunningham & Co., dealers in
DRY GOODS, GROCERIES, HATS, BOOTS, SHOES,
HARD W A. R E ,
And a full line of EVERYTHING usually kept in a General Stock.
Also, the world-renowned Dixie Plow. Agents for Mi Ibnrn and Old
Hickory Wagons, and the Columbus Boggy, the best in the world for the
money.
?8" We want all the money that is duo us this Fall on any account?Merchandise,
Guano, or otherwise. The Books, Notes and Accounts of the late Firm of J. G. Cun?
ningham & Co. are in our hands for^collection, and must be settled in some way.
Thanking our friends for past patronage, we ask a continuance of the same. Come
to see us. We will do you right. ?&" All goods delivered free inside the city.
Oct 9,1884
CUNNINGHAM & FOWLER.
13
C. BART & CO.,
55, 57 and 59 Market street,
CHARLESTON, - S. C,
THE LARGEST
FRUIT AND PRODUCE HOUSE
IN THE SOUTH.
JMPORT and keep constantly on hand?
Bananar, Cocoannts,
Oranges, Pine Apples,
Apples, Lemons, Nuts,
Raisins, Potatoes,
Cabbage, Onions,
N. C and Va. Peanuts.
jRlQT *>, 1984 19 4m
NOTICE FINAL SETTLEMENT.
Notice is hereby given that the un?
dersigned, Administrator of the Estate of
John Herron, deceased, will apply to
the Judge of Probate for Anderson County,
on the 10th day of January, 1885, for a
Final Settlement and discharge from said
office as Administrator of said Estate.
W. A. McFALL, Adna'r.
Dec 11, 1884 22 i
Notice to Creditors.
W. B. Watson vs. Emma C. Erskine, et al.
ALL persons having claims against the
Estate of Wm. B. Erskine. dec'd.
are hereby notified to prove their claims
before me on or by the lstday of February,
1885. W. W. HUMPHREYS,
Master.
Dec 18,1884 28 8
The Tender Conscience
of Mr. Bobberts.
BY 8HERWOOD BONNER.
From Harper'8 Weekly.
I.
It wuz about the third year o' my
marriage with Jed Burridge that the
rust got inter the wheat; an' what
wuzn't rust wuz cheat. People saw the
bread a-slippin out o' ther mouths i;n
stid of inter them, an' every man on
the Nine-mile wuz as blue as a wet
hen. Talk run high about emigratin'
to KaDsas, which wub represented fis
ovurflowin' with milk an' honey, free
fur all who wuz a-longin' fur that
Scripterai food.
Nobody grumbled more than our
nighest neighbor, Mr. So-So Bobberts.
Israel wuz his proper name, but some
wag had giv him the kognomen of
"So-So," an' co'se it stuck to him like
a burr. It riz from his habit of never
comin' out with a squar yes of no on
any p'int, nor, so to speak, of givin'
any satisfactory praise or dispraise to
things of God or the devil. Every?
thing wuz from fair to middlin', like
an average cotton bale. He wus:
mighty low once, an' the doctor had
about give him up.
"How do you stand with God?"
says Preacher Snowden, a-bendin' over
him, an' shoutin' loud inter his deef
ening ear.
"So-so," growls Mr. Bobberts, true
to hisself to the last. He never wuz
one fur gilt-edge speeches, an' didn't
want ter ornament his dyin' bed with
anything uncommon.
However, he didn't die this turn,
but wuz soon round, paart as ever,
seemin' ter think he liad outwitted
death fur good. Truth is, he's one of
the tough kind that's hard ter kill, not
a ounce o' adipose on his bones. He
is long an' lean an' lank an' ribby as
the sea sand, as the poetry book says.
On top o' that long body o' his is set
the littlest head ever I see oh a mature
adult person?not much bigger than a
billiard ball, an' nigh about ez smooth,
if you could ketch him on a summer's
day coolin' off under a tree, with his
wig hangin' in the branches above.
His face is smooth-shaved, an' has a
kind o' scorched look, as if it had been
held over a blaze till the red wuz burnt
in; an' with glitterin' little black eyes
an' a tight mouth, he is altogether a
curious-lookin' old critter.
Ter begin my story proper, mebbe I
ought ter go back to the fust thrashin'
machine that wuz ever brought to the
Nine-mile. It wuz a sort of triangular
purchase, Mr. Bobberts leadin' off, an'
persuadin' two neighbors, John Raney
an' Farmer Sweet, to club in with him,
it bein' too expensive fur any one man
ter buy. Everybody wuz surprised at
sich a j'inin' of forces, fur John an'
Farmer Sweet wuz jolly, slap-dash kind
o' fellers, spendin' their money free as
words, au' fonder of a good laugh than
of daily bread, while Mr. Bobberts
wuz as close as a chestnut, an' never
could see any sense in a joke. How
somever, the thrasher wuz bought, an'
a contract made settin' forth that the
machine Wuz to be controlled ekally
by the three, an' that in any question
concernin' it the majority wuz ter rule.
One day Mr. Bobberts, John Raney,
an' Farmer Sweet wuz bard at work
in the fust-narned's ten-acre field. Mr.
B. wuz mortal cross that day, an' his
helpers wuzn't feelin' very lovin'.
Noontime brought Cissy Bobberts with
two tin buckets containin' a snack.
"Maw Bays you are to come up to the
house, paw," says she; "ther's tome
hot gingerbread fur you."
Bobberts walked off very prompt,
an' the two men that wuz left looked
at each other an' grinned.
"Did I ever tell you about my
frandfather?" said John Raney to
"armer Sweet
"Didn't know you had a grandfath
er.
"Well, I did; an' I can tell you he
wuz a man amoag men. On one oc?
casion my mother, who wuz a gret
person for puttin' on style, had invited
a lot of town folks out to a dinner. It
wuz to be a big affair. Ovens an'
skillets an' pots an' pans wuz all full.
As luck would have it, my grandfath?
er wuz buildin' a mill in the vicinity,
an' he had a good force o' laborers
employed?some twenty men or more
?an' among 'em half a dozen black
fellows that he had picked up in town.
Jest as dinner wuz about to be dished
up, in stalked the old man as solemn
as a turkey gobbler, an' after him six
negroes, each with a brandnew wooden
tray balanced on his head. 'Fill 'em
up, boys,' says he, iu a voice to make
your hair stand en end; an' at the
word, in a twinklin' the dinner wuz
piled up on the trays?venison an' pig,
an' roast turkey au' fried chicken, an'
vegetables an' pies of every name an'
natur'?a clean sweep, even to the salt
pork that wuz mixed in with the
'fresh,' fur old acquaintance' sake.
Not so much as a cooky wuz left to
tell the tale. Mis' Jacob Price, who
wuz a-cookin' fur my mother that day,
wuz so overcome at seein' the company
dinner hurricaned away in such a
fashion that she jest sunk inter a chair,
an' sot there like a wax figger, big
eyed an' tongue-tied. An' when the
six Africans had marched out, all on
the broad grin, my grandpa turned to
Mis' Price, an' says he: 'I've got
twenty men a-laborin' at my mill, an'
they deserve a good dinner, fur they've
earned it. An' as fur them lazy wo?
men at the house'?here he p'inted his
thumb over his shoulder very con?
temptuous?'let 'em come out au' cook
another dinner, or go home a-fastin'.'"
Mr. Sweet took a thoughtful pull at
the butter-milk jug. "Must ha' had a
good deal of whisky in him, your
grandpa must," said he, "before he
ventured so far with a woman of your
mother's spunk."
"Well, maybe," returned the other,
cautiously. "They do say he subsisted
mainly on whiskey well into the nine
tiei."
Both men laughed, an' dived further
into their tin buckets, in hopes of
findin' a stray doughnut or a cold pie.
"Well I must say," cried Farmer
Sweet, "I wish your grandfather had
been round the Bobberts kitchen this
day; we might ha' had something fit
for a Christian stomach."
"Old Bobberts is a close hand," said
John Raney, "no doubt of that."
"No doubt at all,""?aid the farmer.
"I don't quite see, John, how we came
to be associated with him in buyin' this
machine."
"Because we were a precious pair of
fools," said Mr. Raney, cheerfully.
"An' then," cried Farmer Sweet,
"fur all the old 'coon wuz so crazy fur
the machine, an' pestered us to death
to go thirds with hhn, you can't make
him own now that he likes the old
thrasher, or feels in any way beholden
to us. 'Twuz only this mornin' I says
to him. 'Well, farmer, how d'ye like
the machine, now you've seen her
a-goin' ?' 'Oh, so-so,' says he. 'Sho','
says I, 'you ought ter come out strong?
er than that Mr. Bobberts. Think
what a savin' of labor it is.' 'Well,'
says he, jest fur pure contrainess, 'I
aip't sho' but that I like the old way
best; it wuz more sociable like. Now,
you see the neighbors will all be
a-wantiu' ter borrow the machine, an'
we may regret ever a-purchasin' of it.'
An' then he sithed, as hypocritical as
a preacher at a strange funeral."
John Raney wuz the greatest fellow
fur a joke on the perarer, an' a wicked
thought come a-jumpin' inter his mind.
"Say," cried he, "I aia't overproud
of ownin' anything along with old
Bobberts. Let's burn up the whole
rig, ar' clear out."
"Burn her?" said Farmer Sweet,
his eyes a-starin'; "arter all the money
we've put in her ?"
"We'd never ha' got much satisfac?
tion out of her,'' said Rainey. "Bob?
berts would always want her jest when
our wheat wuz ready; an' what a joke
it would be on him jest ter take him
at his word fur once, an' tell hira we
thought tke old way wuz best as well
aa he."
Farraei Sweet begun ter laugh.
"All right/' said he ; "go ahead."
An' then an' there them two men
act'ally did set lire ter that thrashiu'
machine. I mustn't forget ter say that
some folks always declared that the
fire wuz an accident, an' that them
two men made up the tale of burnin' it
themselvas jest ter devil Mr. Bobber'^.
When Bobberts came out an' saw
the thing in a blaze, it set him in the
biggest rage ever seen on the Nine
mile.
"We thought you would like it,"
says Farmer Sweet, artless as a baby,
"seeiu' how you liked the machine
onlv so-so, an' the old way wuz the
best."
"How dared you meddle with ray
property ?" howls Mr. Bobberts.
"Majority rules," says John Raney,
cool as Christmas.
Then Mr. Bobberts up an' struck
John, an' John hit back with such
good-will that it ended in a fight that
came near endin' Mr. Bobberts.
Well, well it wuz a good many
3rears ago that this happened, an' no?
body supposed Mr. Bobberts wuz lay
in' up anything ag'inst John Raney.
He wuz very friendly with both hira
an' Farmer Sweet, an' I did hear that
they had paid him back every cent of
the money he had put inter the ma?
chine. They wuz williu' ter pay fur
their joke after they had their fun out
of it, an' it wuz considered very hand?
some of them on the prarer.
n.(
As I wuz a-sayin', a bad year came
fur the farmers. Nobody felt like
raakiu' rauch? o' Christmas. We
hadn't any fatted calves, an' all.the
turkeys an' gineral fowls had been
traded fur store goods. So when the
news came that Preacher Snowden wuz
goin' ter spend Christmas on Nine
mile it wuz quite a question where he
would put up, fur he wuz pretty fond
of the flesh-pots. He took his dram
before sermon an' after ; but he wuz a
good Hard-shell Baptist, and sound
on the doctrine. But I must say it
always went agin me ter hear him say
that hell wuz payed with infants'
skulls not half a span long.
He wuz the curiousest preacher I
ever sot under. He would take a text,
an' stick to it pretty well fur a while,
considerin' he hadn't no eddication;
but when the exhortin' mood came on
hira, an' he got good warmed up, he
would drop chapter an' verse, an'
wander wild an' free, as the song sez.
Ho had a way, too, of pickin' out
some text an' raakin' it mean some?
thing entirely different from what you
had always supposed. In fact, sech
wuz that old man's contrainess an'
pig-headedness an' conceit of himself
that he madenothiu' of arguiu' ag'irust
the Scripter. I s'pose he ain't the only
man who ever thought he knew more
than the Lord who made him, but he
wuz the fust ever I see who brazenly
owned as much in the pulpit, an' with
the Bible open before hira.
He wuz sot agin new-fangled no?
tions, Preacher Showden wuz, an'
made nothin' of declarin' that temper?
ance societies an' Sunday-schools had
sent, more people to hell than ever
thej' kept out of it. I never had any?
thing effect me like that; an' as fur
Jed Burridge, he jest muttered in his
whiskers, "God help the people in this
country if they've got to set under
your preachiu'!" An' then, without
a word to me, Jed jammed his hat on
his head an' walked out gloomy as a
hearse. "I couldn't set thar an' stand
that," he remarked to me, apologetic,
when I j'iued him in the churchyard
after preachin' wuz over.
There wuz a sort of relief on the
Nine-mile when we heard that the
preacher had invited himself ter pass
Christmas with Brother Bobberts.
Ill-natured folks said his reason fur
stoppiu' there wuz because Mr. Bob?
berts never had j'ined the temperance
cause. He knew he could git his toddy
in that house, while in most of the
others he would have tor fall back on
hot coffee an' herb tea.
The day before Christmas Mr. So-so
Bobberts walked inter John Raney's
store, I forgot to say that John had
give up farmin' some time before, an'
had gone inter town an' engaged in
the drug business. He had jest got
marrid to one of the Biscoe girls, and
everybody had a good word fur] the
young couple.
Well, iu troinped Mr. Bobberts, his
hat set Sback on his head, his eare
wrapped in a woolen comforter, his
wagon whip in his hand, an' his mouth
spread very affable, as if once in his
life thiugs" wuz a*leetle better than
"so-so."
"I want te buy some whisky."
"Got to entertain a preacher at Jmy
house, an' make him a Christmas egg
Jf
nog.
"All right," says John Raney';
"half a gallon, I suppose ?"
Now the p'iut o' that remailc wur.
this: there wuz a law in the State
forbidden' any drug man to sell less
than half a gallon o' whisky. This
wuz ter put a stop to indiscriminate
dram-drinkin' an' treatin' on the part
o' the boys.
"Half a gallou," says Bobberts;
"an' it seems as if that's a sight o'
whisky fur a sober man like me ter to
be luggin' home."
"Oh, it'll keep," says John; an' it's
handy ter have in the house in case o'
suake bites."
"As to its keepin'," said Mr. Bob?
berts, very grim, "Preacher Showden
purposes ter pass some days?" An'
here he paused very eloquent.
"Precisely," says John with a laugh
an' a wink. Then he filled up the jur
very deft an' handed it ter the old
mao.
"Hop? your health is good this
winter ?" he remarked.
"So-so," says Mr. Bobberts, with a
nod. Then he clorab inter his waggin
an' druv away vuy swift.
Some four hours later a figger that
looked like the wreck o' Mr. Bobberts
appeared in John Raney's store. His
hat wuz off, an' his head wuz partly
wrapped in the wooled comforter, with
bare places shinin' through ; his coat
wuz tore, an' in his hand he held jist
the handle o' the whiskey jug?nothin'
but the handle.
"What on the earth has happened ?"
cried John ; an' the men all crowded
round.
Bobberts toppled over inter a cheer,
and it wuz some minutes before he
found his breath, p.iit at last he come
out with a blood-curdlin' story of bav?
in' been set on by tramps while joggin'
along the lonesoraest part o' the road.
They robbed him, an' they fit him, an'
they stole his whiskey an' broke his
jug. Thar sot the old man lookin' as
pitiful as Moses in the bulrushes. He
wu.m't very poppeler, but nobody could
help expreisiu' a sympathy fur him,
an' feelin' run high agin the tramps.
Some o' the young fellers wuz fur
startin'out ter hunt them up; but it
wuz late an' cold, an' it ain't so easy
ter catch a thief who has his wits about
him. Mr. Bobberts set by the stove
until he recovered hisself, an' then he
says, with a grin, "Well, I s'pose I'll
have 1;er git some more whisky, an' I
'ain't got a cent left."
"You can have it on time," says
John, very generous. "Half a gal-1
Ion?"
He shook his head. "No," says he;
"this has been a mighty bad year on
us farmers, John, an' I can't afford
another half-gallon, but I'll buy a
quart, if you'll sell it ter me."
This wuz a sort of dilemma fur
John. On the oue hand wuz his old
neighbor, whom he reely wanted to
oblige ; on the other, the law.
"Seems ter me, John," says Farmer
Bobberts, "you might do me a good
turn, seein' as it's Christmas-time.''
John wuz a-knitten' his brows, but
of a sudden his face lit up. "Tell you
what I'll do," says he. "I'll sell you
a quart, an' add it ter the half-gallou,
so I can put down on my book a sale
of three-quarts, don't you see. That'll
make it all right with the law, an'
satisfy you too, Mr. Bobberts."
"Jest so," said the old man. An'
after a little more talk he pocketed his
quart of whisky an' druv off fur the
second time.
Ther wuz quite a turnout at the
meetin'-house next day ter hear Fath?
er Snowden preach. He wuz ia one
of hi3 belligerent fits, an' itwuzjedged
Brother Bobberts's eggnog bed been
uncommon strong. He took a good
Christmas text, an' preached along fur
a while very decorous, then, all of a
suddint, off he branched.
"Says he, a-slappin' his hands on the
Bible, But ther is some things, my
brethren, in this sacred book as must
not be took too literal. We hear a
gre't deal, fur instans, about not seein'
the mote in your brother's eye on ac?
count o' the beam in your own.
That's a very pretty figger, but it
won't hold water. I've got my faults,
huge as the mountains, an' pleutiful as
the leaves; but what would I be wuth
as a preacher if I made a umbrcller of
'em ter prevent my seein' the faults o'
my fellow-sinners ? It is my mission
ter fiud out the wickedness an' the
misdoiu's of ray brethren in the Lord,
an' it's every Christian man's duty ter
go and do likewise. It's the protection
of society an' the bulwark of liberty.
Ther wuz once a feller who wuz set tor
guard a treasure. His name wuz
Argus, an' he had as many eyes as
ther are freckles on a turkey's egg, or
spots on a peacock's tail. An' wheu
oue o' them eyes wuz closed in sleep,
the others would be wide awake.
Always on the look-out; couldn't ketch
him nappin'. An' so the sinner in this
world must be made ter feel that Ar?
gus is a-watchiu' of him. When my
eye is shet, Brother Bobberts's is open ;
when Brother Bobberts is takin' a rest,
Jed Burridge is a-watchin' out. An'
so it it goes. Look out, siuuer, no es?
cape fur you! As well hope ter blot
out the tiucouutable stars as close the
twinklin' eyes of men.
"An' ther's no use, my brethren, iu
a-wrestlin' an' a-strugglin' an' a-guash
iu' your teeth because of the beam in
your own eye. Some good brother is
overlookiu' you, and the fust thing you
kuow, it '11 be h'isted inter eteruity.
An' you needn't be afeard of peerin'
at the mote iu your brother's eye.
P'r'aps it ain't so much of a mote alter
all, an' it's your boundeu duty to lend
a hand to cast it out."
Havin' settled this, the preacher
wandered to other p'ints, an' I must
say he give us a very entertainin' dis
course. Sonic folks smiled, an' Jsome
looked sour. An' as fur Mr. Bobberts,
he sot thar an' groaned an' sithed as if
some powerful concern wuz on his
mind. On the way home he j'ined
me, an' we walked to the corner^to
gether.
"I'm worried in my mind, Mis' Bur
ridge," sez he.
"Is it the mote or the beam, Mr.
Bobberts ?" sez I, airy like, feeliu' a
jovial Christmas spirit coursin' through
my veins.
"Some subjects shouldn't be turned
inter lightsomeness," he replied, look
in' at me quite grim. "Things looks
dark an' dretful to my mind, an' it
wouldn't surprise me if the end of this
sinful world wuz clus at hand."
"Sho !" sez Jed Burridge.
"You had better be prepared, Bro?
ther Burridge. Ther's no use in a
blindin' your eyes an a-hardeuinx your
heart. Preacher^Snowden wuz talkin'
last night?an' a powerful man he is
on argument an' logic. He took up
that mysterious part of Scripter called
Revelation, an' he made it all as clear
as crystial. Seven seals wuz broke by
the angel, and seven mighty events in
the world's history hez to correspond
with them seals. Ther hez been al?
ready a earthquake, an' a great fire,
an' a pestilence, an other things of
marvellious import. But one is left
ter come to pas3, an' that is predicted,
Mis' Burridge. When you see a com?
et big as a locomotive light in them
heavens, with a tail streaming like a
blazin' rope acrost the sky, then have
your account ready. Fur the world's
book will be closed, an' 'The End' writ
on the last page."
"You make my blood run cold, Mr.
Robberts," says I.
"Well," say3 he, "I don't want ter
have anything on my conscience when
that awful day rolls round."
Ter this good hour I ain't been able
ter make up my mind whether Mr.
Robberts wuz a-talkin'#hypocritical, or
whether his mind wuz reely upset. At
any rate, before the week wuz out he
had distinguished himself by the most
extraordinary piece of meanness ever
committed on the Nine-mile. He had
gone to town arC informed on John
Raney far *ellin' him less than half a
gallon of whiskey! An' the fine wuz
three hundred dollars.
Gracious! gracious! what a-buzzin'
and a-talkin' ther wuz over the pera
rer! Nothin' else wuz spoke of fur
an' wide; an' finally such wuz the
gineral dissatisfaction that some o' the
neighbors got together an' went ter see
Mr. Bobberts in a remonstratio spirit.
They found the old man with his Bi?
ble on his knees, a-lookin' very pious.
He wuz quite willin' ter talk, but he
wuz as set as a rooted rock. He said
lie couldn't 'a rested with that sin o'
John Raney's on hiu conscience; that
he had broke the kw of man, which
wuz only second to that of God.
"But he broke it r'ur you, old man,"
cried Roland Selph, "out o' pure con?
sideration an' ginerous-heartedness.\
"That's neither here nor thar," says
old So-so, firm as Brutus. "It only
makes my duty the oupleasanter. But
I never wuz a flincher, an' I sha'n't
take up that line now."
"Why didn't you inform on some of
your own sins while you wuz about
it r cries Reuben Thing,
"I ain't broke no laws," says Mr.
Bobberts. "My sins is between me
an' my heavenly Father, an' any of
you as feels a call to do so can inform
on me in your communications with
Him."
After this ther didn't seem ter be
much more ter say, so the boys wink?
ed at each other an' took their leave;
but they agreed that old Bobberts wuz
an' ugly-lookin' lot fur a converted
Christian whose conscience wuz too
tender fur every-day use.
"Think of his callin' it a matter of
conscience!" cried Roland, very dis?
gusted.
"Pooh!" says Jed Burridge, "it's
revenge, nothin' more nor less. An' I
do hope old Bobberts will be come up
with?I reely do."
m.
"I tell you, judge, it's the wickedest,
crudest, most unjust thing; an' if you
make my husband pay that money, I
shall think you just as bad as old Bob?
berts. There r
"My dear child! my dear Leila!"
?and Judge Wimbleton waved his fat
hands most expostulntory?"I am not
responsible. It's the law?the law,
Leila."
"Well, the law is a fool!" she cried,
her black eves snapping for Leila Ra?
ney hadn't lost any of the temper she
had as Leila Biscop.
"I know it," says Judge Wimbleton,
very mild. "I've often thought that
law wuz oue thing an' justice another.
But ther ain't any other way of settlin'
human affairs. We must have a rule
to go by, an' follow it to the letter. If
every man wuz to give his own mean
iu' ter the laws of the laind, the result
would be chaos, turbulence, revolu?
tion."
Much Leila cared fur his long
words. "What's that ter me," she
cried, "when I see my John worried
out of his senses about that awful fine ?
You know, judge, we are just startin'
in life; it took every cent we could get
together ter pay fur our little iiome an'
start John's business. It will just crip?
ple him, cripple him fur life, ter pay
out that money now; an' all ter satis?
fy the spite of a cross old man. Fur
John did nothin' wrong. He sold Mr.
Bobberts three quarts of whiskey."
"Leila, there's no use insistin' on
that. The facts are these: Mr. Bob?
berts in his charge declares on oath
that John Raney sold him one quart
of whiskey. Ter prove this, half a
dozen wituesses hold themselves ready.
Now the law is explicit, an' doesn't go
inter motives nor private feelin's. I
must expouud that law, an' I am just
as helpless as you are."
"Helpless!" cries Leila. "Well, I
vow ter Heaven I won't be helpless!
If you had seen my poor boy, as I did,
a-sittin' with his head in his hand,
lookin' as if his heart wuz broke!
'We'll have ter sell the cow,' says he,
'an' put a mortgage on our home. It's
hard work payiu' off a mortgage.
Maybe we'll leave it as a blewed heri
tance to our children.'"
An' here a great sob choked Leila's
words, an' she turned as red as a hun?
dred roses; fur her fust baby wuzn't
to come until June.
Judge Wimbleton wuzn't a particu?
larly soft man, but somethin' warmed
the cockles of his heart, an' he got up
an' took Leila by the hand.
, "Leila," sez he, "old So-so Bobberts ?
a beast. Now that's my candid opin?
ion. But my opiuion ain't wuth a row
of pius when it comes to the law. All
I can do is to make the fine as small
as may be. But if old Bobberts could
be induced to withdraw his charge,
the whole thing would fall to the
ground."
She threw up her head. 'TU try to
make him withdraw it," sez she.
"He's a hard mau to deal with,"
sez Judge Wimblecon.
"Perhaps he won't be a match fur
Leila Raney;" an' she laughed out
like a bird. "Fair means an' foul
Judge?I'll try both."
"All's fair in war," sez the Judge,
with a soothiu' smile.
From that time Leila Raney wuz
simply possessed with the desire, some?
way, somehow, to get the^better of Bob?
berts. All her seekin's an' questionin's
wuz long in vain, until one day chance
?or Providence mebbe?set her on
the right track.
Leila had been persuadedjto attend
a rag-tackin' at Sister Weeden's, out
on the perarer; au' when she got
thar the women's tongues were a-clat
terin' equal to a hotel dish-washin'.
"We wuz Just a-talkin' of you,
Leila," said Mis' Amos Burridge, who
was very outspoken, "an' a-sympathiz
in' with you an' John."
"Well," says Leila, forciu' a smile,
"the axe ain't fallen yet, an' mebbe
never will."
"Get the Lord on your side," says
Sister Charity Hackletou, "an' you
need not fear the power of man."
"I'm sure He ought to be on our
side," cried Leila, "for it's a wicked
piece of work to take the bread out of
our mouths."
"It's a pity that your husband should
sell liquor," said Martha Hatfield, a
little black-eyed spitfire of a woman.
"Well, he don't drink it," answered
Leila, very dry.
"Neither would my husband drink
it," cries Martha, "if it wuzn't for cer?
tain folks I could name a-temptin' him
an' treatin' him an' a-sellin'him liquor
on credit."
"If it's my husband you're slappiu'
at," says Leila, "I can tell you he has
sold no liquor on credit to Jim Hatfield,
fur I know his books as well as he
knows them himself, an' your hus?
band's name is not on them. Besides,
John knows that Jim has joined the
Sons o' Temperance, an' he is too good
to tempt any man'tojdrink who is try?
ing to git shet of the habit."
"Too good !" sniffs the other; "that's
all you know about him. I've got
proof of what I say: jugs an' bottles
that come from John Rane/s usually
have his name pasted on the sides."
"What do you mean ?" an' up jump?
ed Leila, quick as a mad cat.
But Marthy shet her lips very reso?
lute. "I ain't no more ter say," she
cried; "I've said too much already.
If you're satisfied with your husband,
I am with mine." An' with that she
fell to tearin' rags so vigorous that the
dust flew out an' set us all ter coughin'.
Sister Weeden, who wuz ever fur
pourin' oil on troubled waters, proposed
that we should sing a hymn as soon as
we had calmed the tumult in our
throats, an' soon the rafters wuz a
ringin' to the tuue of
"With cherubim and seraphim,
Foil royally He rode,
And on the wings of mighty winds
Went flyin' all abroad."
Well, well, them two women watched
each other out of the corners of their
eyes all the rest o' the day, but there
wuz no more disputin'.
When Leila got home, first thing
she did wuz ter ask her husband if he
had been sellin' Jim E[atfield any
whiskey lately.
"Not a pint," says John?"not sence
I heard he jined the Sons o' Temper?
ance."
"You are positive ?"
"Just as positive as that '.I've got the
prettiest wife in the State," said John,
kiesin' her; for be bad determined to
chirk up before Leila, seein' as how bis
depression weighed on her. Leila, on
her side, wouldn't dampen John's spirits
by tellin' of the false charge against him;
but she made up ber mind to get to tbe
bottom of the matter.
Tbe next day she started o.T on a sec?
ond tramp to tbe Nine-mile, this time
bound for tbe Hatfield home. When
she got inside tbe gate her foot struck
soraethin'that gave her a start. It wuz
a bit of broken jug, with John Raney'a
name printed very distinct on tbe label.
"So Marthy told the truth!" she mut?
tered, an' her feeliu's softened considera?
ble, while at the same time she wuz
plunged inter deeper perplexity.
Mis' Hatfield had jest got through her
mornin'8 work, an' wuz sitting down
rockin' her baby, when she saw Leila
standin' in tbe doorway. Surprised
enough she wuz; but bavin' to be perlite
in her own bouse, she asked ber in, an'
banded her a cheer.
"I want ter say in the beginnin', Mar?
thy," says Leila, "that I done you an in?
justice yesterday, an' I ask your pardon."
Marthy looked all taken aback bearin'
Leila speak so gentle, but she couldn't
help feelin' mollified.
"I'm glad to hear such words," says
she, very hearty. "Our Father in heaven
knows I wouldn't speak untrue on such a
subject. It's too painful."
"Well, Marthy, I'm in a bewilderment,
and I jest call on you as one woman to a
sister woman to help me out of it. Now
you made a charge against :ny husband,
and I want you ter take it back. Tell
me this?did you ever hear of John
Raney tellin' a lie?"
"I've heern of his bein' a great joker,"
says Marthy, cautious like; "but as for
tellin' a lie?no."
"His jokes have no malice in them,"
says Leila, "an' it ain't in his blood to
lie. An' I tell you solemn that John
give me his word that he ain't sold your
husband one drop o' whiskey ninco he
united with tbe Sons o' Temperance. To
make surer than sure I went over his
books myself, an' Jim's name ain't down
fur a thing except some quinine an' a
bottle of soothin' syrup."
"Theu wheredii heget it?" cries Mar?
shy Hatlield.
"What made you suspicion John. ?"
I The tears come tib Marfchy'f eyes.
"As long as you've come to me so
frank an' friendly, Leila Raney," Rays
Bbe, "I'll tell you all about it, though it
looks like a mean thing to do agin my
own husband. They would turn'him out
of the Church if it wuz found out, and
that would jest be the ruin of poor Jim."
"Don't you be afraid, Marthy. Jim is
too good a fellow fur the Lord ter let go
of."
"This is how it wuz. The day before
Christmas Jim went ter town to get some
things. There wuz shoes fur Phil, an'a
csp fur the baby, an' a calico frock fur
me, an' a new hat fur himself, an' a
roast of meat, an' a pint of cranberries,
an' a pound of fine cut tobackker, an' a
box of snuff, an' some candy fur the chil?
dren's stockin's. Looks like a good deal
fur poor folks to beabuyin', but Jim had
been so good about not drinkin' that we
bad more Christmas money than we have
ever had sence I've been married. Jim
wuz in fine .spirits, an' I hadn't a sbadder
of mistrust <>f him. I went about my
werk eingin'?you know how a woman
feels when a great load has been lifted
from her shoulders"?an' Leila nodded
very sympathetic.
"It wuz the day old Mother Burridge
got. her dreadful fall, and they sent fur
me ter come over. I wuz lookin' out fur
Jim, an' about noon he passed by with
old man Bobberts."
' With Mr. Bobberts?" cried Leila,
sta/ting up.
"Yes; an'I run out ter the gate ter
rae<;t them. Jim wuz ez sober a man ez
ever drew breath. I told him where he
would find his dinner, an' that I wouldn't
be home until late; that mebbe I would
have to stay all night, an' that, consider?
ing the uncertainty,! he needn't come
after me, ezone of the boys would see me
home. Howsomever, I got home about
sundown, an' what d'ye think wuz the
sight that met my eyes, Leila Raney?
There wuz the room in a mess, the fire
burned out, the smell of whiskey every?
where, a broken jug on the floor, two
glasiie3 on the table, an' ray husband
stretched out on the sofa a-sleepin' the
sleep of drunkenness! I flung the jug
out-of-doors, but not before I saw that it
bad John Raney's name on it. I wuz
that overcome that I just sat down an'
cried myself s'ek. I knew that be must
have got the liquor on credit, fur there,
in a little pile, wuz everything I had sent
fur, oven to the candy; an' buyin' them
must a took the last nickel. I called my
little boy, an' asked hira if he could tell
me who had been with his pa; an' he
said that before be went to school, Phil
Ogleaby had been hangin' round, mighty
anxious to see Jim ; so I s'pose he an'
Jim got drunk together, for, you know,
Phil is the most drinkin' man on the
perarer. I taxed Jim with it when be
came ter himself, but not a word could I
get out [of him; an' a sorry Christmas
broke fur us, all because somebody let my
poor weak husband have a jug of whis?
key."
"I wouldn't have my husband suspected
of it, for the world !" cries Leila. "This
must be cleared up."
She wuz so excited she could hardly
speak. Her cheeks wuz on fire, an' a
I curiotrts triumphant sort of look was a
glitter in* in her eyes.
"May I see your husband, Marthy?
Don't be afraid. I'll not let out a word
of what you've told me. But I must have
a talk with Jim. Where is he?"
"He is fixin' the fence behind the barn,
an' of course you can see him if you're a
mind t;er. But? Dear sakes! Do look
at her!"
For Leila bad tore out of the house
withou t waitin' ter hear the end of what
Marthy wuz a-sayin'.
She found Mr. Halfield nailin' an old
plank acrost a broken place in the fence.
"Good morniu', Jim," says she, col
lectin' herself, and smilin' very friendly.
Leila had a pretty coaxin' way when
she liked ; and Jim wuz in a good humor
before she said another word. Not that
be wu;: a hard man to deal with. He
wuz a good-lookin' young fellow, with a
weak mouth, an' a bright open face that
made him only too poppeler with the
wild chaps in town.
"Mr. Hatfield," says Leila, "you know
my husband is in trouble, an' I'm tryia'
my best ter help him out of it. An' I
think anybody that's his friend or mine
ought tsr be willin' ter help me."
"Ter be sure," says Jim; "ter be
sure."
"You see, it's this way," says Leila,
epeakin' very rapid. "Old Mr. Bobberts
bought half a gallon of whiskey the day
before Christmas, an' a few hours later
I came iater town with what you men
i would call a cock and bull story, of ha vin'
been sei; on by tramps an' robbed of it.
So, pleadin' his poverty, he persuaded my
husband, to let him have a quart, an'
seein' e:: the two purchases wuz only a
few hours apart, John didn't consider
that he broke the law in puttin' them
down ez one. But, lo an' behold 1 Mr.
Bobberts.' conscience wuz so very tender
that he informed on John, an' unless we
can see come way out of it, he will have
to pay a big fine."
"It wtiz a mean trick," said Mr. Hat
field, with a slow shake of the head; "a
powerful mean trick."
"So it wuz," says Leila; "an' I'll tell
you my opinion. Mr. Hatfield. It is that
Mr. Bobberts never saw so much ez the
back of a tramp. I believe that half
gallon whiskey went in quite another way,
an' I've reason to think that you can tell
me how it went."
"Stop 1" cries Mr. Hatfield, very ner?
vous; "I can't give you no information,
an' if I could, I don't see how it would
bear on the case."
"Just this way. Mr. Bobberts pretends
it wuz bis conscience made him inform on
John. Now if I could prove that he told
a lie?not to mince words with you?and
threaten to expose him to the community,
I might force him to withdraw his charge
against John, and that would end the
matter."
"Who tiaid so?" cries Hatfield, very
much startled. "Who said so?"
"Judge Wimbleton said so, and oh,
Jim, if you could help me in any way to
turn the tables on that wicked old man,
I do beg and pray and beseech you not to
hold your tongue."
Tears were streamin' down Leila's face,
an' she had caught Jim Hatfield's arm
between b?r little brown hands.
"I can'r, stand this, Leila," said be.
"I'll tell you what I know, though it's
givin' myself away, an' I'll lose my seal
in church.''
"Maybe you'll gain a higher seat in
God's church," says Leila, very soft,
fixin' her slack eyes on his with such a
look of pity and friendlines as went right
to his heart.
"Old Bobberta did lie t er you!" ho
cried, spes.kin' very fast, ez if afraid ter
trust himself; "an' I'm the man that can
prove it. He caught up with me ez I
wuz ridin' out of town, an' we wen't on
home together. We got ter discussin' a
horse trad* that had been off an' on be?
tween us fur a year an' more. He wanted
ter buy tie bay mare I wuz ridin', an'
offered mo tbis time something like a
fair price. I wuz willin' ter sell if I could
make a good bargain; so when we got to
my house 1 invited him ter come in and
talk it over. After chattin' quite a spell
by the fire the old man declared it wuz
dry work talkin', an' the fust thing I
f0bfi?ftrtftrj dn F?itrih P#$?\
