Betsy Gaskins (Dimicrat), Wife of Jobe Gaskins (Republican): Or, Uncle Tom's Cabin Up to DateHood, W. I. (William I.)
General
Betsy Gaskins (Dimicrat), Wife of Jobe Gaskins (Republican): Or, Uncle Tom's Cabin Up to Date
Hood, W. I. (William I.)
Gold; Interest; Money; Paper money -- United States; Populism
“‘Well, but hold—hold on,’ says Jones. ‘I—I—we—we will let you have that
amount at four per cent.’
“‘Oh, no,’ says you.
“‘Well, how will three strike you?’ says Jones.
“‘I dont want it at all,’ says you.
“‘Come on,’ says I, and we went on up street. When we passed the First
National Bank, out comes one of the clerks a hollerin, ‘Mr. Gaskins! Mr.
Gaskins!’ We stopped. He came a runnin up and says: ‘Come in now and our
people will accommodate you,’ takin hold of your arm and startin back
with you. I thought I jist took a hold of your other arm and says, says
I: ‘Jobe Gaskins, where yer goin? We dont want any bank money in sich a
panic as this. So come on and lets git out of this panic.’
“Well, every last bank we had been to that mornin was a peckin, and a
hollerin, and a beckenin to us that evenin, until we like to a never got
out of town and away from them. They jist seemed bound to lend you that
money whether you wanted it or not. Something had created a panic among
them—a panic to git to lend you money. Maybe they had heard of the new
law. I dont know.”
Durin most of the tellin of my dream Jobe he was leanin his face in his
hands, his elbows on the table, eyes wide open, listenin as he never did
before.
When I finished, says he:
“Betsy, that will save us. What a grand country this is!” And he got up
and walked across the floor. Comin back and lookin, anxious like, at me,
says he: “Betsy, which party did Bill say passed that law—the Dimicrats
or the Republicans? It is grand! grand! It will save us.” As he spoke he
looked full of joy and happiness. Answerin, says I:
“I think I heard John Denison say it was the Popul——”
I never got to finish that word. His fist came down on the table like a
thousand of bricks. He jumped back into the middle of the floor, cracked
his fists together, stamped his foot, and says in a loud voice: “I wont!
I wont! I wont do it. It can go fust. Bill Bowers is a dum fool. I wont!
I wont!”
Says I: “Why, Jobe, what on airth is the matter? What ails you? What yer
talkin about anyhow? You wont do what?”
Answerin, says he, bringin his fists together agin:
“I wont borrow any money from any scheme them tarnal Populists has made
into a law. Ile—Ile pay ten per cent. interest fust. Ile not lend my
approval to any law they have made.”
“Why, sakes alive, Jobe,” says I, “they haint made any law. That was
jist a dream I had. What ails you, anyhow?”
At that he stepped back a step or two, lookin at me vicious like. Movin
his head up and down in short jerks, says he:
“Betsy, you must stop it. Stop it at once. Its got you crazy—so crazy
you are dreamin about it. You must stop that readin or Ile have you sent
to a lunatic asylum.”
He went out at the door then, but just as he got out, in time for him to
hear it, I hollered:
“Its you and your likes that ort to be sent to a lunatic asylum for not
seein a thing that you have to turn your back on to keep from seein.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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