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
“Where do I think of goin to?” says I. “The Lord only knows. I dont.”
At that Jobe hollered for me, and, biddin Bill “good day,” I come in.
Yourn, nearin the close.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
BETSY FAINTS. A VISION.
THE other day ex-Congressman Richer’s lawyer brought a man out to look
at the farm. They driv into the gate, out through the bars back of the
barn, across fust one field then another, the lawyer a pintin and layin
it off, the feller a lookin and noddin his head.
Arter a while they come back and come up into the yard, the lawyer still
a pintin, the feller still a lookin and noddin. I heerd the lawyer say:
“We want you to clear this all up. Clear away these bushes, and sow the
yard down in lawn grass.”
As soon as I heerd that word “bushes,” I thought all of a suddint of
poor “little Jane’s white rose-bush.”
I felt faint like—smothered—and a tear came a rollin down my cheek and
dropped on the floor before I could git my apron to my eyes, and they
kept a comin, no matter how hard I wiped.
When I use to read and hear of “sheriff sales” I dident take time to
think what an awful thing it is to have the only place one knows on
airth as “home” sold away from you. But now, when I know of what it is,
I think of all the tears and sobs and heartaches and sich that has been
a goin on around us, and we dident know anything about it.
Sometimes I find myself stoppin and standin still and lookin up in the
sky and sayin:
“O Lord, is there no other way to do? Is there no way to save the women
and children and hard-workin men from bein turned out of their homes,
where they have lived and loved and been born?”
And every time I think I can hear a whisperin voice, jist a little piece
away from me, a sayin:
“_Yes, by reducin interest._”
And then in a minit or so it seems as though I hear a ringin in my ears,
in words jist a little further away than the other, a sayin:
“It—will—be—done. It—will—be—done.”
If I only knew where we are to go to, and what Jobe can git to do, I
might bear it easier. It seems as though an old man haint wanted to do
work, and it seems every place is taken up.
Jobe has been out, ever since he has been able to go about, lookin for
work and some place to move to.
Everybody seems to a heard of our bein foreclosed, and they dont seem to
trust Jobe like they use to, though God knows he is as honest as he ever
was.
Well, arter the lawyer had gone all around the place, givin his orders
to the feller, he come up to the door and knocked. I opened the door and
says:
“Come in.”
“No,” says he, “I jist wanted to know if you intended to git out by
March the fust.”
Says I: “We will if we can find a place.”
“Well, you must git out whether you find a place or not,” says he, “as
we want this gentleman to move in and commence spring work.”
“We will, Mistur Lawyer, if we can possibly find a place,” says I.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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