“That wuz enough to break down any woman’s happiness; but they had to buckle to and work head work most likely to take care of themselves and their children. “‘Destitute’ means privation and starvation for old Miss Prophet and the children, as well as for the husband and father. “And I’ll bet that old Miss Hosey and Miss Maleky jest put to it and worked and made perfect slaves of themselves. “And with all this work, and care, and privation on their minds and hearts, they couldn’t have got such a dretful sight of sympathy and companionship out of their husbands, to say nuthin’ of help and out-door chores. “For though the old prophets wuz jest as likely as likely could be and did what wuz perfectly necessary and right, still while they wuz out in the streets a hollerin’ ‘Woe! woe! to this wicked city!’ etc., etc., they couldn’t at the same time be to home a talkin’ affectionate to their pardners or a sawin’ wood. I’ll bet old Miss Maleky picked up more than half she burned, and split pretty nigh all her own kindlin’ wood, and killed her hens, and sot ’em, etc., etc. [Illustration: “AND KILLED HER HENS.”] “Them days seem a good ways off to us, and things seen through the misty, hazy atmosphere of so many years seem sort o’ easy to us. “But I don’t spoze water would bile then without a fire no more than it would now. And I spoze the dishes, or whatever they kep’ their vittles in then, had to be washed. “And I spoze the goatskins and sheepskins that them good old men wandered round in had to be cleaned every now and then—it stands to reason they did. And I don’t believe them prophets did it; no, I don’t believe they had the time to, even if they thought on’t. “No; I dare presume to say that every time you found a prophet you would find some woman a takin’ care on him, so he could have the freedom of mind and the absence of domestic cares necessary to keep his soul the calm medium through which divine truth could pour down upon a sinful world. “The sieve must be held right end up or you can’t sift through it; hold it sideways or bottom end up, and where be you? “No; old Miss Hosey and Miss Maleky, I dare presume to say, jest wrastled round with household cares and left them old men as free as they could. “I’ll bet the minds of them good old prophets wuzn’t opset with pickin’ geese and ketchin’ gobblers, or makin’ hens set, or fastenin’ down the tent stakes if the wind come up sudden in the night. “No; I’ll bet Miss Hosey, that good old creeter, got up herself and hung onto them flappin’ ends and drove down the stakes herself, so’s Mr. Hosey could get a little sleep. Or if little Isaac, or Lemuel, or Rebeckah Hosey wuz took sudden with the croup or infantum, I’ll bet it wuzn’t old Mr. Hosey that got up and hunted round for the goose oil, or groped his way round and started up a fire, and steeped catnip, and heat cloths, and applied ’em. “No; it wuz that good old female creeter every time, I wouldn’t be afraid to say it wuz.