Humorous stories; Newspapers -- Fiction; United States -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction
"But Mrs. Macy says that ain't all, neither, whatever you may think, for
she says what do you think of Mr. Drake's goin' an' gettin' Busby Bell
of all the men in Meadville for _his_ lawyer, when the whole town knows
as it's Busby as Judy's goin' to marry next. Mrs. Lupey says as Judy
would have took Busby for her own lawyer only they was so afraid of
hurtin' each other's reputations, an' now really it's terrible, 'cause
Busby says as he don't well see what's to be done about their
reputations if the worst comes to the worst, for he's explained as very
likely Judy's goin' to need one more man than a husband to get her her
divorce. Mrs. Macy says Mrs. Lupey says as Busby said as if he had n't
been Mr. Drake's lawyer he'd have been more than ready to be the other
man, but as Mr. Drake's lawyer he can't help Judy no more'n if he was
Mr. Drake himself. Mrs. Macy says Mrs. Lupey cried, an' she told her as
she knowed as there was any number of quiet elderly men as any one could
depend on right here in our own community as'd be nothin' but glad to go
over to Meadville an' help anyway they could, but Mrs. Lupey asked Judy
about it, an' Judy asked Busby, an' Busby said men as you could depend
on anywhere was n't no use in divorce suits a _tall_. It's quite another
kind, it seems. Mrs. Macy says she's really very sorry for them all, for
it really seems awful to think how the Lupeys need a man an' the only
man they've got Judy's busy gettin' rid of as hard as she can.
"Mrs. Macy says it's all most upsettin'. She says she never lived
through nothin' like it afore. Judy's cross 'cause she can't go out an'
meet Busby without runnin' the risk of meetin' Mr. Drake an' losin' all
the time she's put in so far bein' deserted. An' then there's a many
things as a outsider never would know about or even guess at unless
they've lived right in the house with a real live divorce. Mrs. Macy
says as Martha Hack, as does the washin' for 'em all, is forever
forgettin' an' sendin' Judy's wash home with Mr. Drake's just as if they
was still completely married. That would n't be so bad only Mr. Drake
waits for Solomon to get 'em Sunday, an' Solomon's kind-hearted an'
gives 'em to Busby so as to give him a excuse to make two calls in one
day. Well, Mrs. Macy says the come out of it all is as when Judy wants
to take a bath just about all Meadville has to turn out to see where
under heaven her clean clothes is.
"I tell you, Mrs. Lathrop, tellin' it all to you does n't matter so
much, but to hear Mrs. Macy tell it makes you wonder if it's worth while
to try an' leave a man as you can't live with. Seems to me it'd be
easier to live with him. Mrs. Macy says as she met Mr. Drake several
times herself on his bicycle an' he looked most bloomin'. No one need
be sorry for him, an' not many is sorry for Judy. But Mrs. Macy says
there's only one person as all Meadville's sorry for, an' that's Busby
Bell."
Mrs. Lathrop started to speak.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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