r elicited no reply. I then spoke in anxious, appealin'
axents:

"Arvilly, are you there? And are you sick a-bed? Or are you dead?
Answer me, Arvilly, if either of my conjectures are true!"

My axent was such that she answered to once, "I hain't dead, Josiah
Allen's wife, and I hain't sick, only heart-sick."

Sez I, "Let me in then; I can't have you there alone, Arvilly."

"I hain't alone!" sez she. "Grief is here, and everlastin' shame for
my country."

It come to me in a minute, this wuz the anniversary of her husband's
death, the day our govermunt's pardner, the licensed saloon, had
murdered him down in Cuba.

I sez, "May God help you, Arvilly!" And I turned onto my heel and
left. But I sent up a tray of good vittles which wuz refused, and I
d'no as she eat a mou'ful that day.

At night I went agin to the door, and agin I hearn the sound of
weepin' inside.

Sez I, "Arvilly, let me in; I've got a letter for you from Waitstill
Webb."

Sweet little creeter! She remembered her agony, and dropped this
flower onto the grave of Arvilly's happiness. Oh, how she, too, wuz
suffering that day, wherever she wuz, and I wondered as much as Tommy
ever did about the few cents the govermunt received for the deadly
drink that caused these murders and the everlastin' sorrow that flowed
out of 'em.

Well, Arvilly told me to put the letter under the door, which I did.
But nothin' more could I git out of her; and though I sent up another
tray of food to her, that too come down untouched; and as I told
Josiah, I didn't know as I could do anything more for her, as bad as I
felt, only to think of her and pray for her.

"Yes," sez he, "we will remember Sister Arvilly at the throne of grace
at evenin' worship." And after we went to our room he did make a able
prayer, askin' the Lord to look down onto the poor heart of our
afflicted sister, and send peace and comfort to her. It wuz a good
prayer, but even in that solemn time come the thought: "If you and
other church-members had voted as you prayed, Arvilly no need to be
shet up there alone with her life agony."

But it wuz no time to twit a pardner when we wuz both on our knees
with our eyes shet, but when it come my turn I did say:

"O righteous God, do help good men everywhere to vote as they pray."

Josiah said "Amen" quite loud, and mebby he duz mean to vote
different. He voted license to help Jonesville, most of the bizness
men of the town sayin' that it would help bizn