And after Ralph and Hannah were married—­there was no trip, Ralph only changed his boarding-place and became head of the house at Mrs. Thomson’s thereafter—­after it was all over, Bud came to Mr. Hartsook, and, snickering just a little, said as how as him and Martha had fixed it all up, and now they wanted to ax his advice; and Martha proud but blushing, came up and nodded assent.  Bud said as how as he hadn’t got no book-larnin’ nor nothin’, and as how as he wanted to be somethin’, and put in his best licks fer Him, you know’.  And that Marthy, she was of the same way of thinkin’, and that was a blessin’.  And the Squire was a-goin’ to marry agin’, and Marthy would ruther vacate.  And his mother and Mirandy was sech as he wouldn’t take no wife to.  And he thought as how Mr. Hartsook might think of some way or some place where he and Marthy mout make a livin’ fer the present, and put in their best licks fer Him, you know.

Ralph thought a moment.  He was about to make an allusion to Hercules and the Augean stables, but he remembered that Bud would not understand it, though it might remind Martha of something she had seen at the East, the time she was to Bosting.

“Bud, my dear friend,” said Ralph, “it looks a little hard to ask you to take a new wife”—­here Bud looked admiringly at Martha—­“to the poor-house.  But I don’t know anywhere where you can do so much good for Christ as by taking charge of that place, and I can get the appointment for you.  The new commissioners want just such a man.”

“What d’ye say, Marthy?” said Bud.

“Why, somebody ought to do for the poor, and I should like to do it.”

And so Hercules cleaned the Augean stables.

And so my humble, homely Hoosier story of twenty years ago[29] draws to a close, and not without regret I take leave of Ralph and Hannah; and Shocky, and Bud, and Martha, and Miss Nancy, and of my readers.

* * * * *

P.S.—­A copy of the Lewisburg Jeffersonian came into my hands to-day, and I see by its columns that Ralph Hartsook is principal of the Lewisburg Academy.  It took me some time, however, to make out that the sheriff of the county, Mr. Israel W. Means, was none other than my old friend Bud, of the Church of the Best Licks.  I was almost as much puzzled over his name as I was when I saw an article in a city paper, by Prof.  W.J.  Thomson, on Poor-Houses.  I should not have recognized the writer as Shocky, had I not known that Shocky has given his spare time to making outcasts feel that God has not forgot.

FOOTNOTES: 

[Footnote 29:  Written in 1871.]

THE END