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My Wayward Pardner; or, My Trials with Josiah, America, the Widow Bump, and Etcetery cover

My Wayward Pardner; or, My Trials with Josiah, America, the Widow Bump, and Etcetery

Chapter 4: THE PICTURES MR. WILLIAMS HAS MADE.
By Marietta Holley
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American LiteratureHumour

About This Book

A plainspoken, comic narrator recounts a series of domestic sketches about managing a headstrong husband, eccentric neighbors, and small‑town mishaps. Episodes portray ill‑fated business schemes, absurd boarders, and encounters with figures like the Widow Bump, delivered in a satirical, conversational voice. Anecdote and moralizing digression combine to lampoon pretension, probe gender expectations, and champion practical common sense while exposing human foibles. The work is episodic rather than plot‑driven, alternating humorous incidents with reflective commentary on community life, manners, and domestic responsibility.

THE PICTURES
MR. WILLIAMS HAS MADE.

      Page
1. Frontispiece (Full Page)  
2. “The Tedious Evening Waned Away” (Full Page) 18
3. Portrait of the Widder Bump   24
4. An Ideal Family (Full Page) 28
5. Measured by the Widder   32
6. Josiah Dreaming   36
7. Those “Awful Words” (Full Page) 40
8. A Solemn Warning   42
9. Josiah’s Disappointment   47
10. Kitty Smith (Full Page) 54
11. Kellup   59
12. The Woman Question   63
13. The Deserted   65
14. Paying Her Way   67
15. How Jane was Roped in (Full Page) 69
16. The Death-blow   71
17. A Judgment Seat   7474
18. Swingin’ Out   83
19. A Cob(b) Without Corn (Full Page) 85
20. Kitty’s Kiss   87
21. Josiah Feels Neat   93
22. Arrival of the Spinkses   97
23. Yoked but not Mated (Full Page) 100
24. Josiah Neighbors   102
25. Borrowin’ Josiah   106
26. Spinks’es Cow—A Night Scene (Full Page) 108
27. Our Hen-dairy   110110
28. Josiah’s Vow   117
29. Danger Ahead   118
30. The new Head-dress   121
31. Apple Blossoms   123
32. How it might have been   124
33. Hard at it   126
34. Nature’s Ocean Boudoir (Full Page) 129
35. Nature’s Work   131131
36. Baby Piller Case   135
37. Feeling Christian   137137
38. “Blessings on Them all” (Full Page) 141
39. A Heavenly Messenger   143
40. The wreathed Spear   145
41. A Guiding Hand   150
42. “What’s the Matter, Josiah?”   154
43. A Poetical Simely (Full Page) 158
44. Josiah’s Idee   161
45. Early Birds   162162
46. Our Boarders (Full Page) 165
47. A Surprised Colt   170
48. Exercising the Gobbler   172
49. A Heavy Bill (Full Page) 176
50. “Shut that Door”   192
51. Arrival of Miss Rickerson   196
52. Kellup’s Conundrum   202
53. Nathan Spooner   206
54. Nathan Snickers   207
55. Pudding and Milk   209209
56. The Family Night-cap (Full Page) 211
57. “Nathan Sot Down”   214214
58. Cassandra’s Misfortune (Full Page) 217
59. Bad for Nathan   222
60. Face to Face   226162
61. A Monument of Men’s Economy   233233
62. On the Ragged Edge   236
63. Under the Meeting-house Shed (Full Page) 238
64. Routed out   246
65. “Murder Will out”   247
66. Samantha’s Dream (Full Page) 249
67. Facing Trouble (Full Page) 253
68. Bound for the Island   255
69. On the Beach   257
70. Discouraged Excursionist (Full Page) 260
71. A Desperate Situation   264264
72. Homeward Bound (Full Page) 267
73. The End of the Exertion   269
74. Moving Josiah   271
75. Dressed for the Occasion   274274
76. A Roadside Visit (Full Page) 279
77. A Happy Home   281281
78. Little Samantha Joe   283
79. Josiah Still   286
80. The Annual Turnout (Full Page) 289
81. Mrs. Skidmore   292
82. Keturah Allen   295
83. View of Jonesville (Full Page) 300
84. “A Pitiful Sight” (Full Page) 306
85. Keepin’ Up Her End   309
86. Midnight at a Watering-place (Full Page) 312
87. Wail of Woe   314
88. Quavers and Shakes   316
89. Doin’ Their Level Best   318
90. How Josiah Would Play Polo (Full Page) 320
91. The Rescue   323323
92. “It Tasted awfully”   324
93. A Sad Scene   325
94. Tirzah Ann Flirts With a Man (Full Page) 327
95. A Present for Betsey   331
96. Friendly Feelin’s   332
97. Meeting the Elder   355355
98. A Threatnin’ Attitude   341
99. Miss Bobbet Tells About Josiah (Full Page) 344
100. “A Rarity to ’em”   348348
101. Bobbet and Josiah Talkin’   352
102. Old Toil’s Bride (Full Page) 357
103. The Wild-Eyed Woman   363
104. No Answer   367
105. E. Wellington Gansey   370
106. Burglers   379
107. The Ghost   380
108. Tamer Mooney   383
109. The Serenading Party   384
110. The Bruised Josiah   387
111. The Serenade (Full Page) 390
112. “Mandana! Mandana!”   395
113. A Stitch in the Back (Full Page) 398
114. Elder Judas Wart   400
115. Rescuing the Elder   401
116. Hot Water   407
117. “Less Argue” (Full Page) 409
118. Mountain Meadows   417417
119. An Angel of Peace   430430
120. Mr. and Mrs. Plato   436
121. The Hindoo Mother   441441
122. A Fallen Angel   443443
123. The Old Man   450
124. Our Distracted Uncle   453453
125. The Call to Duty (Full Page) 455
126. Helps for the Heathen   457
127. Josiah Ends the Argument (Full Page) 464
128. Departure of the Elder   467
129. Takin’ a Reef   475
130. Marier Burpey   480
131. “Do You Want a Pair of Boots?”   484
132. Thrilling News (Full Page) 486

“THE TEDIOUS EVENING WANED AWAY.”