Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1850-10-10

fore I'd call her mother" Often
when my father would be going to chas-
tise Richard and myself for our provok-
ing doings, and especially the day that
we took half a dozen eggs from under
the Matching hen to play Blind Tom"
with, she'd interfere for us, and say,
!" Tim, alegh don't touch them this time;
sure It's only arch they are; they'll get
more sense in time" And then, after
he was gone out, she'd advise us for our
good 50 pleasantly that thunder cloud
itself could not look black at her. She
did wonders too, about the house and
garden. They were both dirty and neg
lected enough when she first came over
them for l was too young and foolish,
and my father too busy with his out
door work, and the old woman that lived
with us in service too feeble and blind
to keep the place clean or decent; but my
mother got the floor raised, and the green
pool in front drained, and a parcel of roses
and honey suckles planted there instead.
The neighbours wives used to say twas
all pride and upsetting folly to keep the
kitchen door swept clean, and to put
the potatoes on a dish instead of empty
ing them out of the pot into the middle
of the table; and besides, it was cruel,
unnatural thing, they said, to take away
the pool from the ducks, that they used
to paddle in so handy. My mother was
always too busy and toe happy to heed
what they said; and : ies, she was
also so ready to do kind turn for any
of them, that, out of pure shame, they
had at last TO leave off abusing her " fine
English ways"
West of our house there was stray
Cling, stony piece of land, where within
the memory of man, nothing ever grew
but nettles, docks and thistles. One
Monday, when Richard and myself came
in from school, my mother told us to set
about wedding it, and to bring in some
baskets full of clay from the banks of
the river; she said that if we worked
well at it till Saturday, she'd bring me
a new frock, and Dick jacket from the
next market town; and encouraged by
this, we set to work with right good
will, and didn't leave off till supper time.
The next day we did the same, and by
degrees, when we saw the heap Of weeds
and stones we got out growing big, and
the ground looking nice and smooth, and
red, and rich, we got quite anxious about
it ourselves, and we built nice little
fence around it to keep out the pigs
When it was manfred my mother plant
ed cabbages, parsnips and onions in it.,
enough to make us many nice supper
of vegetables stewed with pepper, and
a small taste of bacon or red herring
She sold in the market as much as bought
Sunday coat for my father, gown for
herself, fine pair of shoes for Dick,
and as pretty shawl as e'er colleen
in the country could show at mass
Through means of my fathers industry
and my mothers good management, we
were, with the blessing Of God, as snug
and comfortable poor family as any in
Munster. We paid but small rent, and
we always had plenty Of potatoes to eat,
good clothes to wear, and cleanliness
and decency in and about curl title cabin.
Five years passed on this way, and
little Mary was born. She was deli
cate, fairy thing, with that look even
from the first, in her blue eyes, which is
seldom seen except where the shadow
of the grave darkens the cradle. She
was fond of her father, and of Richard,
and of myself, and would laugh and
crow when she saw us, but the love in
the core of her heart was for her moth
er. No matter how tired or sleepy, or
cross the baby might be, one word from
her would set the bright eyes dancing.
and the little rosy mouth smiling, and
tiny limbs quivering as if walking or
running couldn't content her, but she
must fly to her mothers arms. And
how that mother do.ed on the very
ground she trod! ! often tho't the
Queen in her state carriage with her
son, God bless him! alongside of her,
dressed out in gold and Jewels, was not
one bit happier than my mother when
she sat under the shades of the noun
toiii oSh Hcai thc uoOi III tic HuSu vi TIE
summers evening, singing and cronaua-
ing her only one 10 sleep in her arms
In the month of October l845, Mary
was four years old. That was the bitter
time, when first the food of the earth
was turned to poison; when the gardens
that used to be bright and sweet, cover
ed with the purple blossoms, became in
one night black and offensive, as if fire
had come down from heaven to burn
them up. Twas heart breaking thing
TO see the laboring men, the crathurs -
that had only the one half acre TO feed
their little families, going out, after
work in the evening, to dig their supper
from underneath the black stalks
Spadefull after spadeful would he furnedI