Litchfield enquirer., 1856-12-11
Simon sawley's Shilling.


looking so still and sequestered, that none
would imagine that the greater part Of its in
! habitants are weayers, employed in . silk mill
q. tie higher up the river. How it has pre-.
served its primitive rural appearance, it is
difficult to say =; perhaps the owner Of the
above mentioned mill, struck with. the pictur.
Iesque beauty of its Detached cottages followed
the example of the origsd lnila oitanss. apo
built smaller ones for his work people :nr the
hillside is dotted over with cottages OF eve:.s
variety, from amongst which rises the taper
spire Of the village church, surrounded by its
qniet battle-ground There is however, one ex-
ception to the general aspect Of the village
AT the foot Of the hill is one row Of cottages
facing the river, with gay dowerpots in front,
sloping to the waters edge, and large gardens
behind, divided from each other by thick thorn
hedges. In one of the cleanest Of these cot
tages, with the trirnmest fower-pots and best
stocked garden there lived at the time knew
Westleigh, q certain Simon Sawley, or rather,
to speak more correctly, / shonld say a certain
Mrs. Simon Sawlcy, for she being the most
authoritative person, the residence was always
SO designated in the village. Simon was a
well meaning, good natured, inofensive sort of
man--a good hand at his work but not
celebrated for great power ofntellect or strength
Of mind. His wife was pretty little woman
with soft brown eyes, fine clear complexion,
neat compact figure, and mild expression Of
countenancc Her voice was sweet and sub
dued in its tone, and to judge from appearances,
you would have pronounced her the meekest
and gentlest Of her gentle SEX But elias APP
pcaranccs are proverbally deceitful-a truth
to which, no doubt, We can all testify !; but
none with more reason than poor Simon. Mar
tina Sawley, to use her own phrase, was not
a woman tc be pnt upon by any body = which
meant that she was woman who would have
her own way in spite Of everybody. In fact
like many mild-looking, smootli-spoken women,
Martha possessed that III conquerable obstinacy
that neither entreaties nor threats can soften or
subdnc. She never scolde6, she rarely lectured,
bnt quietly and steadily pursued the settled
purpose Of her soul, regardless alike OF the
wishes or convenience Of others. II ever Il
happened that she met with more than usual
opposition, she would assume the air OF a
deeply injured person, maintain an obstinate
silence, or when absolutely obliged to speak,
answer only in monosylables and, in short,
fall into sullen fit, from which nothing short
of the most entire submission to her will could
arouse her. 1t was rarely indeed, that honest
Simon venturcd upon any thing like opposition (;
for, though not possessed of extraordinary de-
yelopmcnt of either the arithmetical or reason
ing powers he had learned from experience, to
count the cost before entering upon the war,
and 10 avoid contest which must end in total
defeat. There was, however, one point upon
which, he secretly INDUCED in feelings of re
bcllious and insubordinato nature. Mrs. Saw
lev insisted that he should every Saturday night
| bring home to her the whole Of his week S
| wages, without any deduction whatever. This,
of course, was quite right. aud what every good
husband does, or ought to do ! bat this was
| not all j; she would not allow him penny in
his pocket, not even on the condition Of never
spending it; for as she was wont to remark,
men IRE but men at the hest, and fral crea-
lures" therefore it was better not to put temp
tatisn in their way =" besides, for her part
she could not see what a man, who had good
wife to provide everything comfortable for him,
could want with money" He worked for it,
| and she spent il 60 the best advantage of
course and that, in her opinion, was the order
of Providcncc. = A~S -1 20
One lovely evening towards the latter end of
spring, Simon was busy in.his garden. II hap
pened that he was occupied near the hedge
| which divided his territories from those Of his
next neighbor. Like most remarkable indisid-
uals, Simon had his cccentricities one Of whici,
was, when any affairof moment weighed upon
| his mind, Of indrlging IN audible sollloqny and
las he worked, he talked to the following effect ;
/" Well it is too bad. that il is; thirty shillings
week, let alone odd jobs, and never farthing
to bless myself with. Tom Jones said he
wouldn't stand il il he was me ;he'd be master.
| But it's easy talking he knows nothing about
Iii he isn't married, and don't know Martha.
,Wcll never mind.--I've got it--yes, here it Is
safe and sbuna--pvc got q shilling hare q
/ shilling that nobody knows nothing abont, ~
/ Aud after gazing fondly at it for some minutes
he put it againinto his pocket which he but
toned carefully up, pulled his waistcoat vel
down, and patting it several times to make
| sure there was no outward and visible sign %
/ the hid treasure, he resumed his work with
great selfcomplacency. II is commonly said
| that stone walls have ears: and il has been a
notorious fact, erof since the day Of King Mi
| das's barber, that woods and groves are the
most treacherous Of confidants Certain 1t was
that Simou's secret was no longer his own !,
had passed into the possession OF another thro
| the fundamentally Of tho above mentioned
hedge.
However, Simon continued bis work in bliss
fiji ignorance, until the sound Of Martha:
voice from the back door warned him that
supper was ready. That night he lay awake
| some time longer than usual, revolving in hi,
mind how be should dispose " TIE bewilderins
sim ID Bis possession First, he thought o
e-l.s