Butte record. (Bidwell, Butte County, Cal.) 1853-1858, 1857-03-21

kind o. mither to me, too for she was
five years older, and spoilt me as much
as she could. She was so bony, ii
was pleasure to look at her, and she
helplt in the dairy, and often..milkt the
cows herself, and in the wint-r nights
sat by the side o. the bleezy fire, and
turned the reel or span, keepin' time
wi some lang baIlad about cruel Ran
Ken coming in and killing Lady Mar
garet; or the ship that sailed away to
Norway WI Sir Patrick Spence, and
sank wi all the crew. The schools
master came up, when he was able, to
gle me lessons, and as the road was
long, and nights were sometimes dark,
it soon grew into common custom for
him to come up ow'r the hills on Fri
day, when the school was skailt, and
stay till Monday morning. He was a
young mi. that had been intended for
minister, but the college expenses
had been too much, and he had settled
down as the parish teacher at Shalloch,
and we always called him Dominic
Blair. All the week through, we look.
ed for the Dominie's coming. Jane
and | used to go and meet him at the
bend o. the hill, where he came of
from the high road, and he began his
lessons to me in botany the moment
we turned toward home. | noticed
that he aye required the specimens that
grew at the side o. the burns that ran
down valleys a good way off, but | was
very vain of my running, an used to
rush down the gully and gather the
flower or weed, and overtake the two
before they had walked on a mile. SO
you e, sir, 1t was ma long before it
was known all over the country side
that Dominic Blair was going to mar
ry my sister Jane Every ybody thought
it capital match, for Jane had beau
ty and siller, and Mr. Blair was the
cleverest man in the county, and had
the promise of the mastership of a
school in the east country, with ninety
pounds a-yeir. Oar house grew hap
pier now th.n ever and when Jane S
birthday came round, there was ga
thering from far and near to do honor
to boniest and kindest lass in all the
parish. The minister himself came up
on his pony, and drank prosperity to
the young folks at the door and in
side at night there was a supper for all
the neighbors, and John Chalmers
played on the fiddle and a The rest of us
sang songs, and danced and sklrled like
mad and at last, when James health
was drank, with many wishes for her
happiness, up she gets and lays her
arms round my auld mither's neck, and
bursts out into great passion of tears,
and when she recovered herself, she
said she would never be Sc happy any,
where else, and that wcel or i'll, dead
or alive--in the body or in the spirit,
she would aye come back on that night,
and look in on the hame where she
has spent sea sunshiny life. Some
o. them laughed at the wild affection
she showed, and scme took it seriously
and thought she had tied herself down
by ow'r solemn bargain; but in a
wee while the mirth and frolcing gaed
on as before, and all the company con-
fessed it was the happiest evening they
had ever spent in their lives. Do YOU
ken Loch Luart, sir a wee bit water
that stretches across between the Lure
loch aad the Breelan ? All! the grand
shadows that pass along it when you
stand on the north side and look over
10 the hill 1bere's great blackness
settled upon the face, as if the sun had
died AWAY from the heavens altogether,
TIL when he comes rouud the corner
o. the mountain, grorious procession
of sunbeams and colors takes its course
across the whole length o the water,
and all the hill-sides give out kin: o.
glow, and at last the loch seems all on
fire. and you can scarcely look at it for
the brightness. A small skif was kept
at the side, for it saved the shepherds
miles % steep climbing to get from
flock to flock. as it cut off two or three
miles o. the distance between Our house
and Shalloch. One Friday, soon after
he merry meeting at James birthday,
she set eff as usual to meet Mr.. Blair.
How far she went, or where she met
him, nobody could tell, for nothing was
ever seen or heard o. them from that
day to this; only the skiff on Loch
Luart was found keel up, and the prints
% feet that answered to their size were
seen on the wet bank. Nothing wad
persuade my mlther for many day
that she wasna coming back. When
she heard step at the door, she used
to flush up with great redness in her
cheek, and run TO let her in. Then
when she saw it was a stranger, she
left the door open and came back into
the kitchen without saying word
My father spoke very little, but some
times he seemed to forget that Jane
was taken away, and called for her to
come to him in a CHEEKY voice, as he
used to do, and then WI sudden
shake o. his head, he remembered that
she was gone, and passed away to his
work as If his heart was broken And
other things cume on to disturb him
now, for some bank or railway, or some
thing O. the kind, where he had bought
some shares, failed with a great crash,
and he was called on to make up the
loss, and he grew careless about every
thing that happened, and the horses