The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1858-01-02

And did not know her trade? Why not at once -,
Pluck out the eyebrows and extract the nails?
Strange 'tis that men will worship fashion, 80
Asto be willing thus to undergo
The pains OF shaving, rather than permit
Noustsehe and beard TO grow rs they think at.
How singular that mon should still delight b. Esss
In torturing their faces when they might 7r
themselves their comfort ease and health obtain e
By vowing they will never shave againi ssiai' Fl
But 'tis the dread Of rdicule and scorn r Z
Makes the foul fashion easy to be borne.
This custom Of US all doth towards make; ,7ss
And for this savage custom, then, We take
The trouble and the pains eurchins IT, NOW,
Because it is the fashion 10 DO soEs
But thus our chins willis no more, hope,
Bels,hsrd o'es with the pale :nds Of soap. -,
soon shatl moustashe and beard once more on sH :
Our chins way merriiy in street and hall.
n la,,ass.g THE VALE OF MANOR.
In consequences of some Of those civil and
domestic broils which disturbed the reign
of the beauteous Mary of Scotland, her ILL
fated husband found it convenient to retire,
for time, to the castle Of Smithfeld, in
Tweeddale, where with a small retinue, he
occupied himself in the pleasures Of the
chase, and other sports of the country. His
residence here was rendered very unconfor-
table by the predatory spirit which infested
the Borders, and which, according to his-
torian of the period, was partaken Of in no
small degree by the inhabitants of Tweed
dale themselves. The castle which served
rs habitation to Darnley stood on the side
of a hill Immediately adjoining the ancient
burgh of PEBBLES, and was then a place Of
considerable strength, though not q stone
now remains to tell its site. Here, then,
dwclt the young king when the hecircumstanee
occurred which We are about to relate, as
the voice Of tradition brought them to our
knowledge: = :. 's-e Sa &.E
The Yale Of Manor, situated few miles
to the west Of the town Of PEBBLES, is one
the most pleasant of the many glens which
send in their tributary waters to the Tweed.
For those who love the richly cultivated
field, and the smooth-shaven lawn, the Vale
Of Manor has few charms; but those who are
admirers of nature in her wilder aspects,
who delight in the bold and heath-clad hill,
and in the clear and rock-born streamlet, it
is q scene full Of beauty and interest. Though
at the present day, only a solitary tree raises
its lonely head here and there on the steep
declivities, the vale at one time unqucstion-
ably formed part of the track called the
Forest, in the matted woods of which the
Scottish monarchs hunted the wild boar and
the wolf, as we'll as a game of less terrible
character. But, like Yarrow, Manor now
presents only 'sthe grace of forest charms
decayed, and pastoral melancholy" 'tF5 =
Whatever other changes the vale may have
undergone, its little mill remains, in nearly
the same situation which it occupied three
hundred years ago. We do not mean to aver,
that tho same tenement in which Andrew
Tod drew from his neigh5ors the dew Of
multure is still existent; the hand of Time
has long since crumhled the old walls into
dust; but noarly in the same spot does the
stream of the Manor still whirl round noisy
clapper, as it did in the days Of Queen Mary.
Many an occupant, too, has been resolved
into dust, undistinguishablc from that Of
the stone walls which he inhabited, since the
time of the parsonage we have named. An
drew Tod the miller Of kirkton, as the
place was ,denouiinatcd, was, ut the,timc of
this cycntful story man considerable above
sixty years of age, but still rosy in complex
ion, and unbroken in bodily health. Time
had slightly tninned and whitencd his tenn
piles, but he merited still the cpithet often
bestowed on those of his trade, rs ts'sa jolly
mIler.' Andrew bore high character for
honesty-a character which, without antith-
csis, was not, in his times, often bestowed
on those of his trade; and the Kirkton mil
Ter had obtained, through his honesty and
industry, sufficient Of the goods of this
world to make him comfortable in it. His
family for three generations had been occu-
pants of the mile of kirkton, and Andrew 8
greatest ambition was to be succeeded in it
by his posterity. ~ lie had married early in
life. but for many years had been unblessed
with family, until his. wife brought him a
daughter. and died giving birth to her. The
miler's whole affections were thus thrown
upon one object, and the little Mary Tod
was in fair way, it might seem, of being
from infancy spoiled child: for her fathers
love was more like doting than ordinary pa
rental affection. But circumstances fortu-
nately interviewed, which rendered Mary Tod,
ut the age of eighteen, not only far from being
a spoiled child, but girl Of manners and in
telligence far above the ordinary maidens
of her rank. What these circumstances
were, it is necessary that we should explain.
In the preceding reign-namely, that of
James " the ancient church first began to
loose its hold on tho respect of the Scottish
people. In this reign, atleast, the first open
defcctions were made to the reformed doc
trines. The Catholics, however, were still
in possession Of power, and the king HIM
self could not stand out against them, or
defend the reformers from their emily
Hence those who oponly professed the new
doctrines were in many instances obliged to
fly, and to hide themselves, for the preserv-
alton Of their lives. One Of these fugitives,
worthy priest who had attached himself
to the new light, had found shelter in the
little retired Vale of Manor. Here he APP
piled himself to the teaching of tho rural
population around: and such was his utility,
and the respect which his learning and man
ners acquired, that he spent his days in
safety while the hour of danger lasted, and
when thereformed religion came to BE open
ly professed BY the country, continued still
instructing the youth of the little vale. His
place of refuge had been the cot Of poor
widow, whose husband had died about the
time of the good priests arrival, and had
left her with an infant boy to provide for
as best she might. The small pittance which
the priest could afford her, together with the
produce Of little plot Of land, constituted
the whole of her revenue. Her son, Edward
Burnet, was the fav orite pupil of the refugee;
and well did his progress and at.ainments
repay the care bestowed on him. The mil
ler lalF uauSuteI, atSo, nau Deen, from
her childhood almost, the object of the good
priests instructions; nor was this care thrown
away ON unfruitful soil. Edward and Mary
were thus often together when children; and
as they grew in years, they still continued
to receive jointly lessons Of the priest. But
whether this arose altogether from desire
of learning is matter Of doubt; and in this
dubtation our readers will most probably
be inclined to join, after perusing what fol-
lows. "a
1t was clear and pleasant evening in
summer, when Mary Tod left the door Of
her fathers comfortable straw-thatched
dwelling, and directed her steps to the side
OF little stream Of the Manor. She was
neatly dressed, in apparel of her own spin
ning; and though it was evidently mother
holiday suit, yet everything was arranged
with s0sa care as betokened some purpose
IN her mind Of appearing to the best adyan-
tage where she was going. As she tripped
lightly along the bank 81 the stream, her
comeiy face and handsome form made bf
appear like the rural genius Of the place.
MarvsS thouRhts. ho1nvor -a,a SilaA nm.