The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1859-01-06
From cballen's lii3 5rll.d ilsathk.
q And TheAX

stle hamlet Of Ambermead, was an old gen
,tleman of unobtrusive and orderly habits,
whose peculiar taciturnity had obtaincd for
him the familiar cognomensof Two Words.
Mr.. Csnute, alias Two Wesds, dwelt on the
outskirts of the village, tended by an an
cient housekeeper, almost as schary Of speech
as her worthy master. 1t was surmised
that Mr.. Canute had seen better days; but
though his means were straitened, his heart
was large, and his countenance expressed
great beneyolence. Notwithstanding the
brief frnode Of speech which characterized him
on all occasions, the advice of Mr. Canute
was eagerly sought on every subject whereon
it was presumed advice could be profitable;
G and the simple rustics of Ambertnead perhaps
valued it the more, because, though delivered
without a particle of pomposity, the terseness
and decision of the words expended, left an
indelble impression, which long sermons Of
ten failed to convey. Mr.. Canute lived on
terms of intimacy with the family at the old
Hall--an intimacy cemented by early asso-
ciation, forMr Harwell and Mr.. Canute had
been school-fellows; and when a painful and
lingering illness attacked the squire, his an
cicnt friend and crony felt deep anxiety as to
the ultimate fate ofMr. Harwelrs only child,
the good and lovely Clara Harwell The
disease was an incurable one; though the
suffering might be protracted, there was no
hope of ultimate recovery, and an air of
gloom reigned over the village of Ambermead,
where once the sweet spring and summer
tide brought only sport and glec. Amber
mead was noted for profusion of rich red
roses, exhaling delicious fragrance; and for
the songs of finnumerable nightngales, whose
harmonious consents resounded amid un-
brageous groves, sheltering the hamlet on
every side, and extending beyond the old
lIallof Ambermead. But now, although roses
blooned and the birds sang, serious faces look
ed from the cottage doors; and while the
- young villagers forgot their usual pastimes,
the elders conversed apart in whispers al
ways directing their glances towards the Hall,
as if the sufferer within those thick walls
could be disturbed by their conversation
This sympathy was called forth, not only by
the circumstances ofMr. IIarwell being their
ancestral landlord, the last of an impoverish-
cd race, but from his always having lived
among them as friend and neighbor-re-
spected as a superior, and beloved as an
equal Their knowledge, also, of the squire
decayed fortune; and that, OH his death the
fine old place must become the property of
a stranger, whom rumor did not report fa-
vorably of-greatly enhanced the concern of
these hereditary cultivators of the soil; and
many bright eyes grew dim thinking of poor
Miss Clara, who would soon be fatherless,
and almost pennilesss The estate of Am
bermead was strictly in the male line, and
the next heir was of distant kin to the Har-
wells A combination of misfortunes, and
no doubt of imprudence in years long gone
by, had reduced the present proprietor to
the verge of ruin, from which he was to find
refuge only in the grave. The Harwell fam
ily had lived for centuries in Ambermead-
They seemed so much to belong to their poor
neighbors, who always sympathized most
fully in all the joys and sorrows of the "Hall
folks" that now, when there was certain pros
pect of losing them forever, as it seemed
the parting became more than a common
one between landlord and tenant, between
rich and poor-it was the parting Of endeared
friends. ah8@
= They watched and waited for Mr. Canute
passing to and fro, as he did every day, and
more than once day and on his two words
they hung, as if the life or death were invol-
we'd in that short bulletin.
"How is the squire to-day ~ said one.
"No better" replied Mr.. Canute mildly,
without stopping.
"And how's Miss Clara" inquired anoth-
er, with deep pity in his looks,
"Very patient" responded the old man,
still moving slowly on with the aid of his
stout staff t}
""Patientr p repeated several voices when
he was out of hearing. Eyes, yes, patient
enough; and Master Canute means deal
when he says patient. Bless her young
sweet face! there's patience in it if ever there
was in mortal's"
Mr.. Canutes patience was sorely taxed by
questioning at all hours; he was waylaid first
by one, then by another, on his way from
his own cottage to the Hall, but with un-
falling good nature and promptitudc, he in
= variably satisfied the affectionate solicitude
of his humble neighbors-in his own quaint
way, certainly-never wasting words, yet
perfectly understood.
The summer-tide was waning into autumn,
? and the squire of Ambermead faded more gra-
dually than autumn leaves, when late one
evening awayfarer stopped at Mr.. Canute's
cottage, which was on the roadside, and re-
quested permission to rest, asking for a
draugh Of water from the well before the
porch as,
s~ftka aes 81 .a." HEa