Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1861-03-30

iRntiy upou ulu WIN sCaDt, ErlZzleu slGe.
whskers, and chin wretchedly shaven by
dull razor and an unsteady, wearied hand /;
hair Of that tawny sandy hue which betokens
several generations of rough struggle with
forest life, hanging down in straight and
tangled locks about his ears and coat collar {;
and Sunday suit OF blue Kentucky Jeans
homemade, and ingeniously coutrived to show
every angle and rongh knot and ungraceful
line in the poor, il.used body beneath. This
was the man whose harsh cracked voice, with
a querulous quaver in it at first, and strange
after tone OF protecting and longing love-
called out,
Now then. old lady!
AT which q bright bay mare, harnessed to
mud splashed buggy, standing near the
hitchiDg post at the gate, pricked up her
ears aud wondered what she had done now.
As though there were no other old lady
in the world
In q minute" answered q voice from
within doors, having iu it also a certain un.
certain tremble--a quaver, however, which
stood for the iesrfuness of long and much.
loving heart, whose meek habit was to fit its
motions to the convenience OF others a voice
soft and agreeable, even though it was
cracked, and limiting Of many cares and much
housewiiely forecast. And presently Bp-
pesred in the covered way of the comfortable
double cabin a portly dame to whom this
voice belonged.
Here followed young girl, blue.eyed and
r.haired, as they are in Indiana, aud Of
such buxom and shapey form, combining
both strength end grace, as is the natural
result Of hog and ho,niny," plenty of fresh
air, and total lack of servants and other
Incentives to lazy life. Her name is Mi
randa Leighton--for which am sorry, for
can not but believe that she should have been
called by some such houest and plain name
as Susan, June, or Eliza. But the Hoosier
farmers, having little other grandeur to be.
stow upon their children, are pretty sure to
give them grand and outlandish names.-
And l have respect for facts, which ore
stubborn things, but useful in their way.
Miranda uofastened ber pony from rack
beneath the wagou.shed, where be had stood
under shelter-lucky beast ?-aud leading
him up to the horse block, leaped lightly INTO
the saddle. AZ she settled herself there,
helped by her fathers kindly hauds, horse.
mau rode into the opening by turn OF the
road.
There's John now" said Mrs Leighton
John, come go to church with u.s."
I'm goin'," sud he. There's to be new
minister, amt thar"
Yes; and DO tricks now, Johu," urged
bis mother, heseechiDgly.
NO, indeed: we're going to llsten-see
what stut he's made Of Guess the boys ii
be still enough to day."
"l'lI warrant they'll all be thar" grumbed
old man Leighton
Which was a safe guess. For next to
circus, nothing draws so large u crowd u
an Indiana village as public speaking OF any
kind ; and above all, o new preacher. 4
talent for orstory is worshipped by all the
West; and q man who really has something
10 say, and knows how to say 1t as though he
believed it with oil his heart could not have
more appreciatiye audience than these
rough, unlettered Indiana farmers Nor will
you find any where sharper or more relentless
critics than these. AS logical as children,
and as impatient of humbug, they are ever
ready with Il biting word, which inevitably
pirrces 10 the core of some conscious mis-.
statement, OF sophistry which the speaker is
not himself taken in by
| So the sister and brother rode of together
in advance, while the old folks followed at
such lelsurely pace as suited the bay mare,
who had had her own way so many years that
she took 1t now as a matter Of right.
| Miranda had just returned from school
| In Indiana tho boys must work, and their
schooling comes, if st all, by fits aud starts
as they say lawyers get To heaven. 1t is
/ theirs to battle with the primal curse from
! their earliest years, and such learning as they
get is picked up ut odd times, and chiefly
| from their Bibles aud the agricultural papers
| But the girls go to school. For them money
is laid by; and ss they grow up to young
womsnbood, poor indeed must be The farmer
who does not send his daughter away to a
! hna in larn
where she has at any rate, the opportunity
to gather such of the ways, and thoughts,
aud accomplishments of a more finished cul.
ture as may assimilate best to her nature
| With these advantages the daughter becomes
the oracle Of the house, cherished by all as o
being OF superior mould, aud greatly held in
awe by younger brothers, who submit, with
what grace may be, to her dominion Mi,
rands, az | said, had just returned from
school. The free air aud pleasant sunshine
Of this Sunday morning, and the exhllaratlng
cauter .oi the pony, raised her spirits aud
gave her courage 10 administer q scOldipg tC
Juho, some of whose tricks she had heard o
on her return from School at Louisville.
Don't you see it's very wrong?" she
asked. with such sparkle in her eyes o:
made it vaguely doubtful to coutrite John
whether it was nearly so wrong as he had
before thought to tie kitten under the
bench occupied by the young ladies' Bible
class n church. where it had HIdWed dismsllN
at every pause in the sermon, to the gres
distress Of the young ladies aud tue intense
delight of the boys,
Don't you see its wrong !" she repeated
Didn't mother always tell you to be a gooC
boy and didn't | always tell you to bG
havel"
"l'm going to be as good as pie, now you'v
come back. Sis" said John, turning towar'
the pleased Miranda, a face really expressv
Of a vast amount OF contriton. But alas a
he turned in the saddle horrifyng screec
OF feline agony intercepted this charmn
scene.
40 Lord !" exclaimed John, sliding nimb
of bis horse, and making a desperate gra
after his coat-tails, from a pocket in one {
, which presently emerged a good-sized Ca
, splitting out in evident rage at her treatmen
, and with eyes sparkling, head down, aud Ia
erect, rushed into the woods.
} There was dead aud ominous silence fo
Q the space OF twenty interminable seconds.
I "Now JOHN |" at last exclaimed Mirand
very slowly, and with an injured air; mo
| JOHN
g Aud then the little witch could hold b'
4 grave face no longer, bot burst out into sue
8 a peal Of laughter that the pony was really
4 a loss TO know what it oil meant, while ii
}. bay mare hurried up her tagging PAGES, vel
r much surprised indeed, aud anxious to disc
y yer the cause of such sudden merrment.
Q "You BAD, WICKED boy y exclaimed
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