The free South. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1863-1864, 1864-01-30

sort than those usually found AT so great
nm altitude. consisting of dairy and
honseplace, with II loft overhead. A ta-
ble. with three or four wooden stools oc-
cupied the center of the room. The raj
ters we're hung with branches OF drled
herbs and long strings Of Indian corn
A clock tieked in % corner a kind OF
ride a,,c.pass t"estles stood i'll recess
beside the fire-piace !, INIT through lat
tce at the farthest end, could near the
COWS feeding in the outhouse&eyona. =.
Somewhat perplexed at the Mnner Oh
my reception. I unstrapped my&sap-
sack and specimen box, took possession,
of the nearest stool, ana asked if [ could
have supper.
My host looked np with the air of q
man inteLt or other things. repeated
the inquiry.
Yes. lie said, YEARLY; "you can
eat, Traveller.
With this he crossed TO the other side
OF the hearth stopped over dark object
which until now ] had not ol5sarveeid
arouched in the corner. and muttered a
word or two OF unnttiigible patois. The
Object moaned lifted up bewildered
woman's white face: and rose slowly
from the floor The herasman pointed
to the table, and went back to his stool
and his former attitude. The woman,
after pausing helpless, rs if the effort to
remember something, went ont into the
the dairy, came back with y brown loaf
and pan OF milk, and set them before
me on the table
AS long as live shall never forget
the expression Of THAI woman's face. She
was young and very pretty; but her beau
ty seemed turned to stone. Every fea-
ture bore tie seal of unspeakable terror.
Every gesture was mechanical. In the
lines that furrowed her brow was Il hag-
gardness more terrible then haggardness
of age. In the locking of her lips there
was an anguish beyond the utterance of
words. Tough she served me. l do
not think she saw me. There was no
recognition in her eyes no apparent
consciousness of any object sor circum-
stance external to the secret of her own
despair. All this l noticed during the
brief moments in which she brought me
my supper. That done, she crept away,
exactly, into the same dark corner, and
sank down again mere huddled heap of
clothing.
As for her husband there was something
unnatural in the singular immobility of
his attitude. There he sat, his body bent
forward, his chin resting on his palms,
his eyes staring fixed at the blackened
hearth, and not even the involuntary
culver of nerve to show that he lived
and breathed. I could not determine
his age, analyze and observe his features
us might. He looked old enough to be
fifty, and young enough to be forty and
was fine muscular mountaineer, with
that grave cast of countenance which is
peculiar to the Valasian peasant.
could not eat. The keeness of my
mountain appetite was gone. I sat as if
fascinated in the presence of this strange
pair observing both and apparently, by
both rs much forgotten rs ii I had never
crossed their threshold. We remained
thus, by the dim light of the lantern and
the monotonous ticking of the clock, for
some forty minutes or more as profound
ly silent. Sometimes the woman stirred,
as if in pain !; sometimes the COWS struck
their horns against the manger in the out
house. The herdsman alone sat notion
less, hko man cast i'll bronze. At
length the clock struck nine. Ihad by this
time became SO nervous that [ almost
dreaded to hear my own voice interrupt
the silence. However, pushed my plate
noisily aside. and said, with as much
show OF ease as | could muster
Have you any place, friend, in which
] can sleep tonight -
He shifted his position uneasily and
without looking round replied in the
same form o. words as before