The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1867-03-29


VIII. WATTS Story.
was tired Of working on old
Grand'ther Jessup's farm-tired of
milking the COWS and taking the corn
to mill, and drawing great buckets of
water. Wicked Of me, / know, to feel
so, when Grand'ther Jessup had
brought me up and done everything
for me, without being any relation
only Grand Their to me, as he was to all
Oakhill Very, very wicked, so | kept
it to myself, and used to pray against
the feeling, Sundays, in the low-roofed
old meeting house, and do double
work week days to make up for having
even thought how tired / was of it
all.
don't know then, as l did after
wards, that it was only my natural
disposition at work within me, that |
could no more be happy in that regu-
lar round of duties, than racer could
in tread-mill l thought it was sin,
and nothing else.
You see had the ROGER in me. On
the fathers side they were all sailors,
and whenever | went near the sea, or
or any water even, as a child, / used
to feel a thrill and tremble, and a
great, great longing for it.
| wanted to be a sailor, and besides
that | wanted to be rid of Oakhill for
another reason. l was in love with
Grand 'ther Jessup's real grand daugh-
ter-his heiress, and beauty, if ever
there was one. I've heard what poets
think a description of some pretty wo-
man, but all the roses and lilies md
pearls and gold in the world can't de-
scribe Jessie Jessup. You can't de-
scribe a sunset or a storm at sea, so as
to give any one an idea Of what it
really is, and neither do | think can
you describe a person. The nearest |
can come to it would be to say she
sparkled. Face and voice and manner
all sparkled like the waves in the sun
light Of a splendid summer day.
Perhaps you don't think that
Grand'the Jessup was a very great
person, or that any one might not
have been good enough for his daugh-
ter, but in that place he was about the
richest man and 1 the very poorest
boy.
The seafaring man that came to
Oakhill to live month and died, leav
ing his wife and baby without penny
i'll the world, was remembered yet by
some, and always as some strange,
well-disposed creature, such as fables
tell us live in the depths of the sea
might have been.
His ways and his language not like
theirs, and every one knew that
Grand'ther Jessup would look higher
for Jessie when he made up his mind
that she should marry at all than that
poor strangers son.
Jessie would herself, felt quite
sure. She chatted with me in her own
merry way, and, indeed, in that coun-
try place master and man sat at the
same table and went to the same mer-
ry markings, the difference in THEN
possessions the only one that existed
being remembered all the same; and
plump matrons with rosy daughters,
knowing as well which young farmer
was the best match, and who, on ac-
count of want of expectations, was
not to be allowed to spark Melinda or
Emma Jane.
Everybody knew my prospects, and
/ had no fancy that Jessie Jessup and
| could make match of it; but, still,
| wanted to so away more than ever
since jim Lawrence had bought the
neighboring farm--Jim Lawrence,
who was handsome and merry, and
had more money than any one / knew
besides Grand'ther Jessup; Jim Law
renee, who brought his handsome face
over to the Jessup farm oftener than l
for one cared to see it there.
SO | had the heart-ache, and was
tired of ploughing and planting, and
of thinking day and night of nothing
but 'crops," . and one morning l shout
dered my little bundle of clothes and
walked away. The heavy work of the
year was all over, and / knew old
Grand'ther could find other men to do
as well as l. SO | only said to him;
God bless you for your goodness
to me when l was little orphan ba-
by. God bless you for your kindness
all through; but somehow l know |
never could be a farmer. I've Il long
ing for the sea. !"
He looked at me in an odd, wistful
way, and put his fat hand on my head,
as he had when | was a child.
II kinder calculated to see you
about me Arrays" he said, with visit
fnl look in his blue eyes "Well, well
go if you must. You've been good,
obedient boy, and"
Then he fumbled in his pocket and
took out an old purse.
"Take that to help you along" he
said "Don't refuse it. ant poor,