Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1868-08-21

he put his child's caress aside, lest anythinj
contagious should be lurking in his clothes.
And how when no such fear existed. hi
spirits would be so downcast and depresse
IRON the constant witnessing of crime an,
want and sorrow, that he would turn from
hls frugal meals almost with loathine. an,
say be ielt as though the bread and mea
would choke him, whilst so many were stary
ing without prospect Of relief
And when would it be over what chanc
was there Of her husband ever escaping from
his present life Of anxiety and toll
Were they to drag out all their days il
this unhealthy, crowded town? Was thei
child to grow up pale and thin, like the man,
whom she saw around her, for want of eve
breathing the pure, sweet air Of the coun
try
For Meg Hartley did not consider that he
husband lot was much worse than her own
Their hours were spent in equal toll tn,
only difference being that HE had less mono
tony
Wha. did she live for but to nurse tn,
child, and carrying it out walking, and hell
their one household drudge to cook the neal
and keep the house clean, and rack her BRAIN
from Monday until Saturday to see how sh,
could make the weekly stipend cover IN,
weekly wants She had no friends. or an,
She could call such for the parish of which
hcr husband was but one of several curate,
lay at some distance from their own abode
and London neighb0rs. knowing little anc
caring less about each other. did not trouble
themselves to become acquainted with par.
son E wife, who dressed in cotton Of an af
tcm1In. and carried out her baby for an air
ing in the park.
of John Hartley's family she knew moth
iug He had plenty of relations, but they
We're happy country people who lived down
DO Suffolk and though he had often said
that as soon as he could afford il he must
take her and Daisy (as he fondly called hi,
little child) 10 see his mother and his sisters,
that time had never come vet. nor seemed
likely 20 do SO: and the sewing-machine,
which had been a present from her mother
in-law upon her marriage, was the only in
visible link sub-i>ting between the Hartleys
and herself
The sewins-machine' Yes. she had well
coined it as a useful and expensive gift but
she had been compelled to sit at it so often
since during hot dusty days when she had
been IantinE for breath Of fresh air. and
cid dark ones, which she had scarcely dared
use a- much fuel as would enable her to
work in comfort, that she had come to hate
tIc sound Of its uutiring needle. and the
touch Of It's patient treadles.
las she tretiully thought to herself-if
she ever had any material worth making up.
for which To- use the h0rrid thing. il might
Dee different but as it was.-and She twitch-
ei the worn skirt Of her alpaca dress imua-
tcntly 10 one side. as if the sight of it. even
hy those dull emhers. was distasteful 10 her
But She could scarcely remember what it
was 70 possess q pretty or becoming dress .
and her baby was never (what she called)
tit to bc-een. ~ for an entertaining book
or a few fresh flowers OF fruits. She had al
most forgotten what such things were: and
il was hard-it certainly was hard-to spend
ones life without single luxury OF pleas
uIC
And as the thought Of these inevitable
fardships pressed upon Meg IIartlev's mind.
tears began 80 gather in her eyes. and roll
slowly down her cheeks
1t was thus that the past had lost it, pow
cr to make her grateful for the present. and
that she could permit the dread memory of
blows and curses to be overwhelmed by the
existing discomfort Of having to eat salt but
Ter and wear questionable garments Il
was very foolish Of her,-worse than foolish.
II was wrong.-and yet it was natural al
though the assertion speaks poorly for human
nature.
How often, in our short span Of life, have
+ we seen huge hillow advancing to meet us.
/ coming onwards with rcsi-tless force. and
J threatening TO ovarwhelm our little bark
I How trcmulously have We watched It's ra-
/ Tid rogrc>-,-how We have dreamed Of it.
/ sept over it, for weeks before it reached us .
and, whilst calling on the Master Mariner
for aid in our perplexity. have yet, in our
own minds. felt perfectly convinced that
even his help must be unayailing, and that
We never could survive the shock At last
it gained uS we were ON the very verge Of
eternity. when, 10 it broke within few
yards OF our boat and, passing under, in
stead of over il. gave the frail structure an
impetus which sent it riding calamity above
lts toaming crest once more INTO smooth
water
For few hours, perhaps, We could scarce
Is mention our deliyerance without tears :;
and for a few days, or weeks, according 10
our disposition. any allusion TO the danger
we had 50 unexpectedly passed called forth
expressions of the deepest gratitude.
Well and what then The huge billow
was far ont Of sight we had almost forgot
ten what it looked like when SO near the
interest Of the topic faded, and we began to
grumhle because the weather was not quite
favorable To our sport OF that We sometimes
brought up seaweed in our nets, instead of
fish
Meg Hartley was no better and no worse
than the generality of her fellow-creatures.
There are but few of us who know how to
make the best of this life how 10 extract
the sweets which every phase Of it. in some
sort, contains and how 10 cast the ineyita-
BE bitter away. She needed a lesson to be
read To her upon contentment and a heavy
one was advancing with the gloom
She had scarcely realized that she was cry
ing, when the approaching sound Of an in
FAINT wall. and a rude knock at the parl0r
door. caused her to rouse herself, and brush
away the tears which stood upon her cheeks.
" II vou please, m. said the uncouth
tones OF her sole attendant, an awkward girl
from her husbands National School. 90 |
think as how the child wants yer ; and if
vcr'll take her. can be about getting up the
tea-things in time for master.
'' Give her 10 me, said Mrs. Hartley,
without altering her position, as she listlessly
held out her arms for the infant and in
another moment it was Graded on her bosom,
and drawing its nourishment from the
springs Of her own existence.
The child. not much above a twelyemonth
Old. was teething and there was something
in the touch of those feverish lips. and the
harmless energy with which the little hot
l..
and at any other moment would, have ap
pealed very powerfully TO its mother sfeelings
But Margaret Hartley was in no humor
that evening even to sympathize with little
Daisy.
She took the child almost impatiently,
and, having given it the breast, resumed her
occupation Of gazing in the fire whilst her
thoughts returned to the same channel as be-
fore
The girl from the National School having
hlundeIed up and down stairs three or four
times-in the course of which peregrinations
She had managed 60 convey the tea-things
safely to their destination, and TO spread the
table with the uninyiting loaf of Yesterdays
baking. the slab Of salt butter in its dinner
plate, and the penny-worth Of fluid from
which the milkinan dared to take his name.-
now demanded Of her mistress whether she
should light the gas, make up the fire. or
take the child again.
To all of which inquiries Meg Hartley only
fretfully replied in the negative +: telling the
girl to 60 down stairs and stop there tin she
was called for.
And then the parlor door was slammed.
and the rough-shod feet shuiiied back to the
lower regions and the discontinued woman
WIS left musng in the dusk, and save for the
laby on her breast, alone.
How long she remained thus, she could
never say, for the occurrence by which her
meditations We're interrupted was so territy-
inga as to drive all calculation Of time out OF
her mind. 1t might have been moments,
minutes, or hours that she sat crouched up
on the hearth rug, with little Daisy slumber-