Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-12-18
NUMBER il i ] i I, {. 90.

my making; and if it hadn't been for
that ring, neither you nor the dear lady
that's just gone would have, seen the
light .siBsA
si 1 sat looking at him., listening to him,
too much amazed for words. edf sIiass
s He noticed my bewildered, half
frightened glances.qqaas 40 y4asm
q "Miss Hester, dosyou care to hear an
old mans taleqso1Vhave never stold1it
even tony daughter; ahddI don't sup
pose there's one living in the place even
toguess at it now. They kept it dark
for me, and 1T died out long lagog o1But
I'm willing to tell it to you, for the sight
of that ring seems to openmy hearth
II Eyes, tell rne--pray tellrme, y i said,
impetuously 5s bra ,lgrg5la ..s.I
..eHe sat silent for few minutes, with
hands clasped upon his knees, gazing
into the fire, then he turned his eyes on
me and spoke slowly, as though recall
ing gradually the distant past. sl9oHr
-afH was turned twentyy but still lived
at home with my father and motherjrnot
here in the village, butt in an old house
half mile down the Hillbury road. My
father was carpenter, and had brought
me up to the trade, and he let me man
age things pretty much my own way,
though i was but a lad. used to think
the reason he seldom. crossed me was,
lest ] should get a fancy for roaming. for
my mother had fretted sorely whenlmy
brother Joshua listed for soldier
and they had buried two children in
the Hillbury churchyard. Anyhowait it
seemed. as though they could inever
make enough of me- f. was a likely
young, fellow strong and hearty,ioa
good hand at.my work. and for climbing or
wrestling, there were few in the eountry-
side could beat me. ,Ah, well q they were
blithe days, when stood bat in hand at
my wicket on the green,er strolled by the
river side with Margaret Leigh, stI would
not have changed places with a. king,
then. I'VE were to be married one day,
Margaret and L, and though the daywas
some way off, we were youngsand nboped
full, and content to wait. al But I don't
know why l should trouble .yop with all,
our, foolish fancies and schemes-enly
I'm 10th to go on to the dark, time.
when the, tide turned; for, turn it, did,.
First of ALL, my-mother fell sick, and,
most of her careful savings went to.
pay the doctor. An through one dreary,
winter, she hardly left her ) bed J; and
when spring came, and she was begin
ming to get about again, there came a,
| run of ill-luck in our trade. !, One of our.
| best men left US, and took. work under a
carpenter who had just set up in Hill
| bury, and had drawn off many of our
| customers. Then we made a venture,
| in stock of wood that turned out badly;,
and, worst of all, father cut his wrist
and couldn't so much as lift a tool /; and
so we went downtown till sometimes,
| I used to wonder how long, if matters
didn't mend, we might have. food to, eat
| or roof to cover US. And Margaret,
too-poor Margaret-her aunt died Il and
| about the time when We used to think,
we might have married, she went out to
service many a mile away. ,f,s,is II anne :
81 was lettering along the green one.
evening, sore at heart enough, by rea-.
son of my troubles, when one of the lit
tie lads playing. catchpenny on the
| grass looked up from his game to say
4 'Dost know, Phil Morris. that the
mistress at the Hall is took very i'll
like to die, they say 2 who told you,
thatq 1 growled out. 1 had grown
very surly of late, ''Tis all lie, I'll
be bound THAT it amt, then,E
Mother were up to the house that very
afternoon and they said as how the
doctor had most given her up, and the
squire were in great taking, l heard
mother tell father all about it. 1
sauntered on, thinking bitterly that here
was another blow coming, for. the lady
at the Hall was kind to every one, and
my mother was favorite OF hers. You
see thought only of myself, not of the
/ good-hearted squire, nor of the many
who would miss her. Trouble had made
me very selfish, and yet little dreamed
i what that bit of news meant for me.
! Only a day later, every one knew that
she was really dead. l heard it in the
early morning, as l was taking down
/ the window-shutters; and that same
evening, as l sat at my bench in the
workshop, one of the grooms fromethe
Hall came riding up to the door. My
father was standing there, and the man
gave the message to him.. A cofin-did
1 / say that we were undertakers as well
as carpenters?-a coffin was to be put in
hand at once, for the funeral would be in
three days time. 1t was very soon as
the man said; but they thought it better
for she had died very suddenly.
You'll go, Phil" my father said,
looking at his lame wrist. Now, he
had mostly taken that sort of
work; but of late, since his accident,
it had once or twice fallen upon me-
The squire sent word to- syou,'- 1 am
swered, !, ,'and your hand is pretty nearwell
now. Hadn't you best go yourself -
Nay, nay, my lad,' said the old man |;
'be sure the squire heeds little enc ugh
just now whether it's father OF son that
knocks in the nails, and my wrist is not
good for much even now. 1 doubt it
never will again; you'd best CO. So
it fell out that it was l who went up to
the house to measure the. lady-your
grandmother,M Miss Hester, tol her coffin. ;
mon TO BE CONTINUED, s6l la an