Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1871-04-06
THE BELLE or THE SETTLE,
MENT.
DACKWOOD,s STORY.

settlement. one llau never seen tlie Cll,
in her llc--not even village, uolcs
the store at the cross roads, and th
backsmith's shop, and the log church
and the school house, which kept it com
pany, might be called one.
She was a beauty and bloDde-no
Of that negative, albion type, alike char
0cterless aud bloodleSs, but with life
aud which seemed to have borrowed {
tingo from her own wavy, luXuriau
resses, Frizzled suubeams Bill E!kin,
said they were, but you will make al
lownnce for Bill >when- you come tc
know him better Golden, you might
have vcuturcd to call them; but had
you presumed to hint they were red, it
would have taken dozen preliminary
fights 10 whom belonged the right, to say
nothing Of the honor, Of chastisng your
intolerance.
BY the time Nellie was sixteen, every
STRIPPING in the settlement old enough to
be trusted to 90 huntin! by himself, Ell.
ther was, or had been, in love with her.
No, there was Que exception. Bill El-
kins had escaped the general contagion,
His time was so fully taken up in making
fun of others that he had none left for
anything serious on private account.
Which of all her admirers Nellie
liked best was secret which, if she
knew it, she had never divulgcd even to
herself
George Wcstbrook was the only son
of a gentleman who had sought with the
remnant of his fortune, a home for him
self and family on the western frontier
Mr.. Westbrook had lost his life in a des
perate encounter between the settlers
and the Indians, some years before the
commencement Of our story, leaving his
wife and son no other provision than the
tract of land he had purchased, most Of
which was still covered by the forest
Left self-dependent at an age thus ear
ly, The natural energy Of Georges
character seemed at once to spring into
full development. With the aid of an
occasional helping hand, and his moth
cr's judicious counsel, he had been able
not only to support himself and her. but
to supply their humble home with sim
pie comfort unknown to many of their
weather. neighbors. He had found
time besides to consider the studies he
had begun under his fathers guidance,
and made himself q better scholar, and
was far better informed, than hundreds
of those whose requirements areyouched
for in barbarous Latin on college sheep
skin.
We would do him injustice not to add
that he was handsome enough TO fill his
mothers heart with pride, and to have
caused those of his companions to burst
with envy, had they suspected him Of
the slightest inclination for Nellie. But
the two had been so reserved in each
others presence as to convey the i'm
preston that the feeling between them
was one of Indifference. This opinion
Bill Elkins, who was u great friend Of
George, took pains, from some unac
cOuntable reason, to strcngthen-at the
same time, in strict confidence, tipping
himself a wink of inward satisfaction
Nellie was Il frequent visitor at Mrs
Westbrook 5. The lady had been her
dead mothers dearest friend, and to her,
with something akin to fiIial trust, her
craving heart had turned in the hour Of
sorrow, and had not been sent empty
away. The motherless girl sought and
received q mothers advice and sympa-
thy from her mothers friend, and scarce
a day had passed but she found herself
in need of one or the other.
George and Nellie, Of course, saw
much of each other. In their earliest
years they played aud read story-books
together, aud sometimes fell out, as
children will. As they grew older they
became less familiar; feeling probably, II
sort Of brotherly and sisterly attachment
the one for the other, but as neither of
them had ever had brother or sister,
they were possibly not very we'll quail
fed to form aa opinion, Brothers and
sisters, as general rule, are not used
to BE- distant, or to grow embarrassed in
in each others presence, or to blush
when observed by others. But maybe
these two were an exception.
What brought 50 elegant and refined a
gentleman as Mr.. Clarence Hastings
permit us to introduce him with our
baudest bow-so far beyond the pale of
civilization, we haven't time Just now to
inquire. 1t wasn't to buy land.--hc
hadn't that sort of speculation in his
eye. 1t was probably to kill few buf
talo, or scalp a few Indians just for
amusement, AT all events he came
armed and accoutred in a manner that
amazed the oldest hunter, and filled Bill
Elkins with amazement
Bill took stock in the young stranger
exclusively, and soon talked him a repu-
tation which Daniel Boone himself
would have found it difficult to sustain
1t was wonderful, he said, how much a
man could learn out of books. Why,
Mr.. Hastings knew all about game, even
to the best modes Of cooking ii; and as
for Indians, bless your soul, if he was a
missionary in disguise, he couldn't know
them better.
A handsome person and polished
manners, set off by engaging convers-
tional powers--advantages which Mr..
Hastings was by no means backward in
lisplaying-soon made him general