The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1871-09-22

The mother swine arose from her re-
cumbent position in the distant corner,
leaving her family cuddled snugly down
within the pile Of straw TO sleep. Old
crowed again from the rude
rafter overhead, awakening reverberat-
ing echoes that seemed to CONCEAL my
blood. Everything I saw began to
swing in may circles around me. My
knees smOte each other, and again, as
in the olden time, | could have envied
Belshazzar.
Gradually lost all CONSCIOUSNESS. y
darkness that could be felt enveloped
me, and sunk down in utter forgetful-
ness.
When awoke to consciousness the af-
ternoon was far advanced. MypOor, inn
patient horse was restlessly stamping the
ground, and biting m his hunger at the
twigs and leaves of the hickory sapling
to which he had been hitched. The COW
and calf and pigs were gone, and the old
building, all blank and desolate, looked,
as in sober truth it was, the skeleton of
days long, long departed.
The melody of olden memories chanted
solemn requiem, and / passed out Of
the time-hallowed ruin to the measured
cadence of my own lone footballs, feel
ing, oh! so sad and desolate, that words
of mine utterly fail to give those feelings
expression.
My good steed neighcd a gentle recog
milton, and I mechanically mounted him
and rode on, in the direction Of the old
homestead, feeling the while that my
day and generation in this world had
been long out-lived.
My ideas of locality became somewhat
disturbed, and spying a wood-chopper at
a little distance from the bride path,
rode up and accosted him.
"Sir, can you tell me the way to the
falls?"
"What falls yer ladyship?"
'FThe falls of the creek, sir"
"Precious little fall there is there now,
ma'am. The back water from the mill
dams made the whole thing a pretty
nigh dead level Any business at the
mile"
Here was Il change of which the bare
possibility had not until that moment
occurred to me.
had expected to find other matters
changed, but the dear, old waterfall, the
music of the grand old trees and melody
of singing birds, looked and longed aud
hoped to find as had left them.
"Tell me how to reach the MILL"
said at length, not needing the fellow.
question.
"Leave that board fence on yer left
and yon orchard on yer right, take down
the broad lane and go straight ahead
ma'am."
The honest yeoman's direction;
were followed. Passing through a Ian,
Of over one mile in length came out a
last into an open clearing, where stumpi
were as thick as "hills' in corn field
Instead of the fine groves of sugar ma
pies with the sears of many tapping
upon their scaly sides, with "sugar wa
teri troughs and broken "spiles" laying
around i'm ease and carelessness; insteaC
Of the silken foliage of the grand old for
est and the sweet, half-silent music o
the spheres, nothing was there but tn,
bare stumps and roots of departed fores
grandeur.
"Will the realization of all my life
long dreams prove as unsatisfactory n
this?r 1 asked aloud
My voice seemed cracked, constraine,
and harsh.
Judith Reid, can this be you?''
pinched myself and exclaimed.
Once more the memory of that swee
and solemn promise, "I'll explain" at
tuned itself TO melody; and that blissfu
memory had power sufficient to lure IN
on, or l should have turned about AM
hied me to the city.
The afternoon sun beamed down il
blistering rays upon my mprotecte,
head, inducing racking pain in my tenn
pies.
! Wearily / logged along. Hundred
of cords of wood lay stacked in row
along the dusty highway. The mann
moth proportions of the busy saw-mil
loomed up in bold array before me
/ Huge Saw-logs covered many acres Of tn,
sloping lawn. Men with horses AN,
oxen, with wagons and trucks, wer
1 passing i'm and out. Other men wer
stacking up great piles of lumber in th'
form of triangle pens, and still Others a
shingle factory were packing up th'
products of their skill i'm ricks convcn
lent for transportation. Where ono,
had been my sylvan bower was now {;
great mountain of sawdust. Nothing a
all remained of the dear old landmarks
which for so many years / had 30 deep
ly and intensely longed to see.
NO wonder" I said aloud, "that
have so long tarried within reach of tbi,
locality without having had the hear
to visit it.u
On the rising lawn between our old
homestead site and the mill. stood m
immense, mpainted frame building
without bush or tree to shield its propor
tions from the scorching rays Of the after
noon sun. ! was growing faint from fast.
ing and emotion, and, riding up TO tn,
door, accOsted an unkempt woman wifi
a dirty table-cloth pinned around bel
person to shield her calico dress from tn,
soil of cookery. and asked for thn L.