The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1872-09-26
BISHOPS OAK

a your feet, 50 intimately enter iut1
your afalrs 81 to play su important part
10 your destiny, even after thc manner
of an intelligent and responsible agent
4 There are certainly agents whom we Dc
moi seruple q call 81, who perform their
part with quite a. little betrayal Of sym
pathy.
Here was Bishops Oak, which had
been growing forty years, and had moth
ing 70 do bat to hold itselfu up in a dig
uifed manner, embrace It's opportuniiie,
aud find the earth aud heavens on IL
side-which is an human nature has to do
We are told and half believe,--when two
young men, approaching Bishops Tay-
eru toward the close Of dreadful day in
the summer drought, both saw II and
exclaimed together. One Of them be-
came at once 80 excited that Ia spite OF
the beat aud his fatigue, he Quickened
bis pace aud finally set or on arnn. The
other followed more slowly. For mo-
self whether be would follow al all; for
suddenly he had discovered that they
were within a stones throw Of the Deer's
Head Inn, from which be had departed
alone by night, tlfteen years before, as a
bond-clild escaping from a hateful bon
dagc. Under that very tree, he had
stood and told little DELPHI not TO cry
crying himself meauwbile; and though
he had told her then that he would come
back again In the years that had followed
he had made himself quite another pro-
misc. With tie old life he had buried
the old purpose. Aud yet, here he was
/ AN at once be said to himself, I'm
here aud III so on--but they'll never
know me; and they never shall know me
IL they are alive. Old Bishop, though,
must have come 10 the end of his rope
before this. And so deciding hc went
on TO join his companion.
I Do you see that knee up there? the
/ young fellow shouted, as they stood to-
gether beneath the oak. How splendidly
the great branch fits into the trunk
What curve the builders can get from
It'll
/ The tree is a landmark, answered the
other, with considerably less enthusiasm.
That is clear enough. Wen have it,
! though. .... ....... ...........
] don't know. | lived in this region
once, but NUNS The word Call me
Tiffany, and see if anybody recognizes
me if thought there was any danger !
would back out Of the job. There isn't
any one here want to see, if the same
folk are around here that used to keep
the tavern. ..... ...... ........
Young Lewis looked at his companion
altogether amazed. After a moment he
laughed and said, NUNS the word. We
will carry of the tree between us as
souvenir. -..
Not leaf of it. | should feel, and
young Mr. Tiffany looked up into the
glorious green above him, as if ! had
committed murder. DO you think a
tree has no ieeling7 ...... .....
You sentimental humbug! What an
eye to business You have, to be sure!
Let us order our supper, said the sem
timentalist. Pm as hungry as bear.
The landlord of the Deer's Head Inn
was standing on the steps of the two
story white frame building, which was
the pride Of his life, and the like of which
you may see fifty times repeated in your
rambcs on summer day, when the
young men came in sight.
A couple ofswells he said TO himself,
with a decision that showed no sense of
difficulty in deciding upon men.
lie meant perhaps, that they were I'M
commonly well-dressed youths, such as
are accustomed to find satisfaction in the
looking-glass Any mother on the face
Of the wide earth might, in fact, have
felt proud to own young Lewis as her
SON Such figure and bearing, and such
health one would not see repeated often
in regiment oftmcu. Tiffany, two or
three inches shorter, had been dealt with
less kindly by nature in every external
particular, yet considered apart by him
self, his dark countenance and bright
eyes would have presented their attrac-
tions.
The round and rcd-laced inn-kecper,
gray haired, slow moving, good-natured
as usual, stood on the top-most step OF
the flight leading to bis door ready TO
welcome the strangers, and as there were
no horses to put out, he had only to step
into the hall, shout, Delphyl aud order
supper for two.
The young stranger who had been a
child fifteen years ago, and had then re-
gardcd this old man as an object of ter
ror, needed now 10 further information
than was given him by bis own wary
senses.
Having brought his eyes TO bear with
blearcd discrimination upon the new
comers, Bishop speedily discovered that
tie slender, swift moving, dalk-browed
Tiffany was the man Of The two, and
that the other swell would be a good fel-
low 70 talk aud smoke with that evening.
20 be paid court TO both.
The supper bell soon sounding, the
young men found themselves seated at
one end Of the table and waited on by
the iun-kecper's daughter, a girl whom
apparently 10 amount Of work could
throw % her balance That the burden
of The "pablic" lad not been borne by
her good-for-nolhing father was perfect