Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1872-09-13

81 have dreamed a good many" she
said, in my time, and all for you. you
ungrateful fellow. Now suppose"
dwell, suppose what, said 1, Grossly.
Suppose" she returned, Suppose we
two laugh little" Z -
That woman would have laughed at
anything, or with anybody
81 can't laugh, May said l. "We are
in rather serious scrape, | assure you. !"
"Scrapep' said she. 'eOld age is a
scrape, but at twenty-five all the good
things of time are before us; and-and
God, my darling, has He not been very,
very good to US two sparrows?"
"But, May" said 1, "it is not myself I
think of, it is"
"Me, suppose-me. Do you know
how rich am, Harry? 1t seems to me [
never can be poor. There's first your
love-that is twenty thousand dollars;
then there is that dear old bearded face of
yours-that is ten thousand more; then
there is all the rest of you-that's ever so
much more; and then there are my Span
ish castles"
sMay, May" said I, eff castles in
Spain would aid u.s., / would gladly
enough help you to build them; but for
my part"
For my part" she broke in, castles
in Spain do help me- They help me to
get over the, shock of this horrid bother,
and to gain little time to steady myself.
Indeed, think if | were to draw big
check on the Rothschilds at this very mo-
ment, it would ease me bit. It would
ease me, you see, even if they did not pay
it,"
''May, May?' said I, reproachfully.
"Now, Harry" she cried, laughing, 81
must laugh and have my nonsense out. I
can't cry, even for you. Let us go out
and have good long walk, and to-mOr-
row talk over this trouble. We shall live
to smile at the fuss we have made about
it. So change your coat and come with
me; was just dressed to go out and
meet YOU"
"WelI, May" said, 'if only"
eff fddlesticks" she cried, putting
her hand over my mouth and pushing me
away. "Hurry, or we shall be late"
I don't often resist the little lady, and
so I went as she bid me, and by-and-by
coming back, there was May laughing
and making absurdly merry over a bit of
paper on the desk before her. I leaned
over her shoulder and said, "What is it,
sweetheart?"
'Riches," said she.
"NonsenseW said I.
sWhat a relapse!" cried the wife. $50
you despise gold, do you!" See what I
have been doing for you while you have
been idling in the next room"
"What is it?" said l, laughing, for not
to laugh when she laughed was simply out
Of the question.
She gave me the paper and I read just
this pretty stuff:
''Thc Bank of Spain, please pay to Bearer (who,
the benevolent bank should know, is out OF place
and out of humor, and owes money not of Spain)
One Thousand Dollars
"$1, 900. THE BEST OF WIVES"
We left the order and the wretched let
ter on the desk, and went merrily down
stairs, full once more of hope and faith,
comfOrted somehow by so little thing as
this jest of hers. | made, as remember,
feeble effort to be plunged in my new
griefs, but my May ratified on so cheerful
ly, and the laugh and the smile were so
honest and wholesome, that good humor
could no more fail to grow in their COM
pany than rose refuse to prosper in the
warm, sweet suns of June. [ have loved
that woman long, and greatly loved her
afresh for the good and tender things L
have seen her do but it was on the sum
mer evening of our trouble first learned
that | could love her more, and that truly
to love is but to grow in all knowledge OF
such courage and winning sweetness, and
gallant CHEEKY endurance, as she showed
me then, just as it wei e for little glimpse
of the gracious largeness of this amazing
blessing which had fallen into my poor
lap and life.
That warm June afternoon was filled
f,,1l For ,,oo Of thoco 5oliUhtfI11 71iot11roC
which told you have hung, with others
art which adorns my Spanish castle. There
are bits by rare artist of the long gone
gables and hip roofs and half doors which
used to make old Swanson street pictur-
esque. There is one little group of boys
Just loosed from school, ruddy and jolly,
around peanut stand, alike eager and
penniless, while behind them my May
reckless, imprudent May lis holding up
dime to the old woman, and laughing at
the greedy Joy that is coming on sud-
den over the urchins' faces as the nuts be-
come a possible possession. ------------~-
We were great walkers in those days,
and as we walked, and the houses and
poor suburbs were left behind, and we
gained the open roads which run wildly
CIOOkCu dCIOSS GIlC NUN, III w d. plCctSohL
to feel that we had escaped from the tyr
amy of right angles. It was the first
time we had gone south of the city, and
we found there, as you may find to-day,
the only landscape near us which has in
it something quite its own, and which is
not elsewhere to be seen near to any great
city in all our broad country. 1t has
helped me to one or two landscapes by
Dutch artists, which will fetch great
price if ever my heirs shall sell the Span
ish castle.
Wide, level, grassy meadows, bounded
by two noble rivers, kept back by miles
of dykes; formal little canals, which re-
place the fences, and leave an open view
of lowing cattle; long lines of tufted
pollard willows, shock-headed, sturdy
fellows; and here and there low-walled
cottage, with cleaning milk-cans on the
white-washed garden palings; and, be-
tween, glimpses of red poppies, tulips and
the like, while far away in the distance
tall, snowy sails of hidden hulks of ships
and schooners move slowly to and fro
upon the unseen rivers.
Charming we found it, with a lowland
beauty ali its own, lacking but a wind
mill here and there to make it perfect of
its kind. Along its heaped-up roads we
wandered all that summer afternoon, until
the level sun cleaned yellow on the long,
wayside bitches, with their armies of cat
tails and spatterdocks and tiny duck
weed; and at last, the frogs came out, both
big and small, and said or sung odd bits
of hall. human language, which it pleased
the little woman to convert into absurd
pieces ofadviceto doleful young folks such
as we. She would have me pause and listen
to one solemn old fellow who said, l am
sure, Good luck! good luckP' and to an
other sturdy, brown backed preacher, who
babe us keep up! keep upm with a
grim solemness of purpose most comfort
ing to hear. Then we stopped at cot