Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-08-21

dict once pronounced, troubled them
selves no more about the matter, for fan
cifulness, in all its varieties, is not as
| high msdemeanor in country as in
| city eyes.
But, accustomed to homage, change,
amusement, of course she speedily found
| this monotonous life a frightful bore? On
| the contrary, she did not find it monoto
| nous, for every day brought her some nov
city: from milking and butter and bed
| making to sketching, rowing, climbing,
berrying, there was scarcely possibility
of the country which she left untried.
And watching Jimmy's puny muscles
harden, and little Kitty's white cheeks
| take color like the wild roses in the
! hedge briers, she actually found more
interesting daily occupation than noting
the progress of filtration, or undressing
Mrs A at the hops. Very strange
| taste, no doubt, but tastes never are to be
accounted for.
But if Miss Lascelles enjoyed herself,
| what shall be said of the two poor young
things that, like a good fairy, she had car
| ried away from squalor and privation?
Truly, to them this was another world, in
its utter unlikeness to any thing they had
| ever known. Though not out of child
| hood, they had never yet been children,
| and Miss Lascelles saw with delight the
| transformation coming over them, as they
rolled on the grass, tumbled down the
| hiIl-sides, scratched themselves among
brambles, screamed, laughed, and whoop-
ed like wild Inginess,' as Mrs. Hutch
ms said, and, in a manner, got upsy on
mountain air and unlimited sunlight.
Undoubtedly for the time being they were
| little animals like the puppy and the kit
| ten they played with, Miss Lascelles aid
| ing and abetting, in the belief that by
! taking care of the body now she was do
| ing the best service to the soul by-and by.
One of the children's favorite occupa-
| tons was driving the cows home at night,
| and then standing by to see them MIXED,
| a performance which lost none of its in
| terest from the bowl apiece of warm new
milk with which it ended. The milk, real
country milk, with no smack of the pump
handle, was, perhaps, greater marvel
than even the COWS to these benz GIFTED lit
tie cts, and they swallowed it literally
Open-mouthed. A pretty sight it was, this
milking-time; so thought a chance conner
who had strayed down the lane by the
backyard, and stopped to look over the
bars at the scene inside. Miss Neeny's
blue draperies falling as gracefully from
the milking as ever they had done from
the music stool, her black hair crisping
into picturesque lights and shades against
the sleek side of the white COW, who stood
chewing the cud, her large mild eyes med
itatively fixed on Kitty perched on N
overturned WheelbarrOw, and steadfastly
returning the gaze with her great blue
English eyes, while Jimmy, divided be-
tween admiration and kind of fascinated
fear, lowered round Farmer Colby's big
chestnut horse, that its owner had left tied
to a post while he drove bargains in but
ter and cheese in Mrs Hutchins's dairy,
and that champed and paved and other
wise testified impotence at the delay.
The sun, just disappearing behind the
hills, as if to make sure that all was as it
should be before retiring for the night,
shot forth last keen blink that searched
out CLEAN of gold in the moss under the
gable and a tiny crimson flower in the
grass, while the chestnut's coat shone as
if vanished, and the shadow of the old
cherry-tree heightened till it seemed to be
growing out OF sight.
The stranger, whose knapsack on the
shoulder and stout suck in hand, to say
nothing of dusty gray garments, bespoke
him pedestrian tourist, after looking on
for minute unperceived, put his hand on
y y,
whose nerves had not yet hardened to
country boys stolidity, jumped back at
the sudden sound, unfortunately at the
precise moment when the chestnut launch
ed out at fly that was buzzing about
him. The fly, with a contemptuous b-rr,
sailed off untouched, but poor wingless
Jimmy lay his length on the ground.
At Kittys scream Nina looked around,
but before any body could move, the
young man was over the bars, and had the
insensible boy in his arms He was sur
geon, he said, and Nina anxiously
awaited his report Of the boys injuries
They proved less serious than she had
| feared-a slight conclusion of the brain
and broken leg, broken so clearly, as the
| young surgeon with professional enthusI-
asm declared after setting it. that it might
| almost be trusted to heal of itself.
Nevertheless DR.. Hilton, as he gave his
name, did not trust it to itself. Perhaps
he felt that as he had indirectly been the
cause of Jimmy's battering, the least he
could do was to leave him as sound as he
had found him. SO the knapsack was I'M
strapped, and, with'its owner, remained in
definitely under Mrs. Hutchins's gambrel
roof. Never surely was patient better
tended than Jimmy Pratt The young
man told him stories and invented games
for his amusement, taught him, to the
| boys intense pride and delight to play on
a creaky old fiddle that had spent its best
days in the service of the deceased Hutch
| ms, brought him news of all the small
| happenings of the farm and the village,
| till he was well enough to be moved, after
which, in all favorable weather the
daily rambles were resumed, Jimmy
riding in great style and comfort
on DIR. Hilton's back The neigh
borhood, with keen country instinct in
love matters, once more opined that all
this meant that the young doctor was
maxim up to Miss Neeny," in which
fancy they were not wholly at fault In
fact, as Jimmy grew better his doctor
grew worse, and by the time the one
could go on crutches the other was quite
helpless.
If practice makes perfect, it is not to be
doubted that Miss Lascelles said No with
the utmost grace-at least she would have
done so, only that this time, perhaps for