Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1874-06-25
THE wsHED-FomR OR SAW " N MILL. =

,f.,--,i T-sw4 ss----------- si7ri - "a al /.
In one Of my angling excafsions. Ixsn
BY the .sdyice Of my knowing friead Nibbs
to Try the small river Tefs. which run,
through pretty bit Of country. ard ha.
on its banks the village. or more preperl,
hamlet Of WhCrtle. where took up mi
residence. The place had no ina. bu
that did not matter. Anglers. are no
,particular. as to lodgings. The beosssgs
whici' gave NE shelter uas cleas and sen.
Portable enough; Mrs. ,Wiilians. ;, posh.
.erly dane. had eood ssnrs ptsseea lissn,
and made capital bread. There Vas 4
difficulty about butcher-rneat; bat sides oI
bacon were suspended aii over the kitch-
On ceiling. eggs we're reckoued BY the
dozen. chickens and ducks we're chucklisg
and quacking all around. excellent vege-
tables grew 10 the GARDEN; snd for 6sh.
in my opinion. small river trout are al
most as nice to eat as to catch, pbich Is
saying a great deal. T -..--.r 49, a
] took letter from Nibbs. and was in
stalled in his accustomed quarters. for
found that he was in the habit of running
down for few days vheaevsr basiosss
permitted him. and several books srr.ss-
cd on the shelf Of the sittins room had
his name in them. feared 1t 6rst that
I was turning the couple out Of their par
lor. but they assured me that they only
used il on grand occasions. and lived ha-
bitually in the kitchen Ny bedroom vas
over the sitting. room; and from the lat
tice window. framed With jcssamine and
roses. I could see the little river a. il ran
baebling and sparkling by. There was
only one drawback. which was the close
proximity Of the workshop. in which eish-
er mine host or his workman was con stant-
ly sharpening saw; but even this was
not an unmixed evil. for it couduced to
that early rising which is so great point
ia the sugler's favor. ---s -
Nibbs had said s'old" Peter Williams,
and I expected something venerable. but
the term proved 10 be familiar rather than
descriptive, for Williams was net much
older than Nibbs himself, and he was born
in 1920. Mrs. Williams was perhaps a
couple Of years younger. I was puzzled
at FIRST to think where the work vas to
come from TO keep carpenter in such an
oat-of-the-wsy spot, but that difficulty was
solved. There vas . good many hdAses
hidden away amongst the woods within q
circuit Of two or three miles. and there
was no competition. Gentlemen residing
about there were. indeed. I after learned !,
ratha- addicted IN ea.ssrur carpcnkeriug,
a taste doubtless fcs.crcd BY the profusion
Of wood all around; but amateur Sork
rarely interferes with professional. Pc
ter was probably saved many little Cd.
getty and Improbable job BY the skill OF
his ne,ghbors. but was rarely done out OF
a good one. 1t seldom occurs to q gen.
tleman to supply his own household with
ccffins. for example.
Still. the business was fuctuating; a:
some times more than Peter and his as.
sistant could well get through. at others
SO slack that the man could made head
against it. leaving the master free to in
dulgc in the pursuit he loved; and with
bin fy fishing was passion, When any
sport, taste or affection. fills the soul of q
man to that extent. however. he is Ger.
tain to End some way of gratifying i, un-
der any circumstances. Though my hos,
had plenty to do at the period Of my WIS.,
it. he was evidently glad enough Of the
excuse for acting rs my cicerone TO throw
aside the plane for the rod for an hour OF
so; and he generally managed to accom-.
pany me little way up or down the stream
either in the morning or the evening
And it Was lucky fos me he did so. for i,
was a difficult piece Of water to 6sh
but he knew every inch Of it. Wi,hou,
his aid, and using che ordinary flies.
should soon have quilted the neighbor-
hood in disgust. As it was, had capi.
tai sport.
And what was equally pleasant. whcr
I came home. I had such good welcome
Il is a very great addition 10 the enjoy
ment Of the smatcur fisherman to diepla,
bis spoils before sympathetic gase. and
Peter Williams met ne with the eagerues.
Of child expecting . new top. dsrs
not have brought home an under. sised
6sh; is would have hurt his feelings. Hs
admired any trout larger than the aver
age. ss though be had never seen such |,
thing before; weighed it, measured Il
and wanted TO know where and how It va,
captured. Mrs. Williams vas equal,
frank and friendly; and when found ,ha
| should be welcome. proposed to come
and smoke my ripe With the couple in III,
kitchen Of an evening. They soon grew
chat'y and communicative, and learnet
that they had a sorrow.
II was on the third occasion Of ms pas
sing the evening in their company that
asked whether Hackle slways came alou
and il hc never brought : friend viii
him
Never. sir" replied Mrs. William.
emphatieahy. 81 don't know where h
could be put up"
why" said I. "you have another bed
room at the back Of mine; the door va
open when / came to dinner, and il locke.
very comfortably furnished. Could ycl
no. put a second visitor there!"
Mrs. Williams knitted more quickly q
the sock she was m making. aud offered q
reply: her husband puFed hard as hi
pipe. ! saw that i had touched on
painful subject. but could not immediste
ly tnrn 10 another. 90 there was an svk
ward pause. 'ae'- =
"fou see. SIR" said Peter at lass
kn-cking oat his ashes. ''the cid veea,
would not have that room occupied on IN
account. because-is vas johns, and she
always expecting Joha to come back.
know better. bet mother never stops hep
ing" .1s5
al don't hope" said his wife. ,akin;
of her .snccfsS4cs and xininr hrs eres