American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-11-28
VOL. XIV.

enough to do to save us from suffering
any great pTivation or discomfort. Our
acquaintance with the neighboring farms
did not progress very rapidly, however.
There were no houses near our own, and
if there had been it would have made
but little difference, for we soon learned
that the people all around us were for
eigners and many of them scarcely
spoke a word of English.
60 knew there were some of that sort,
but l didn't think the whole of this
thrifty and flourishing settlement was
after the same pattern said Robert,
half laughing, half-vexed at the discov-
cry. The worst will be the loneliness
for you, Mollie. Never mind; we must
hurry and make our fortune, and then
We can either move away or coax some
of our friends to come and live near us.
| have only met a few of the men about
here, and they acted rather sulky and I'M
civil, but suppose it was because they
couldn't Northumberland what l said to
them,' he added thoughtfully.
al couldn't half-understand what two
of them said when they rode by me on
the road yesterday, but they muttered
something about Yankees" and it
didn't sound very polite either" said lit
tie Rob decidedly.
90 It's only their way, guess, and we
are not used to it, answered Robert, but
he looked little troubled.
But as the weeks and months went
the true state of affairs, and in his occa-
SIGNAL visits to the town Robert gained
some information. The people out on
the farms had a great antipathy to hav
ing any Americans among them, and
their prejudice had formerly been SO
strongly manifested, in various ways, as
to keep our place long unoccupied. That
was the reason it had been offered to us
upon such low terms.
Mere ignorant prejudice and jeal-
ousy. l think the feeling will wear off
after we have been here little WHILE
Robert said, as rather reluctantly he told
the story when we were gathered around
the teatable one evening. AT any rate,
We are here, and we must make the best
of it now
" The best of it proved to be living en-
tirely by ourselves. Several times Rob
ert tried to establish more friendly rela-
tions with our neighbors, but the different
language made all communication diff
cult and they were not inclined to second
his efforts in any way. Such lonely
summer and autumn as that was! l
grew to feel fairly afraid of the people
about us and imagined all sorts of evils
which their ;ll-will might infiict. Robert
only laughed at the idea of any positive
tempted, but was becoming troubled and
anxious about our situation, for it was
growing late in the season, our money
was nearly all gone, and his efforts to
obtain work proved unsuccessful. There
was need enough of assistance on some
of the neighboring farms, but they
seem'd determined to have nothing to do
with us, even when it would benefit
themselves.
usThev aithar can't or uyop,t ,,ndor
stand anything I try to explain to them,'
Robert said.
1--WE began to economic very closely
Little by little we gave up many things
we had been accustomed to having. Our
daily fare changed perceptibly in guam
tity and quality, until spreading our
board had grown to be a wonderfully
brief and simple ceremony by the time
the cold days of the late autumn came.
L used often to look at my children then,
and think longingly of the old home,
where they were already looking forward
to and making preparations for the
Thanksgiving-time. 1t was hard, girls
you cannot tell how hard. We had bought
the place. our money and our summers
work were in it, and we had nothing be-
sides. We did not know what to do if we
left it, and our being forced to abandon
it would add still further to its bad re-
us to sell it, though, but for its surround
ings, it was really valuable. We let our
cows COVE could not keep them
through the winter-and our horses, all
but one.
"'I If we can only get through this first
WINTER Robert and often said to each
other, but we grew to say it in desper-
ate sort of way after while.
Then the prospect frightened one
day when Robert came in and announced
that he was going to work on one of the
farms near by-a fourishing, comforta-
BILE homestead, with broad. rich fields |
about it.
"'I fancy the fellow wouldn't have
asked me if he could have contrived any |
way to get what he wanted without |
His manner wasn't very cordial, laughed |
Robert, but l couldn't afford to be par
ticular about that, and perhaps l can |
make myself SO useful as to overcome |
his dislike to Yankee neighbors.'
Useful enough he was, it seemed, for
be was kept day after day; and as there
was prospect of employment for a con-
siderable time we began to breathe
more freely, and relaxed our rigidly
meager living, besides purchasing some
needed winter garments for the children,
which we had not ventured to do before.
1t nearly drained our purse, SO slender
before, but that did not matter much
when more would soon be coming in;
and we preferred to use what we had
rather than ask for any that was due
before the surly old farmer was ready to
proffer it. We were so anxious to con-
ciliate those neighbors, you see.
well, suddenly there appeared a
nephew, cousin, or some relative from
over the sea, and, quite as suddenly,
Robert was informed that his services |
we're no longer needed, and received the
pay for his work. Girls. you could never
guess what that was. A bag of potatoes
and bag of beans-nothing morew
"Only that? I'd have thrown them at |
his headr' exclaimed the undignified |
Prissy belligerently, quite forgetting to
specify whose head.
All! we couldn't afford any such ex-
answered the grandmother,
family smiling mo, Robert brought |
them homeland carefully, too, for they |
were precious-when he found that no
argument or remOnstrance could move
the old man to anything more like
Justice. But we knew then that we
could not stay there-that, indeed, we |
had fingered too long already. We talked |
the matter over, sadly enough, that night,
and decided upon our course. We were |
near no public line of travel, and if we |
had been we had not money enough to |
take advantage of it. We could expect |
no kindness or accommodation from |
those around us, and there seemed no |
way but for Robert to take our one |
horse, journey alone to the old home, |
and make some arrangement for our |
Friends there would, we knew,
gladly furnish horses wagon and DrO- |