The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-04-06

|
poso OF aggrhyating me. You were cut
out for a gentleman, and You are only
trying 10 spoil youraeli, aiming to be
coarse and rough like the rest Of them
at the works. II isn't in you, naturally,
to be unkind or rude TO any living thing;
| only want you TO try and practice
ciyility little. Don't be like the MILL
hands, Joe, please
/" And why not, Janef"
doc Wheelock must be very serious
and determined when he spokelike this
70 his little woman, and 1t was 80 un-
usual, as to carry It's full weight, which
was all he wanted. He was not great
speaker; in fact il bored him awfully
to talk, and he had made q longer ''say"
this night to his wife than for o long
time. Noone liked TO hear agreeable
discussions better than the big clumsy
sawyer-the very best hand at theworls,
everybody said that-bnt for all his
being able to tell to a knot.hole what
was in o piece Of timber and lots Of
other curious things, the right words
never seemed 10 ofall into his mouth,
and he made generally such m awkward
mess Of ii, that he preferred being si-
lent, by this neat stroke getting up q
Reputation for keen Judgment and wis
dom which in the main was more THAI
simple flAttery.
"You may believe 1t or not, chaps
old Silas Biggs had said one soppy,.
muggy day, while girding the chains
abouta monster scrub-oak, ''but our
Joe he do a deal more Of thinkin', solid
like, than ary other man ON the works,
even the master. Joe-he don't waste
his breath in gabbin', like M old woman
at n quiltin but he thinks master
sight, now, tell YER
joe never smoked when in the least
| agitated. This.wasa q sign as correct as
that the halo about the moon predicts
damp weather. Fa
He knocked the gray ashes from his
pipe by three distinct taps against the
/ wood.box, blew into the stem in q me.
chanical way, and laid his little Com.
forter-a consolation in many quiet, IL
not lonely hours, behind 0 blue and
white crockery teapot, with q broken
spout, standing on the Shelf. No long.
er useful teapot, but the gorgeous
base in which Joe put the homely little
flowers he came across in the old year
for jamie and little Pips, q small but
| very passable likeness Of Joe, except
that little pips was o girl and had her
mothers big Innocent eyes and long
silkenlashes.
Joe had been very glad Of this es-
pecial kindness in Providence -thnt
Providence which ever presides at the
birth and looks out for the future Of
q poor sawyer's child. .
There could neyerbe n more perfect
work Joe'sbig mind only comprehend.
ed machinery than the little woman (;
she was simply grand, butif there was
Anything about her which Joe particu.
larly wondered at, il was her eyes.
They were enough 10 make all the world
wonder. Joe could SEQ great mote in
them, however, that was himself. How
such twinstars had ever swooped down
from heaven TO shine on him, quite
| passed his gigantic understanding.
| Sometimes IN awful fear came over him
like q sudden cloud, such as often pass
ed over the mill and made him shiyer,
he loved the sunshine SO. This fear
was that the stars might go back to
their exalted place and throw him once
more into darkness-the densel mid
night Of human isolation. No night
can ever compare to that which comes
TO us when the souls lamp 10 extin-
guished, or its sunlight gone away.
Joe asked very little OF the world
only to be left to himself and permitted
10 work out his own plans-they had
all been for jamie. By and by little
Pips had been let in, and Joe planned
away now harder than ever, thinking
more and talking less than before.
People who did not rightly know the
sawyer wagged their heads to and fro,
surmised dark things, such as domestic
disquiet. 0rwhy the sober face and
firm knit brow9 And why should he
not smileat his work like a contented
being2
All, there was where the wisest Of the
judges fell short in their Judgment.
Joe was far too happyto make buster
about il, and airaid 10 scare IL away
from him. He had often remained in
one position IN ncemfortablylong time
to keep from frightening blue bird or
| Iiaywhich perched near him in the cool
dim woods where he was, s,hunting the
things heunderst bestfor the broken
teapot jamie and little Pips bouquet.
Itgaye joe o deep cut which made
him hurt in some mysterious place in
his breast when jamie spoke as she Ind
on this night. What if-shu had taken
him 10 be that which he has wot, that
which 1t was never meant that he should
be, and had suddenly discovered her
mistake 2 Would she love the imitation
as well as she had the original2 II
not
But the mill hands were oil as honest
as the day was long, and he had been
one Of them. And proud to be called
m honest hard working fellow, asking
nothing Of anybody. n
And why should / not be like them
ysne2 They would any OF 'em lay
down their lives fer mo as i would for
them, well, most OF 'em would.
There's Creighton, o good chap
enough, but We neyertook To one an
other. and that amt anybody's fault I
Joe ehad but one enemy in the world
and he WINGED in naming him. Big man
as he was he could mover bear to look
on reptiles. nor even harmless toads
they gave him d cold feeling, q clammi,
ness which wns unpleasant, and he felt
in this waY wheneyer he met Ian