Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1874-04-02

into one Of his weak, sehseless smiles
"There was little or nothin left t
take care Of him with; butnot q man O
woman on the island would ever ;:
let child o Cap'n Williston's com
to want, let alone his bein' a poor un
fortunate like Jock. So we all adopt
ed him, as you might say, and h
used to 60 and come from one hous
to another just as suited him. Or
the whole, he seemed to stick to m,
the most. You'll wonder at it, may
be, but the poor boy was real com
pany for me, after all, bein' alone 81
much when Zebedee-that was my
man-was gone off on his whalin
voyages.
81 used TO be a master hand to reat
my Bible in them days, though my
old eyes We been too dim for it now
this many year. Thank the Lord
though, that | can see the page a
most as well as ever in my mind
had Il habit of readin' out loud great
deal, seemin' to get the sense better
so--especially in the Psalms-anC
queer as you might think it, thare
Jock d lay stretched on the rug, be-
fore the fireplace, q listenin' by the
hour. fused to think twas the SOUND
o my voice he liked, for he didn't
know enough to understand q single
word rightly. But howsoever that
was, hearkenin' to me readin was one
OF the two things he seemed to like
best in the world. The other was to
90 out with the men in the boats. OF
course he wasn't of any particular use,
but they all humored him, and some
times, in the mackerel season, they'd
keep him out for days and weeks to a
time.
"But | must hurry along, ma'am,
or I'll be firing you out. All this
while Jock was CROWN up, and at
twenty he was great, strong fellow,
standin' a good six Iootin his stockin's.
He didn't look that tall, though, OWN
to his stopin' some and walkin' with a
shuflin', shamblin' sort O gait, such
as you've minded in others, maybe,
when the brain didn't hold the tiller.
''lt was that same summer when
Mabele Devereux first came to the
Island. Her father was a French
gentleman, who had lived great
many years in this country. Bein'
out of health, he thought to try the
sea air for awhile. I'm an old wo-
man, and I've seen many a fresh face
in my time, but never another that
was fit to set alongside Mabello Dcv
ereux'. There was a picture in Par
son Ellets parlor, over the mantel,
piece, that came from over seas,-a
Madonna he called it,-and I've heard
tell that it was copied after the great
est painter that verlived. But that's
neither here nor there,--only when |
first set my eyes on Mabelle, sittin'
one Sunday in Deacon Prices pew,--
Mis-. Price was aunt to NIabelle's moth.
er, I leaned over the forward pew
before | thought what | was doin',
and whispered to Bijah Porter's wife,
Look there There's Parson Ellet's
picture stepped out O the frame!'
"Mabelle was as good as she was
pretty. | used to tell them that all
the young men Of the coast just stood
afar off and worshiped her. The girls
dotted on her, too,-she seemed too
different from all the rest to be the
least bit jealous of. Old Mr.. Dever-
cuX was mastery pleased with the Is
land, and heard him talkin' with
Parson Ellet once, at a clam-bake,
about the hospitality Of the inhabi-
tants, and their remarkable sympathy
with an invalid's sufferin's,' and it's
Oein' really rare, my dear sir, to find
such delicate feelin' among the COM
non people. Common people, in
Iced | ached to speak up right
here, and say you fool /! so you think
is for you that twenty boats are
ire ready mornin, noon, or night,
With two or three stout young fellows
% each one, to row Or sail you where
iou like?' But | bit my lips, and
neld still, which was better for us
both.
"All little children and brute beasts
owed Mabelle at first sight, and it was
10 wonder that poor Jock took to her,
90. She used to spend most all the
pleasant days outdoors with her faith
+, for Mr. Devereux, when he didn't
hose to 90 out on the water, would
ave great chair carried down to the
hore, and sit there in the sun. Ma
'elle would ramble np and down the
each, or climb about among the
ocks, coming around every little
5hile to see if her father wanted any
hing. Jock got by degrees to follow
n her for all the world as he used to
is mother, before she died. Some
iris wouldn't have wanted the great
polish fellow around, or would even
ave been afraid of him, maybe, but it
,asn't so with Mabelle. She used to
peak to him in her quiet, gentle way,
nd he minded her voice like little
hild. 1t was woudeful how many
lings she made him do for her that
obody else would a thought of try
lg to make him understand. l used
, wonder sometimes if he'd had some
ody like her when he was a little fel-
NV and first lost his mind, if he
lightn't partly have got it back again
fter ALL