Litchfield enquirer., 1875-10-07
THE OLEANDER-TREE: A STORY
 OF, THE BRlTisH PRESS-CANC.


 OF, THE BRITISH PRESS-CAMC.
 Ichanced to spend few weeks of ho summer in a little village among the Ney England hills. A series of small table lands around the base of one of the tales nountains in the State gave space fo farms and houses and narrow roads to b' located in the high, dry air, which, ,thougl bracing and wholesome, did not encourag' vegetation nor wealth of bloom. As on, drove through the ragged, winding lanes or up and down the wooded roads whicl ascended the different sides of the noun tain or descended into the plain, every where green and gray hues only met thu eye the green of the grass and the trees the gray of the granite that cropped ou in broad lodges, showing the enormous quarries that underlay the town, or stood in giant powders scattered through tho pastures V Di4N C iJ+ GOA1 ait@
 Later, as July passed. I noticed that 1T almost every door-yard of the little ham let an Oleander grew; generally, in it' big. green tub. the one solitary ornament of the broad stone in front of the thres hold. Some of these @leanders were very large, standing six feet high, and some were very small slips just potted, or with one years growth of stature but to pos sess an oleander of some size or other seemed to be passion with the towns folk of Princeton.
 understood at once that some singular chance had brought this foreign tropical beauty to the secluded spot, and that il had become the fashion. Who that has seen q new overskirt or apron, or even q milk-strainer or coal scuttle, run through country village like uildfire. can fail to understand the spread of this prettiel novelty? But how came the first one hither?
 As the scarlet buds of the oleanders swelled and paled at the same time, and the pink, peacby blossoms began to deck tine door-yards, and constantly thrust themselves on my sight, wondered more and more about their history. Sometimes in quiet summer leisure in a solitary farm house the imagination fastens itself on a trife, and curiously gets hungry. Where did the parent oleander come from?
 Wandering one day to little brown set on ledge of the mountain, at house where I stopped for a glass of water found the noblest Roman of them all, mighty tree of an oleander, standing some twelve feet high. and crowded with pale pink blossoms. praised the beau tiful foreigner with it's exquisite flowers and faint, refined odor. and the bent and old woman who gave me my re freshing draught was greatly pleascd.
 Where did you get it, !" I asked.
 That ere flower has quite a story to it. I can tell ye. It come fust from the West Indies, and was sent to friend of mine by her beau, who was a sea-farin' man. Don't you want should tell you about it ?"
 was loafer at large and conscientious V dawdling for pam in my side, and was 'eally very glad to fill the time in so pleas- mt way, besides satisfying my curiosity n hearing the history of the patriarch it's tribe and it's family.
 l sat down in the list -bottomed chair 'he brought out from her "keepin' room" md put upon tho es<ssss by-.a-~ -s0osy ws-r.O the gave me this little village history, whose pathos or whose joy cannot be en- 'i1oiJ ffd uy ner nomely speech.
 Katy Goodnow was the incest girl any where about. Of course the young men Ill found it out, and she had lots of lem a waitin on her, but afore she was eight cen she had settled down to Tom Mariner, a real snappin', drivin' lad who lived just across the way from her. You know them two stun houses on the north road to the ? We'll, them two tumble-down Dnes. all to pieces. were Toms and Katy's homes
 There want much chance for Tom to more'n earn living for himself if he stayed at Princetown. His father worked the farm, and was healthy, middle-aged girls, beside Tom, a-comin' up. He was willing to give Tom his time. and Tom thought he'd like to go sea-farin' for a while. You see he was kind of ambitious, and so was she and seein' as she'd sent off the young doctor and the young minis Ter and the store-keeper's son, Tom sort O wanted to do we'll by her, and he hank cred to get suthin ahead and buy a farm of his own. He didn't exactly like to set Katy to work in his fathers kitchen, as he'd a had to do if he didn't start for himself
 We'll, he went to see her one Sunday night, and the next day but one he start ed off to go to Middletown, Connecticut i; D long ways off, but trade was brisk there, and smart young fellow had good chan ces to run to the West Indies on sloop, and when he had sailed voyage or two, and iarnt the handlin' of the ship, just as like as not the captain would take him as mate, and then his forth would Ee made.
 Tom went of, and in six months he came back with a lot of cokynuts and queer things, and said he'd done we'll. He was sailin' for Seebor & Co.,, rich Jews of and they had made him mate, and like as not he'd be captain afore long He come to meetin' with Katy, and they was proud enough of. each other, I can tell ye.
 We'll, Tom went back ard and for'ard for two years or more. and Katy she stay ed at kum and raised flax, and hackled and spun and bleached, till she'd got a nice lot of sheets and towels, ,and pillow case full of stockings. She was a smart girl any way, and an extra fast knitter. Why, she could beat every girl in the viii lage admitting round, and she was the quickest quilter ever did see. and the tastiest of us all. She used to look as handsome as a picter every Sunday, a- standin' up so straight in the gallery along with the bass-viol, a-singin' with all her might. We'll, we'll, she needed all her strength and courage afore she got through.
 In them days we had mail only once q fortnight. and sometimes there wasn't 6 letter come then, except for the parson, for as much as two months. A man weni down through the woods on. horseback, and brought up the paper which wal printed once a week down to Boston. One day Katy's brother Joe, who was the mail carrier, was sick. and it was hayin' time and Katy's father was awful busy, and mail day came round. Everbody wanted to see the Boston paper and read the news cause it was just along them years tha the Britishers were carryin' on so. ant takin' our men of our merchant sloops and maxim 'em serve m their navy.
 Katy come ridin' along that mornin', d chirk as could be, and give Q call at tn, back door to let me know she was there and says she, ''Mattie, I'm goin down tt Worcester to get the mail. The men folk are all busy with their hayin' and can spend time to go, and I want to hea pretty bad myself" So she talked min ute or two, and sent down a little bundl, of yarn had spun, for her to change of at the store with some steel needles ant thread, and then she said good-by, and 2 Il n