The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1875-07-08

ALASA A1NA SSSA SeAA GADONAL AA4S SA0gSg /
there grew as high as the unremoved
a wealth of weed, such
as is only the crop of absolute desertion
and death. By this place, on one
side, my friend Wellbeloyed, at whose
house 1 had drawn up for many a mid
day meal, titled a thriving farm; the evil
dence was visible in the roll of ripening
wheat dotted with the disks of the black
ened stumps, and in the cattle that
loitered from the suns heat under the
circle of young naples he had left In a
corner of Il of his fields where a spring
welled up from among some boulders,
and by the grunt of well-fed pigs which
wandered down the road and cooledtheir
heated sides in the marshy bottom, where
1 found the road hike a floating stage
of logs. Moreover there was Mrs. Well
beloved, a little weary-looking perhaps,
for number nine in the cradle was "the
most bothersome child; that it was, God
bless it, she had ever knew J" and two or
three fine, strapping boys that came
home to the noontide meal from some
hoeing work at the back of the concession
with an appetite for thetpork and corn
that made me envious.
Wellbeloved was a Londoner, and had
been in Canada exactly six years. He
was "just turned forty" having married
scale of voracious infantry which must
in the metropolis have severely worn his
energies and Mrs. Wellbeloved's patience,
but which, out here, was his most prom
Using source of wealth. The elder boy,
nearly nineteen, had added a hundred
acres to the original government conces-
sion, and as the others grew up more
would follow. Already MI. Welbeloved's
house and barns began to take on all air,
if not of wealth or even comfort, of suf-
ficiency, which, as one looked into his
bronzed face and clear eyes, and listened
to his cherry voice, gave promise that
the time might come when the patriarch
should bless his sons and daughters, and
his sons-in-law, and daughters-in-law
looking out upon a scene of civilized
beauty and fertility, and dividing among
them no mean inheritance. Such scenes
have been witnessed in earlier settle
ments, and In the antecedent district of
Lake Simcoe, along whose cultivated
shores l had travelled to Muskoka and
such scenes will be remembered over
and over again as the tide of population
laps on and into the forest wilds of
Ontario.
"Well," I said "whats the story of
that place? It seems odd that it should
be deserted like this. Why don't you
take it up?"
"Me, sirl No, thankee. I'd not own
a rod O. that soil for its PAWN in gold.
No, no! There's blood on that land,
and let some stranger come an wipe it
hout."
He wiped the beads from his forehead
the day was hot) and began:
"The man that took hup that conces-
sion was a gentleman, l~eastways, sir, you
know, a gentleman by birth. Is father
were a Lunnun lawyer, you've card of
i'm, old Bytheway that used to ave the
big cases at the hold Bailey. The
hold man, he made money an spent it,
an this ERE boy he made none,
an spent what is father made. e were
sent to Heton, then to Hoxford, an
afterward e went where e weren't sent
-leastways not by direction-te the
Devil. The young 'ooman that lived
an died in that 'ouse were acquainted
with me. Lucy Burridge, that were her
real name, though she were called
Lucinda B%urrinda, the helegant
ddnseaOS-she were in the corpus de
bailey at the Varieties Theayter in the
Strand, I dessay you know hit2 + = +
Yes? Well, sir, I were ~scene-shifter in
that theayter for seven years, an five
years afore that at Drury Lane. Ieould
tell you some queer %storiesl If you
want to know somethin' of life, you get
up in the wings night after night, and
watch the stage, you'll see somethin' of
the bad han the good O. 'uman nature.
Why, sir, I've seen cruelty, an wicked
ness, .an' jealousy, an revenge, an kind
ness, an forgiveness, an charity, played
far more real behind the canvas scenes I
were a-shiftin' than it were on the stage
or before it. One night I see q young
girl, which her name was Sairey Podge,
from q dirty little street in the Borough
she Was but a pretty one to look at, an
danced like a sylph, an she 'ad a par
tikler rival, a 'alf Hitalian girl, as bad q
little shrew for temper as heveryou saw.
Well, n night hin the Christmas pan
tomime-'twere last Christmas ten year
this girl, La Rosa, she broke behind
one of the scenes where Sairey was wait
in to jump out like a fairy, as she was,
AMI says to my mate, Look out for
squalls there, Lorry-them twon fight"
for I've seen girls fight behind the
scenes before now. Well, sir, the
Hitalian almost bounced into the others
arms. Sairey drew back a minute, an
looked. straight hat 'er. The other was
CLOWN with passion an spite, an my
fear wasthat Sairey's face was agoin' to
be spoiled, when I see Sairey old hout
both 'er 'ands, an l card 'er distinct
like, cry hout, 'Ohi Miss Rosa, I'm so
sorryi' an, will you believe it, sir the
poor Hitalian laid 'er cad on the hother's
shoulder, an cried like a child! In a
minute the stage-master called out,
sharp, for Miss Podge," an she dried
'er tears an went hout an danced SO
beautifully, the pit nearly went mad with
FER. Oh, yes, sir, there's 'uman natur'
behind as well as before the n an
the great Scene-shifter above He
watches it.
swell sir, Miss Lucy, afterward
Missis Bytheway, wer' a clever dancer,
an likewise, sometimes took a small part,
for she were az pretty a girl as I even
seen hon the stage, an I've seen hall the
swells you know. They're very partikel
hat the Varieties, you know ; hits only
the royal family, an two or three very
speshul parties as gets the hentree there.
1 dunno 'ow that young ytheway gotin:
but p'raps, is father 'ad done the govnel
q good turn sometime. 'Owsomever e
were hon the stage pretty hoften, an
took a violent fancy to Miss Lucy. All,
sir, my art used to bleed sometimes fol-
those poor girls-to see 'ow bold and
brazen some on 'em were, an 'ow gentle
others was, an 'ow many of EN- came tc
grief? Nc matter. Lucy, she took to
young Bytheway, an e tried hon a hold
game with 'er, but she were too good OIL
too KNOWN to be deceived. I believe
she really liked the man. e were 6
terrible temper. No one 'ad ever con
trolled it. Ed grown up just like that
stalk of mullen you see there, Is straight
and as long as he liked, an breakin' out
at every stage. 4 < i