Litchfield enquirer., 1875-08-19

also this rude idyl turned. George enlist ed for the war;
 It was not in Dely or his mother to stop him. Though tears fell on every round of of his blue socks and sprinkled his flannel shirts ntifully,-though the old wo- mans wan and wrinkled face paled and saddened, and the young ones fair throat quivered with choking sobs when they were alone,-stil, whenever George ap- peared, he was greeted with smiles and cheer, strengthened and stedied from this home armory better than with sabre and bayonet, with might in the inner man. George was brave fellow, no doubt, and would do good service to his free country; but it is a question with me, whether, when the Lord calls out his noble army of martyrs" before the universe of men men and angels, that army will not be found offered and led by just such wo- men as these, who fought silently with the flesh and the Devil by their own hearth, quickened by no stinging excite. ment of battle, no thrill of splendid strength and fury in soul and body, no tempting delight of honor or even recog- hilton from their peers.-upheld only by the dull, reeurrent necessity of duty and love.
 At any rate, George went, and they stayed. The town made them an allow ance as volunteers family; they had Georges bounty to begin with; and a friendly boy from the farm near by came and sawed their wood, took care of the garden, and, when Dely could not go to pasture with the heifer, drove her to and fro daily.
 After George had been gone three months, Dely had little baby. Tiny and bright as it was, it seemed like a small star fallen down from some upper sky to tighten their darkness. Dely was almost too happy; and the old grandmother, fast slipping into that other world whence ba- by seemed to have but newly arrived, stay ed her feeble steps little longer to wait upon her sons child. Yet, for all the ba. by, Dely never forgot her dumb loves. The cat had still its place on the foot of her bed and her first walk was to the barn. where the he1fer lowed welcome to her mistress, and rubbed her head against the hand that caressed her with as much feeling as a COW can show, however much she may have. And Biddy, the heifer, was good friend to that little household, all through that long ensuing winter. It went to Dely's heart to sell her first cali to the butcher, but they could not raise it, and when 1t was taken away she threw her check apron over her head, and buried her face deep in the pillow. that she might not hear the cries of appeal and grief her favorite uttered. After this, Biddy would let no one milk her but her mistress and many an inarticulate confidence passed between the two while the sharp streams of milk spun and loaned into the pail be- low, as Dely's skillful hands coaxed it down.
 They heard from George often he was we'll. and busy with drill and camp life,- not in active service as yet. Incidentally, too, Dely heard of her mother. Old Ken yoD was dead of apoplexy, and Steve like to die of drink. This was a bit of teams ter's gossip, but proved to be true. To- ward the end of the winter, old Mother Adams slept quietly in the Lord. No pain or sickness grasped her, though she knew she was dying, kissed and blessed Dely, sent a mothers message to George, and took the baby for the last time into her arms then she laid her head on the pillow, smiled, and drew a long breath,- no more.
 Poor Dely's life was very lonely she buried her dead out of her sight, wrote a loving, sobbing letter to George, and be- gan to try to live alone. Hard enough it was March revenged itself on the past toleration of winter snow fell in blind ing fury, and drifts hid the fences and fenced the doors all through Hartland Hollow. Day after day Dely struggled through the path to the barn to feed Bid dy and milk her; and a warm mess of bread and milk often formed her only meal in that itter weather. It is not credible to those who think no more of animals than of chairs and stones how much society and solace they afford to those who do love them. Biddy was real- ly Dely's friend. Many long day passed when no human face but the baby s greet ed her from dawn till dusk. But the cows beautiful purple eyes always turned to welcome her as she entered it's shed-door her wet muzzle touched Dely's cheek with a velvet caress and while her mistress drew from the doWny bag it's white and rich stores, Biddy would turn her head round, and eye her with snch mild looks, and breathe such fragrance toward her, that Dely, in her solitary and frieDdIess state, came to regard her as real sentient being, capable of love and sympathy, and had an affection for her that would seem utter nonsense to half, perhaps three quar- ters, of the people in this unsentimental world. Many time did the lonely little woman lay her head on Biddy's neck, and talk to her about George with sobs and silences interspersed and many a piece of dry bread steeped in warm water, or golden carrot, or mess of stewed turnips and bran favored the dry hay that was the staple of the cows diet. The cat was old now, and objected to the baby so strenu- ouslv that Dely regarded her as partly in- sane from age and though she was kind to her, of course, and fed her faithfully, still cat that could growl at Georges ba- by was not regarded with the same com placent kindness that had always blessed her before and whenever the baby was asleep at milking-time, Pussy was locked into the close, "a proceeding she resent ed. Biddy, on the contrary, seemed to admire the ld,-she certainly did not object to her,-and necessarily obtained thereby far higher place in Dely's heart than the cat.
 As have already said, Dely had heard of her step-father's death some time be- fore; and one stormy day, the last week in March. team coming from Hanerford with grain stopped at the door of the lit- tie red house, and the driver handed Dely a dirty and iIl-written letter from her mother. Just such an epistle it was as might have been expected from Mrs. Ken von,-full of weak sorrow, and entreaties to Dely to come home and live; she was old and tired, the bakery was coming to trouble for want of good manager, the foreman was a rogue. and the business failing fast, and she wanted George and Dely there evidently, she had not heard, when the letter began, of Georges depar- ture or baby's birth but the latter half said, "Cum, anyway. I want to SC the Baby. Ime an old critur, a sinking into my graiv, and when george cums back from the wars he must iv hear the rest of his life"
 Dely's tender heart was greatly stirred by the letter, yet she was undecided what to do. Here she vas alone and poor there would be her mother,-and she low ed her mother, though she could not res- pect her; there, too. was plenty for all and if George should ever come home, the bakery business was just the thing for