Litchfield enquirer., 1875-02-18

but instead he stopped by the graves, and began pulling up the weeds tEat grew among the grass, so was moving away when he spoke again.
 Ask your pardon. but had you never no friends down in these parts?" Viewer" said I. ..I came here once. many years ago, when I was staying with some friends seven or eight miles inland 1; but know nothing of the island or the ; people"
 ''rhen," said the man. ''some night I'll tell you all about them twe." spreading out his hand over the grave; ''but not to- night"
 Sunday. perhaps" suggested feeling an interest in the subject ''I often stay here after the evening service" ''That won't do," answered my com panion, ''for never come at alL You may look, but your place don't do for me. go farther up to chapel. used to come here till all that happened, and ever since then I've seemed to want somethin' fercer like. This here do seem so still; its only quiet men as can go to sleep easy while the preachin's goin' on as ought to come here"
 Not liking the speech nor the sneering tone of his voice, said goodnight short Ay1 oAo AOu1CW6Eu, DlaxuO0 uy~ self mentally for talking at all with any of the fishing men. They all bore rather a bad name on the island, and, SO far as I ing either church or chapel with their company. described the man I had met to my landlady, who knew at once his name-"Dick Mussett."
 "You never need be afraid of him, ma am, " she adeed. ''The very spirit and life seem to go out of him when Rhoda, poor girl, was taken away. If he'll talk to you about her, it's more than I've known him to do to mortal man or woman since the whole breakup, and maybe it'll ease his mind"
 50 Chat with encouragement went aga1n before long to my old haunt, and there again saw the old gaunt man. He gave me just a nod as I went up to him, and said, pointing to low stone seat, ''Now, if you like, I'll talk to you a bit; you're strange here, and won't go gossip in my talk all over the place." So he leaned up against the iron railing of Q tomb, and told me his tale:
 "Rhoda-that's her alvin under there was my child, the only one that I ever had. She were born up in the north, and there's where married her mother, and buried her too before I ever came to these parts. The little one and me came here when she could scarcely talk plain. I've seen you walkin' along wi your little lass, ma am, and she often minded me of my child that was, if you don't take offense at my saying such thing"
 s'Offense? Oh, nc" said, and began to pity this poor childless man.
 Most women," he went on, "will look after bit of a thing that lost its mother, and one woman was most wonderful kind to Rhoda. We lodged in her house. She was widow with two boys of her own, she did by my girl as if she'd bee nher own. I left sometimes for weeks and months with gentlefolks as wanted steady men for their yachts, as they call 'em; and Rhoda used to be as good as gold while was away, and go reg'lar down to Brightin' stone, where the boats come up twice every day, to see if her father weren't come here again. I do believe" said Dick Mussett, looking earnestly at me, and speak with twitching ips-''I really do believe there never was no other child like thas onos Perhaps you think the same of you'n; but mine were so sensible, and wonderful pretty too!
 Hepburn was the woman's name where we lived. She was comfortable woman, and ours was 8 comfortable home for many a year. People used to talk 6 deal of she and me gettin' married. but We hadn't no mind to; so We let the talk 20 by, and didn't trouble ourselves about it. bought boat as years went on, and her two boys were always with me: and as we were all of us pretty tidy hands at land work of one sort and another, we picked up a very fair ivin'. Jack, the biz gest boy, took it into his head to go foreign winch he was about fifteen; SO he got his mothers leave, and took right of to Newcastle, and went to other lands; and whether he's dead or alive; for we never heard no more about him.
 ''l was somethin' glad when he went, for he were a rougher chap than Jim, who was year younger; and sometimes, when he got in his tempers. Rhoda would seem scared like at hin, Jim and her was always good friends, and there was nothin' she wanted or wished for that he didn't get her if he could.
 ''He was big and strong, and nsed to carry her on his shoulder down the shore. splashin' among the pools when the tide went down, catchin' all kinds of queer things for her. She was strange little thing, and took delight in all manner of things out of the water that ain't no use for food. As she got older the parsons wife took ikin' to her, and had her up and down, learnin' of her 8 deal out of books, and maxim right good scholar of her.
 ''When she grew great girl she nsed to write letters for the neighbors most beautiful: and that, with her pretty face, and keepin' herself so steady, made her xvo11 kho, o& of her. She was only fifteen when the woman of the house died, and somehow things never seemed to go on quite SO right after that. Rhoda she freted sadly. Ann Hepburn had been the most of a mother she'd ever known, and bein' young and not used to trouble, she sort of pined after her; so, though was under promise to go right round south with a party of gentleman. give it up, and kept at home to take the best care | could of my girl. .......-. -.-.
 Though his mother had been a good one, do think Jim Hepburn felt the trouble of losing her more through Rhoda's grief than his own. He cared more for my girl in his quiet way than she nor ever thought for. If he'd show ed 1t like most young men would ha' done, there'd been all the neighbors talkin'; SO he never made much of ado about it but kept on carin' for her and servin' on her after his own way, and seemed always sat- is6ed that she should treat him like as if he'd been her brother. -
 ''Rhoda took to the housework well. There wasn't a tidier girl in all the place, and soon I began to feel as if we were don better without Ann Hepburn than ever could have thought, when all of sudden the wind began to shift like, and our troubles began.
 ''Jim had never walked with any girl about the island, and seenin' he was bet ter off by part of boat, and the cottage too, than most other young chaps, it was somethin' out of the common that he hadn't wanted to settle long ago. Most of 'em, you know, marry young in these parts.
 "Once, when we were runnin' in with the tide, after a rrre good catch, I said to Jim.
 Fl say. when are you a-goin' to bring a