The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-07-02

poor Hltalian laid 'er cad on the mother
shoulder, an cried like child In
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
'er. Oh, yes, sir, there's 'uman natur'
behind as well as before the scenes, an
the great Scene-shifter above He
watches it
"Well sir, Miss Lucy, afterward
Missis Bytheway, wer' clever dancer,
an likewise, sometimes took small part,
for she were as pretty girl as / ever
seen hon the stage, an I've seen hall the
swells you know. They're very partiller
hat the Varieties, you know hits only
the royal family, an two or three very
speshul parties as gets the hentree there.
L dunno 'ow that young Bytheway got in !;
but p'raps, is father 'ad done the govner
a good turn sometime. 'Owsomever e
were hon the stage pretty hoften, an
took a violent fancy to Miss Lucy. All,
sir, my ant used to bleed sometimes for
those poor girls-to see 'ow bold and
brazen some on 'em were, an 'ow gentle
others was, an low many of 'em came TO
grief No matter Lucy, she took to
young Bytheway, an e tried hon hold
game with or, but she were too good or
too KNOWN to be deceived. L believe
she really liked the man. Il were a
terrible temper. No one 'ad ever con-
trolled it. Ed grown up just like that
stalk of mullen you see there, as straight
and as long as he liked, an breakin' out
at every stage.
"Now you want to know 'ow they
come hout to this place? can't tell
you. All know is, that halter spoon
in about the girl for precious long
time, and she playin' hoff an hon with
i'm, one day she didn't come to re-
hearsal, an then hit were rumored
among the young ladies she 'ad run away
with Mr.. Bytheway. The hold gent an
the young un 'ad 'ad a row, han the
young I'm said that rather than kill the
old fool, he'd leave him. Well, year
after, [ come across immigration
hagent. Il told me about Canada an
the free grants, an, loolun' round on all
those hungry children, / said, We'll try
tits worth the venture I'd saved a
little money, an when got to Toronto
1 applied for land at the government
Office, an they gave me this concession
free. We got ere about LIST of June,
han lived in the woods for some weeks !;
L tell you the mosquitoes were awful
But you'll fancy 'ow L started when the
first thing / see on the next lot, where
that 'ouse 'ad lately been built, was
young Bytheway in torn shirt an
trousers, hoein' round among the stumps
just has if ED been at it all is life
Then hout come Miss Lucy-then Mrs.
Bytheway, for they'd got married before
they left England-lookin pale like, has
I've seen Mrs. Wellbeloved look
oftener than l cared for. We was very
good friends, an the young gentleman,
who WAS smart, as they say ere, e put
me hup to a good many things, an
showed me 'ow to build my 'ouse, an
all the naybours was kind an 'elpful
enough, has all the people are hout ERE
to strangers. Well, young Bytheway
was kind enough to Lucy, an, for all 1
saw, she were fond enough of. i'm; but
once or twice / noticed he went off to
Orillia an stayed away some days, it
might be three or four, an when he came
back again he wasn't 'imself for long
time. knew what it was it was the
hold enemy-drink-an for the time hit
made i'm another man.
"By and by the autumn came, m we
got in our root crops an a little corn an
wheat, an Bytheway laid III decent
lot. Then came the frost, and the fallin'
of the leaves, an the snow. Such snow
I've seen snow ten or fifteen feet deep
down in that guiley, an all as crisp an
shiny as the finest sugar, an the air as
pure an the sky as bright as 1 ever see
painted i'll Hitalian scene at the theay-
ter. Healthy {?
L should think so. There amt no doc
tor nearer than GravenhuIst, an / never
card of i'm comm up here except to
Joseph Jobsons grandmother; they say
she's nigh upon eighty, an took the rhu-
matiz SO bad that they thought she were
dyin', an sent for m to 'elp 'er on. Well,
it was the second year, and then i'll the
snow-time came Christmas an the new
tavern-keeper down at Bracebridge, he
gave out a turkey-shootin' an Mr.. By
theway on the day before Christmas left
is wife in our charge-she were very
near her cOnfinement-and went to try
is luck. She come over here a Christ
mas heve, an though she never said
nothin', she weren't in no spirits we all
noticed. My wife of course see the
most of 'er an tried 'er best TO coax 'er
to be more lively like. She would go
'ome that night, and the next mornin'
my wife went hup to 'er for hour or so.
She left 'er dressed an comfortable,
waitin' for Bytheway's return. She ex-
pected i'm to reach 'ome about three or
four in the afternoon. L went in after
midday an then she were layin' the
cloth for Christmas dinner. The room
was very clean, an she'd stuck some
green about an ornamented the table
an made all look very nice; far better
than we poor people can do out mere, for
Bytheway kept some of is hold habits,
an she loved to make the 'ouse as swell
like as possible. thought she looked
very pretty though she was so pale, and
she 'ad one of 'er old theayter flowers in
'er brown 'air-it were a pleasure to me
to see 'er.
"'Why, Mrs. Bytheway,' 1 says,
Merry Christmas
"Merry Christmas, Wellbeloved,
says she. An then turnin' roun' sharp,
she says, How soon do you think Reyn-
old can get home. He was to leave
Bracehridpa eorlv this morning and walk