Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-06-20
From All the Year Round
BOTH HER BOYS.

The house stood in a damp hollow, re-
CARELESS of all sanitary considerations,
between two almost impenetrable belts
of gloomy towering trees. 1t was not a
cheerful house externally, though its
gardens had more capital and labor in
vested in them than was bestowed upon
all the grounds put together Of the coun-
try round within radius of ten miles.
But nothing throve on the Balyon estate.
Regiments of standard roses were planted
afresh every year, and regularly as the
next year came they had to be removed,
having signally failed to fulfill the fair
promise they had made at their bloom
ing. Myrtles were brought in from cot
tage gardens in the villages, where they
had fourished without care or culture,
and had vast amount Of both bestowed
upon them by the skilled horticulturists
of The Court. They invariably faded,
or refused to flower, or dwindled down
from imposing looking shrubs to wretch
eddy stunted plants. To be sure, now
and again some perversely hardy ANIMALS
made a show along the ribbon borders
for short time, but those that bloomed
were always the dullest colors and the
most insignificant forms. So, though
the gardens and grounds were in admir-
able order, and were brushed and combed
into neatness, there was no beauty about
them, and poor Mrs. Ba1yon began to
despair of them altogether, and to pine
for greenhouses and conservatories, in
which she could superintend the efforts
that were made, and try her own hand
at the graceful work of cultivating
flowers But the Balyons who had gone
before the present squire, her husband,
had been contented with flowers that
were not too good to grow in Gods open
air" he told her, when she asked that
the glass houses might be built; so,
though she pinned for them, she went on
leading fowerless life, for Mr. Balyon's
manner of refusing favors that were
asked of him was, to say the least of it,
.,e1l<ressing even to the dauntless, and
Mrs. Balyon's was far from sSeing that.
No wonder that she pined for flowers,
or for anything else that was pretty, at
The Court. In spite of its yastness, its
antiquity, its excellent preservation, its
hordes of DID, valuable, and Well-built
furniture, in spite even Of the beautiful
scenery in which it was placed, life at
this home Of the Balyons was as devoid
of all prettiness as could we'll be
imagined. The SUMS rays rarely found
their way into the rooms, brightly as he
shines in that fair western county, by
reason of the house being in hollow, as
has been said, and Of the trees over
whelming it Oh every side. And the
c., Il l>olo
to the dark, gloomy, heavy order that
requires to be frightened up with mas
sive cleaning silver bowls and tankards,
and with glistening- china. But
the silver in The Court was kept in the
plate-chest, and the china lived in its
own closet that was the size of room,
and the fair mistress Of the house dared
not dislodge single article from itsoW
stronghold under penalty of her hus-
bands displeasure. And rather than
bring that upon herself designedly she
would have left undisturbed an uglier
life even than that which rolled on
monotonously at The Court
Not that Mr.. Balyon ever brought his
heavy hand to bear physically upon his
wife, but he snarled at her, and brow
beat her, and terrified herwith his rough
looks and rough words, till she came to
look upon the hours that he spent out of
the house as the only happy ones of her
existence, the only ones in which she
felt at liberty to pick up book, or alter
the position of an ornament on the man
tlepiece, or caress her dogs, or romp with
her children.
For the poor woman's life was not such
an utterly arid plain as it would have
been, had not the blessing of sons been
vouchsafed to her. She counted herself
proud and happy woman when she
could manage to forget her husband in
boys, Rupert and Archie. They were al
her own; like her in disposition and per
son, like her in generosity and affection
Fair, beautiful, courageous, loving boys
they were as unlike the black Balyor
stock as it was possible to conceive any
thing to be. They were all her own
Even their names were Of her choosing
for Mr. Balyon not having the faintes
preference for one Christian name ovel
another had magnanimously allowed hel
to call her sons by names that were deal
to her because two of her brothers hac
borne them. All the love of her hear
was given to these boys. All her hope
and her pride were invested in them
The thought of their future enabled he
to bear her own desolate present will
something akin to cheerfulness whel
they were away at school. And whe1
they were home for the holidays they in
fused a certain amount of warmth ane
color into her chilled and darkened lif,
by the display of such love and tender
ness, such devotion and thoughtfulnes
as she was sure no boys but hers ever fel
for mother. In word, she worsbipec
them, not because they were better o.
more beautiful than other peoples boy
in reality, but they were all her own; he
idols; the CLEAN of brightness in wha