Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-11-03

"He made love neither with roses,
nor with apples, nor with locks of
hair;p he did not know the mean
ing o. "serenade," nor did he ever
i'm all his life write a lOve-verse. l
/ do not know that he thought Sa-
rah's eyebrows any more beautiful
because they were dark and finely
arched, than if they had been light
crooked and thin; and yet, true lover
more chivalrous soul than John SlO-
cum never lived. All day in the
field, blowing or sowing or reaping,
his thought was of the happiness of
the fair, pale woman at home, who
sat in the ingle nook, mending the
family linen, or walked painfully
about on crutches attending to the
duties allotted to her, or patiently
bearing the tempers of Johns moth
er, in whose house she had lived
since she was child.
Sarah StenhOuse was twenty-five
years old, and ten years before,
while vet the bound servant of Mrs.
SlOcum, had met the fate that had
made her lame, and so shaken the
foundations of life that she could
never know rugged health again.
She had been a wonderfully sunny
element in the SlOcum family, and
John, who was five years older than
she, had never known, since the
first night she came, when he crack
ed hickory nuts for her by the kitch-
en- fire, what it was not to love her.
In harvest-dances, no one tripped
so lightly over the old barn floor as
Sarah. She rippled over with mirth,
and was never so happy as when
making others so. Not a girl of her
age i'm all the county could spin as
many knots of yarn in a day as she;
and her doubled and twisted" was
finer and evener and more in de-
mand at the stores, where such
home products were "dickeTed,"
than any other offered.
"WhOever got Sarah StenhOuse
for wife" the old woman said,
"would get a prize" and more than
one young man had asked her, be-
fore her fifteenth birthday, if she
would marry him when she should
be of age and free to leave Mrs. SlO-
cum.
But Sarah always said, "There's
time enough for thinking of that
when | am of age" and nOtwith-
standing Ma'am SlOcum's uneven
temper and occasional injustice, she
had no idea of going away when
she was free of her bondage. She
knew well how good home she
had, take it all in all, and she loved
the Slocums as if they had been
mother and brother.
The sumner Sarah was fifteen
wears old yielded a noble harvest,
and great rejoicing was had among
the farmers. Thanks were given
i'm the churches, merry-making held
ut the farm-hOuSeS, and finally Il
harvest home" was held at the
SlOcum barn, because it was the
largest in the township. When the
gayetV was at its height, Sarah re-
CciVpd the hurt that made her a life
long invalid. For many weeks she
Law lowering between life and death,
and finally life OVercame death by
such small odds, that, for Il long
time, it seemed but poor boon.
The neighbOr people said. "NOw,
of course, Sarah'll have togo on the
county. NIa'am Slocum's queer,
ANYHOW, and ut best it could be eX-
pected that a widow-wOman like
her should he burdened with help
less thing like Sarah"
But when the matter was brOach-
cd to the widow, she answered tart
IN enough, but with tears in her
eyes, "DO YOU take me for Il heath
en-? Sarah's my daughter from this
out. There wasn't such Il girl in the
county as she, and I'd look well put
ting her in the pOOr-hOuse because
it has seemed good to the Lord to
Law his hand heavy on her. His
hands heavy enough on the child
without any of my help. Folks are
mighty ready with that sort of as
SiStance."
SO Sarah staid ut the farmhouse,
and learned every day to know better
and to love the sweet heart that Law
beneath the rough exterior of her
adopted mother, and had never fail
ing patience with her frettings and
seedlings and manifold queer ways.
When some one spoke to Sarah of
IL. she said, "Why shouldn't | be
patient with herqueer ways. Wasn't
II one of her queer ways to keep me
and love me and make me her child,
when | could be but little than a
clog and burden?"
50 the two grew together, great
tenderness foStered in the woman's
heart. and gratitude in the girls.
Jobn was always a good son, but
from tbe date of Sarah's misfortune
he seemed to develop new excel
iences- He neglected no duty about
the farm. but at the same time ne
made his presence felt in a hundred
new ways in the house.
HHe's as def a. a woman ms
mother said, "and sometimes seem
scarcely to miss Sarah's help.
don't Know how he finds time 10 90