The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1877-11-22


for life. And, by the living God, III
have it out of himi" As Jacob uttered
these words be lifted his hand and
struck sharply the broad window-sill.
Ny heart gave great throb. Thought
that every one in that great assembly
must stop and stare at MS. But the
music sounded loudly, the dancing went
on, and no one seemed to heed us. As
we went down the steps l saw "Jigger
JIM" the village idiot, grimacing and
gesticulating and mimicking the dane
ing, with group of village folk nod
ding and applauding and urging him
on, and was glad that no one had
heard Jake's words.
For to me those words were appalling.
This was the first time since we had
been married that had ever heard ia
cob utter any thing approaching an
oath. 1t startled me like the light of a
flame suddenly glazing up red and lurid
in the midst of quiet woodland.
Jacob had been reputed little wild !;
good many wise old folk had shook
their heads when we came together. 1t
was said he had run through with all
his thrifty fathers money, had been
wasteful and speculative and dissipated,
and had none of the thrifty qualities and
forehandedness deemed so essential
among the orderly farming people of
Laurel neighborhood. Some said /
would surely repent if l married him.
Had the time for repentance come now?
Well, we had not been prosperous this
year, and Jacobs farming had been
married by drought and blight.
Well do | remember the aspect of that
blighted corn-feld, from which we had
expected so much. 1t reminded me of
a troop of weather-beaten soldiers that
| saw once returning home in the latter
days of the war, jaded, dispirited, and
with ragged banners trailing in the dust.
No music, no cheers of welcoming
voices, no hats off, to welcome their re-
turn. So, YEARLY, with detected heads
and thin long leaveSuplifted, our corn
! field trailed on the hill side.
Something of this decentralization had
perhaps entered into our household
sort of nameless shadow, a bleak and
blighting something, against which no
energy and no activity could avail. We
were young, you see, and had, as it were,
just commenced life, and it was hard to
know that things were going wrong
with us from the beginning.
But Jake was still hero in my eyes,
and l loved him well, and it was to lure
him little from the 'impalpable gloom
that was settling around us that | had
proposed this evening stroll. | did
not take naturally to moodiness, and
that sort of quiet that settles like mold
on some married lives; and the music,
the moonlight, and the stirring people
were like wine to me, and should have
gone back to our quiet little cottage
gay as lark if it had not been for those
words. They seemed like lead to my
heart of hearts, and weighed it down
as we walked silently homeward.
1t was late when we returned, but
Jacob seemed in no wise inclined to re-
tire He walked about, restless and ret
icent. The place seemed too small for
him; his tall figure seemed to contract
its limited space, as he moved to and
fro, till it was almost relief to see him
step from the doorway and silently
stride down the road. 1t was no new
thing for him to walk off the " blues' in
that way; and / never intruded upon
these moods, when he appeared to men
tally set me aside as one who could not
share in the thoughts that were urging
him. Generally he came back to me
out of these morOse fits more loving and
kinder than ever, and this was JOY
enough.
But tonight / was restless too.
wandered down to the gate and watched
his tall figure as, with deep shadow
stalking after it in the moonlight, it dis
appeared down the turn of the road.
fell into a reverie standing there-a rev.
erie of know not how long duration. |
was reused from it by the appearance
on the road of Jigger Jim's distorted
figure. We were very good friends, jig
ger Jim and myself, and he had once sig
niied his high appreciation of our friend
ship by presenting me with huge brass
button. His glee, when pinned this on
my dress like brooch, was indescriba-
BILE. This time he stopped in the road
and DOTTED his cap-a courtesy only eX
tended to certain dignitaries of the vii |
lage on rare occasions. Jigger under |
stood 'manners," but deemed them too |
good for ordinary use. He was in high |
spirits, apparently; laughed his strange
cultural laugh, pointed to the moon |
sparkling above us, then to his breast,
and was hugely pleased when | indicat-
ed that the diamonds he had seen down |
at the ball were like that. Then, ele- |
waiting his claw-like fingers, he gave
great leap, as if to grasp the serene
planet, and pointing to my shawl and
drapery, left me to infer that he would
like to see me bedizened with something
as lustrous as the moon and the dia-
monds. Smiling as the harmless fellow
went his way, bethOught me that it
was late, and began to wonder why
Jacob did not come back.
| concluded, after while, that |
would stroll down the road and meet
hint was so solitary at the house,
and the night was SO alluring. After
you passed certain turn of the road,
you came almost in sight of the sea-
shore. A little earlier in the evening
you were apt to meet knots of young
folks here and there strolling up from
the hotels. But at this hour it was sol
itary and quiet. The water touched
the shore gently with soothing sound;
bHC DCtCu away NhllC anu
glittering, circling the blue water with
a grand sweep that curved out to the
misty distance, where a silver veil only
seemed to intercept earth and heaven.
People said this was bleak and solita-
ry place in winter-time. Now it was
rarely lovely. l gave long, free
breath as | looked No wonder Jacob
fingered abroad on such a night as this.
SO smiling sweet was the scene that |
forgot the weight upon my heart, and
on aimlessly, childishly,
of nothing but its beauty A
little way up, the dusk shadow of the
rocks cut sharply into the silver of the
shore. could imagine that on stormy
days this place might wear a forbidding
aspect. In old times it was said that
had lurked about those rocks,
hidden in their overhanging
lodges, and creeping to their
in that worry ShoInuv A