The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1878-01-08
ONLY A DAISY.

pun l''Sc ~ iCi"'S 81" '
biography Of honest Ned Smith, th'
highly respectable banker, who married
NV cousin Jane. the last tine he was q
widowor. The worthy gentleman told
it to me himself, after hunt dinner al
Combe, down Il; his place in the coun-
try; and went away early on the fol-
lowing day with increased vencraiion
for our young princes and cur old lnstl-
tulions, forget the precise language
in which Smith related the adventure,
| merely remember the srmse he con-
veyed, aud some Of he nice h"rscy terms
which lent grace to his narrative. 1t is
rally Il capital world to live In If one
knows how 10 Get On in il, and is care
lul not to ofFrnd the dec"ut pr jndic'
of socirtv-cood useful prrjudices they
are too, by jinso.
1t was n,ldwlntcr when | paid my
last visit to Smith, who is a deputy lieu
tenant a magistrate Of his coun'y-a
capital hunting county by the way, and
Smith is it's chief Iatriot-but that is
nothing to the purpose. He had got, l
firmly believe about three bottles oi bur
gundy on board when he began to talk
Of women. and he thus related 10 nc,
with infinite complaccncy, the story OF
trumpery little girl whom he appeared
to have known in his youth. Thus, or
to this effect. spoke our mutual friend:
"She was"-said Smith, lhick!y, aud
with moist sidc-g glance at decantsr--
Ian insignificant ,illle thing who had
no relatives whom she could count upon,
though she had goodish anteccdentsr Cor
all We know to the contrary, up at the
ball. The parson of the parish, thossh
he buried himself amongst Creek roots
every day but Srndry, used to ray. when
he talked in an absent mann aboht lis
flock, that she supported her grandm"-
ther, aud very likely sh" did The Gnl
had q natural instinct fer making her
self useful. and seemed to possess fairy
fingers. She took her work much more
chccrrully than my pony, who had ? r.
haps, however. rather too much OF 1t,
especially after my attention had been
caught By Lucy Hawk. Ii was strange
name for the girl. and no one knew
clearly how she came by it. Her grand
mothers name was Lelbbridge, aud the
stories about the countryside would have
it that she came of a stock who had lona
ago owned all the lana We could -cc
from the highest Of the hal! windows,
and that was more land tEan W" had
for Lord Fitzurses property cut straight
into our best grass farm mar fai!ow
field Mills. All we knew Of the CIR
down at our village Of Ila%lrbrooS wa
that about fifteen years before katc
Lcthbr;dec, who had. | fancy, gone
wrong, came home again with chlIC
in her arms. and said it Il ust be calleC
Lucy Hawke. She did not say many
words more, for she was quite broker
down, our whipper-in told me Mother
Lethbridge-we call her Granny LetE'
bridge now-got bit Of ground Gu, q
my unc,e who helped Eer to make b"tl
ends meet. 1t WAS my mother who be-
can first to talk about Lucy. and SHE
used to vow when she was veXed Will
her servants that Granny Lcthbrldge
butter was better than ours, and tina
Lucy was handler than any one OF ou
three dairy maids. She wanted Luc,
to take service with us, but she courtc
>icd in pretty. bobbing way she bad
AMI said, NO, thank you. il You please
INV lady. | be wanted ut home, 70
granay's growing feeble like | taxi
il my mother was secretly displ@ase'
with this answer. for she had rathc
high ways when ruficd, and did no
like to see her prolfcr'd benefits re
fused. But though there was sub
acid favor in her remarks about Luc
after this date, ] an sure that she mean
well by the little wench, and would hav
been sorry to see any harm happen I
her.
Il must have been about ninetce
years old when fairly fell IN love wit
Lucy. and this is how it happened =
The IIazclbrook Stcepiochasc Tor gen
! tlenen riders was gong Oh and wo
it easly on my bay mare l'adyblrd
The mare took all her fcuc-s kindly
and never weighed an ounce on the b
when she ncalcd the water, while mos
7 of the other horsc rushed at their jump
aud CHARGED tie brook ! ke mad thine'
! 1t was liJy .oap, measuring scme'hin
like two and.twcuiy feet across, with
2 slippery tank on each side Of it, so tho
a there were a good many awkward ial
there, and mos; Of the farmers and the
: families took up thclr places 10y 'll
+ brook side 20 see the luu. \ table
T. cloth might have covered us all as W
c came within twenty yards OF the wateI
but then the cock tails began t" swrrv'
aud turning round in ny saddle, | Sa
was lcaiing field Of only three. Reg
maid Fitzursc lonklng gr:m as death, ";
: pounding along within length of N
on the near side; and johnny NevlIl
the county members son, who broS
his neck at Cheltenhah, sas tantin
IL -.