Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1878-02-27

self. 1t must have been the love OF
contrast that brought her in range of
Tmothy's dilapidated surroundings;
but of all living things in the village
Rebecca alone had good word for
him, and stopped Of an odd afternoon
now and then to wish him good-day
over the gate.
81 have brought thee loaf of sweet
bread, neighbour" said she. I'D an
uncommon good baking this week, and
l thought thee might not take it amiss
to try . loaf" She held forti, in her
white plump hand a snow-white nap
kin, opening its folds temptingly as she
did so.
"rm wanting naught," was the gruff
reply. "Week-ch breads good enough
for me, and l make no doubt it might
be far better for some other folk than
the dainty trash they're set upon
women-folk ieastways."
The blood came into Rebecca's calm
face, but there was no veXatiOn in her
answer. "Thee'd never set aside an
old friend like that, neighbour" she said.
"Nay, nay; recommend thee try the
loaf It's spoken we'll Of, is my sweet
not shorten thy days much by just one
trial, and II thee likes it not, Ill never
trouble thee again"
Even the imperturbable face of old
Ware shows slight smile at this min
CLING of acerbity and sweetness but he
makes TO demonstration.
Il am on my way to see old Bet&ey,"
says Rebecca, qsietly extending her
hand and placing the loaf on the gate
post. She's enc of the town poer-or
rather one Of the Lords poor, Ithink,
for she doesn't belong to this township.
Poor old Betsey9"
One might have inagiiacd that old
Ware gave a sort of start Just now, as if
an invisible electric shock had struck
him. He was rot used to S,earing sym
pathetic talk Of any kind 1t tried his
nerves, probably.
lone of the wretcised Migrants that
arc .pauperiziRg the cOmuausnity, wan
dering hither and yon,'' growled limo
thy.
"Ay, ay, yeighbor," says kebec ca,
softly and wistfully; "a hard time they
have of it, peor things Aud this many
a year has she been Wxndeper and a
vagabond on the face of the earth, has
poor old Betsey." She takes tive white
covered loaf absently with her large
shapely hand, looks up and down the
.road with thoughtful gray eye, signs
softly, and goes her way, leaving loaf
and napkin Gaping the gate post. And
there you might have seen it 1t night
fall, if you had Glanced that way; for
hadn't Timothy told the woman he
didn't want it? and was he the man to
,demean himself by removing i. after
that? And your specializing on the sim
gular stubbornness ofthe human heart
would not have been lessened had you
caught sight of him, by the pickering
candle in his upper window, sitting there
motionless with an eye on the gate be-
low. Perhaps he expected Rebecca
hack after her gift do not know.
She's one Of the town poor. is old
Betsey," said Rebecca. meekly, and had
said it meekly year after year, striving
to allure the vagrant old woman into
feeling at home on the charity list of tie
good towns-folk, and to rest her aching
old bones in the town poor-house But
Old Betsey was not to be trapped
If one must be poor and ragged, at
least let one have plenty of fresh-air
leisure. says old Betsey. TO be a pau
per and drudge both is a little too
much. And to be preached to and
prayed over and hedged in right and
left, and to scrub work-house floors and
scour work-house knives, all for bit of
bread-bah! that is all unbearabe,
says old Betsy, struggling her bony
shoulders under her ragged shawl, and
setting out warily on her everlasting
tramp. She is an incorrigible vagrant,
utterly irreclaimablc. Perhaps Rebecca
thinks halffedged thought like this
when she finds her prey has escaped
her and is fairly on the road again.
On the road again, untamable, rag
ged, hungry, and free. She walks at a
rapid, uneven pace, her thin shawl hut-
tering in the wind, her untdy slippers
Tapping at her heels. 1t grows dusk
as she steals along; the road is drearv
with cloud and shadow, and with a
knocking moon that CLEANS out now
and then, lodging viciously after this
gray old ghost OF woman fitting be-
low. There is white object there
ahead of her-som ething tall and queer,
with round white head. The vagrant
swerves minute out of her way, sur
veylng it furtively. Then she puts
forth her clawlike hand and clutches
greedily Rebecca's sweet, dainty loaf.
Aha what a good providence is here,
All T. can it be that Fate should come,
for once in way, with sweetness and
luxury in her hand for an old pauper,
and night and darkness to devour it in
Bewidered with pleasure, old Betsy
hugs the dainty under her faded shawl.
There is crash then, as ifthe heav-