Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1878-07-11
Wild Strawberries.

! IMOre straw berrleS.' said Mrs. Wylde
with perplexed contraction OF her brow.
YES" said old Phillis the cook. "1've
made two short-cakes an a pie, an dar
amt nigh enoug h lett to fill de big glass
dish for tea"
Dear mel" said Mrs. Wylde, "what
shall we do? Lisette is dressing and Maude
never could endure the sun. Barbara
to slender young girl who was curled up
in one of the deep window seats, reading
you'll have to co. Barbara Wvlde
reused herself out of an Arcadian dream
of Dickens little Nell, and fixed pair of
big blue eyes on her mothers troubled
face.
600 where, mamma?''
Down to tine south pasture lot for wild
strawberries. The ground is crimson
with them there, and"
Barbara Wylde scrambled down out of
her high perch.
mamma" said she, what nuisance
all this is! don't believe Captain Ell
! wood Severn is worth all this trouble. l
don't believe he'll fall in love with
Gather Maude or Lisette And I think
preserved gooseberries are quite good
enough for him.
Hold your tongue cei he basket SKI; and and
90 g 70 for the strawberries at once
"But it's so hot, mamma.
''Put on your broad brimmed straw
hat"
"And 1 haven't finished my novel,
/ pleaded Barbara, with her mimi revert
ing longingly to little Nell.
" Nonsense" said Mrs. Wylde You
read too many novels, deal, for a child
of your age"
And Barbara disappeared, unwillingly
enough. into the apple orchard, across
whach slnuous psth, bordered with but
tercups and req clover, led direct to
the velvet slopes of the "south PASTURE .
where the ripening fruit of the wild
strawberries sllone like the tiny rubies
along the course Of a little musical brook,
all fringed with reeds and aldcrs and
tall-grow>ng ferns.
'sStrawb erries, indoed"' said Barbara
to herself, It's dreadful to he the
Youngest of family of girls, and have
to pick strawberries for ones eide: Sis
ters beaux.'
And she pushed the yellow curls out of
her eyes, and went two work in lugubri.
Gus earnest, popping tile largest of the
berries into her little round rcse-bud OF
a mouth, staining her dress as she knelt
down to seek the shy treasure under the
clustering green leaves. and crimsoning
her hands with the haste she made.
II wonder which of EN- he'll marry?'
said Barbara to herself, as she paused a
minute to listen to robin which. perched
on the boughs OF feathery elm beyond
the brook, trilled out his barcarolle of
glad music. "Lisette is the prettiest, OF
course, and he don't know what dread
full temper she's got. But Maude is
literary, and has read all the new books,
and can talk SC we'll Gentlemen like
intellectual ladies. wish with sigh
-'that I was Intellectual"
And our little maid fell to work at the
strawberries again for full five minutes.
And then see shook her basket, and peep
ed into its depths with eyes of azure des-
pair.
mot half full,'' said she to herself
mot a quarter full. Oh, dear me! how
wish some one would come to help me
And there is some one stretched provok.
ingly in the shade under Squire Dallas's
big oak by the stone wall where the
sweet briers grow. People have no bust
ness to lie in the shade when other peo
pie nave to work hard in the sun! Anc
do believe it's Squire Dallas's new hirec
man, and he ought to be at WORK in thu
hay field instead Of lying there under the
trees with book. And" Barbara added
surveying the distant faineant with resol
4 ute blue eyes from beneath her upliftet
hand, che shall work he shall help me :!
"Yo Dung man, she called out. Thu
robin trjlled, the brook madea cool, tn
:, multuous splashing over the moss.
! stones that formed its bed, and no an
' swer came back to Barbara save the aut
ter of the leaves in the hazel copse unde
, the HILL. 49,
! "Young man, I say!' she called o.,
= = again, this time with certain accent o
!: the 1mperious in her voice. The recum
= bent figure under the oak tree straight
ened itself up at once, and made hast
=. :. toward the stone wall that separated
Squire Dallass domains from Deacon
Wylde's south pasture lot.
!, II beg your pardon" said: he; "but-
), did you cali"
, "0f course l called" said Barbara
1 thinking within herself how tall ant
,, straight and darkly handsome Sqair
, Dallas's, new hired man was.~~ "Don'
; you think young man, you ought to be al
! workw
AT work" repeated the Spanish browe'
, stranger. "Well, perhaps I ought"
+ "There's no perhaps about It," SAL
Barbara, brusqucly. "Of course yo
, ought. And since you don't choose t
work for your master, you may as vel
be working for me-"
g my mastery @&a2S::&.
r esquire Dallas, of course aaid Bal
. bara. "Dear me, how stupid you are"