The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-03-16

she lay helpless and raging with fever for nine
! long weeks, Tim stayed at home, nursed her
as well as ne could, tended and fed the baby,
who learned to cry for him, instead of crying
| at the sight of him as all the Others had, and,
getting fat and rosy on the yellow milk that
| jim brought daily in little pail from the dea-
| cons Alderney, wound itself around the Ia
| theirs heart, kept him with bands stronger than
| iron from his evil haunts, taught him to live
without his stimulant, at least for so long;
and established hold on him never lost. 1t
was little Rosy Harris who, i'll after years,
| coaXed her father into good habits, and made
her mothers last days bright and calm; but 1t
| was Jericho jim who began the good work with
| his unauthorized statement of the deacon's
| willingness to trust a man who =" stayed to
hum.
Curious enough, too, were Jim's peace
making propensities. These clouded or stray
| ing minds sometimes take certain eltlsh de-
! light in mischief, but his desire and delight
was peace. Miss Nancy Vance was thin and
| somewhat little old maid, yet gifted with a
| good deal of sense, and tolerably reasonable;
about half mile from her little brown house.
| where she lived with bed-ridden mother and
did tailoring, lived the Widow Pyne, a noisy
| good-natured, high-tempered woman; quick
to resent or to fancy an injury, but equally
! quick to forgive Between her and Miss
Nancy ragged a feud of such strength and Bit
terness as is only to be found in little coun-
| try village between people whose minds are
narrowed by their limited horizon and slight
experience They were both church members
but they would neither look at each other
| across the meeting-ho nor recognize each
other in the porch. Miss Nancy always called
Mrs. Pyne ''that pesky widow, f" and was styled
! in return, with more vigor than reticence,
that darned old maid.n
Jericho Jim was aware of this and many
time shrank, as if from pin-prick or blow
when one began to vituperate the other, and
| ODpnlN pVaQpI the SUbippt
| 81 pose old Nance Vance takes half pint
o. milk on ye, don't she!' inquired Mrs. Pyne,
with a sniff.
Land o. glory what splendid red apples
| them be " calculated jim, his ears shut to the
| question, but his eyes very wide open to an
Astrachan apple-tree in the corner of the yard
Now this apple tree was Widow Pyne's
| glory; nobody in Sawyer had such tree, and
she petted it like a baby, dug about it with
| her own hands, MANFRED it every fall and gave
; it copious hbations of dish-water all through
the summer. No tentworms ever found lodg-
ment in its thrifty branches; and in May It
was always pink with blossoms, for a tree SO
coddled had no ''otf year, but bloomed and
| bore in every returning season.
1t was "a sight to behold" as its gratifed
owner remarked, and Jims admiration was so
| fervent Mrs Pyne could not do less than re-
ward him with a pocketful of the glowing
irult. Jim was duly gratiied, and logged on
| his way revolving a scheme in his simple mind
which fructitied, literally, as he found himself
at Miss Nance's door. Miss Nancy came out
for her pint of milk, looking unusually be-
| nign some of the small items that make up
lonely woman's life had been gracious that
morning; perhaps her bread had risen just
| right, or her hens had done their duty in the
matter of eggs; but, however that might be,
she had kindly word for jim; and he poured
her full pint with beaming grin. "Stop
| minnit, won't ye!" he called after her. "Wont
down that m II
apern: here's some o. Miss Pyne's amazin' ap-
pies" ...'
''Widder Pyne's apples!' calculated the
amazed spinster, as she received the crimson
spheres into her check apron. .....
Eyes them's the fellers she sent 'em along
o. me. Good-dayr With'which ambiguous
statement Jim whipped up the old horse and
went along before Miss Nancy had time to
think.
swell, here's nigh onto a merracleln she
exclaimed to herself. "Widder Pyne's apples
I've heerd she sot by em dreadfuly, and now
Welt I'd oughter be ashamed O myself, that's
a fact; it's shameful for church members to
keep up a quarrel the way we've did but she's
got the start o me, that's fact. l must
kinder show my feelins now, surely"
So the next day jim was invited to stop on
the way back and carry Widow Pyne basket
of fresh eggs, for eggs were Miss Nancy's spe-
clalty. Imagine Jim's secret joy and Mrs.
Pyne's noisy surprise.
"Sent me them eggs9 Land o. Goshen
She amt weak in her mind, is she, Jim. Must
be a leetle touched: or else be; | guess she's
good creatur, after all. / donO what on
airth has allied us two to be alters a fghtin',
and now she's begun it, guess | kin be as
neighborly as other folks. Don't We 90 by
here tomorrow without getting a pocketful
o apples for Nancy Vance, Jim. Let's see.
I'll put 'em in the basket" But the second
nnnIps reached
Jim had queer sense of justice and a squir-
refs love for nuts and fruit. He had done a
good work with the other apples, and lost
them, as far as his own delectation was con-
cened: these Others he would keep for his
own eating; and his very simpleness made up
for wisdom, for a second supply of fruit
would certainly have led to awkward eXplana-
tiOnS while as it was when the two ladies met
on the church steps next Sunday, smiling and
beaming, to make their mutual acknowledge
ments, there was no explanations to ask or
answer, and they parted in friendliest fashion,
to remain firm allies thereafter
Not far from the Ellery farm there lived
bad tempered, croSs-grained old fellow, John
Dekin by name, who had driven his boys away
from home long ago by dint of being every
thing a father ought not to be; and whose
wife stayed with him simply because she was
his wife---a fact which is of some virtue to
good woman. Now this man was a great
stickler for his rights he had a right to do as
he liked in his own house, no doubt; and the
neighbors agreed that they had an equal right
to Keep away from it. All but good Mrs. FL
lery, whose great, kind heart could not see
woman suffer as she knew Mrs. Dekin must and
not try to alleviate her sutferings. She would
go there persistently though she trembled
before the big dog, and quivered at the sound
of his masters voice; for it was one of John
Dekin's rights to keep the fierccst dog and
the crossest bull anywhere about Sawyer. |
Jericho volunteered
lery when she paid her visits to the Delin
farm, and, as there never was dog who could
withstand Jim's way with the brute creation |
he and 1ige soon became the best of friends
Hulloon' said the farmer one day, as he
came suddenly round the corner of the house
and found jim, who had just escorted Mrs. |
Ellery to the door, sitting on the step and
fondling the great bulldog, who, with watery
eyes and SOLDERING jaws, rested his muZZle on |
Jim's knee, and looked up into the thin, kind
face above him. "IIulloo, you Teller! look
out for that crittur; he'll be into We md chaw
We up fore you can wink" ~
81 guess not" said Jim, with one of his
half-silly gentle smiles. He knows real
well don want to hurt him none so he dom
keer to hurt me; no more he will, will We,
Tiger
The dogs stump of a tail wagged affection
ate answer.
"Well, mebbe it'll do with dogs; you seem
to kinder get round that one; but it amt
folkses' ways" growled the farmer.
Amt itN' said Jim, looking up Innocent
ly; why, | thought folks knew MORN dogs /"