Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1879-02-06
THE STRANGER GUEST.

In somo of the South Western counties,
it was, aforetimc, customary anon, the
farmers to have large partios luds and lass
ses came together, skimmcd from an area
OF many miles, aud kept it up till near
daylight. Preparations were made before
hand, and word travelled far and near on
tho wings OF the wind SO that within Il
rircuit of nany miles, all know where and
when tho party was to be held
hing plays, as they were called, were
the most common amusement at these par.
ties young man aud girl stood in the
middle of the floor, And tho rest tooli
hold of hands and formed ring around
them. These last kept whirIng around
the two in tho oontor, singing old songs
t,ll tn0 '.r~- chose partners from tho ring:
t.e iau ohooslng lass, Of course, aud the
gr, choosing young man They kissed
oaoh 'tner, and then tho chosen counle
took tht" place in tho ccntro, while tho
Two who had just occupied that position
went into tho ring
Inc snatchcs of songs sung on those oo-
oaslons had como down from tho olden time;
una 10 a stranger from another part of the
country, they had u sound, when sung by
those simple minded youths and madcps
with an lntonation altogether indcscribablc.
at once weird and fantastic. When a
young miss became old enough to 90 to tho
parties and join in tho ring plays she set
herself up for woman in full blossom, aud
marketable commodity.
But u sinister event finally put an end to
those parties and to the ring plays, which
had probably been continued up to that
time from very early days.
"A poor farmer rented some hundred
acres OF lanG, and eudeavorcd by cutlyat
ing every inch of the domain, to exc out q
livelihood, and pay his rent In this he was
not always successful, as the products of
.ode,"nas already Ire dsfconyrGcd considerable
distance to bring anything of price price o. r
Mr.. Blackwell for that was the name Of
the poor farmcr-hal two daughters The
cid st was able to do great deal Of work;
hut Esther, tho younger, was more fitted
by nature for the drawiDesroom than for
tho kitchen or dairy.
Esther Blackwell enjoyed good health,
but hor frame was delicate, though perfectly
symmctrical her head was finely formed,
her eyes large, and Of clear blue, while q
profusion Of auborn locks, that gttcrcd
like gold in the sun, shaded her a!abastcr
neck. She was, in fact, u beautiful bl;nde,
with small hands, that retained their grace
ful form in spite of the daily toll to which
tho young girl was subjected.
The son of wealthy farmer was smitten
by the charms and graceful demoanor of
the poor girl, and his love was fully returned
lie had continued to visit her every even,
ing regularly for several months, when her
mother imagined that sitting up SO late
every night was prcjudica to her health.
She spoke to Esther on the subject, and the
young girl fearing no evil, as she intended
no wrong spoke to her lover about it that
very evening when he called as usual, to
sit up till eleven o'clock with her.
ave both work hard during the day."
said tho young girl, "and being up SO late
must be trying to our strength. We both
have full confidence in each other; and,
therefore, if we meet once a wcek-say
every Sunday-%by would not that answ or
every purposc?"
The young man heard her out, and thon,
without answering word, got up took his
hat and left the house. Esther would have
given worlds to recall her words, but it was
too late.
"Mothcr," said Esther, the next morning,
Hfor once, havo done wrong in obeying
you. Richard has left mo forever, and | |
oan mover survive the blow"
"Tushp' said Mrs. Blackwell; "kccp ali
quiet, and he'll be back again in week;
besides, there is suitors enough besides
him."
"But none for me-" answered Esther. "I
can never love another"
Richard did not como back. lIo was
persuaded that if Esther wished to dimin.
ish the number of his visits she was already
becoming weary of his attentions.
Esther was seized with severe illness,
and languishcd long timo before hopes Of
her recovery wero entertained. Once more
she attended the parties and joined in ring
plays, but she was no longer her former
self. She sometimes met Richard at these
parties, but not word passed between