The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1880-08-20
THE MILL CHIMNEY.

THE MILL CHIMNEY. Il Dai4
Twas when was counting Katie that
the accident I'm going to, tell you about
happened. But for that same accident,
I don't think Katie an / would be man
an wife this day, for you see my father
was set agin' the match, Katie being
only a laborer's daughter, while he him
self was foreman in the mills, getting
good wages, and thoughta great deal Of
BY his employers. An if it wasn't for
Katie, I don't think I'd be here now to
tell you about it, for twas she that saved
my life, through hitting on plan that
never once came into the heads of me
or my comrades aye, or Of those that
you'd have thought would know more
than any of us. 'S3' a r. .''}tt.'t''t s .
I was not brought up to my fathers
trade, having been taken, when young,
by brother of my mothers, a master
bricklayer living in the. town. When
my uncle died came home to Lisgar-
ven for bit, Just to see my father, and.
finding that they were at work on the
new buildings at the mills, / looked for
employment there an got it at once.
Lisgarven Mill is -four mill an q
pretty place it was in those days, with
the river running just by the old red
brick buildings, an the big watep-wheeli
always going round n'llround. The
river falls into lager onea little lower
down, an the tide comes up, as far as
the mill, so It's in boats that most of the,
corn is brought in, an the flour carried
away. 'Tisn't half SO pretty place
now; there are big whitewashed build
ings alongside of the old brick ones, the
big wheel is stopped, an you hear the
whirr of the engines instead of the sound
ST the water. But they makes a power
OF money there. an gives deal of en-.
ployment. aItg [gtiai3Ht al gElu '.+au
As | was saying, I got, taken on as a
bricklayer. /. ,Katie's father was working
there, too, an I used to, see her bring
ing him his dinner, and, after bit, I
began to think that ia like to have her
bringing mine, too. She was as pretty
/ O. girl then as you'd see anywhere shes
good-looking to this sday-ann' I soon be-
came that fond of her that I'd have done
anything Almost to get her. She her
self was willing enough twas my father
that made the difficulty. He was a
proud man, as proud in Ills way as any
gentleman, am he was right down mad
satthe notion of my marrying laborer's
/ daughter. u To be sure, I was earning
good wages, an might have married
without asking any ones leave, if I'd
been SO minded, but I didn't like to go
again the old man that had always been
good to me. Beside, Katie was just as
proud as himself, an would haze moth
ing to say. to me unless he was satisfied.
I@got the owner to speak to him, but
sure 'twasn't q, bit of use. 7j3shL 144s,j-
-" How would you like, sir" lhe says
to~the owner, R:Fif I had!a daughter, to
have Master Philip take up, with her,
an wouldn' + that be the same thing q
81 believe that the owner didn't think
lit would he at all the same thing, but.
my father wouldn't hear the reason from
him any more than from me, so Katie
an I had just; nothing for it but to wait
IN the hope of his coming round, an
very little hope we. had Of that same. y IL
AS We were putting up steam engine.
in thesmill, we had, OF course, to have, a
big chimney, an we got a man down
from town to build it --one of them chaps
that builds chimneys an nothing else,
an thinks nobody knows anything about
it but themselves. / was working along
with him, and, indeed, twas I that
built the most of it, an a right good Job
it was! Twas finished ty Christmas
ten year ago this Christmas coming, on
all but the lightning conductor, and
that was not put up, owing to the own
/ efs wanting to make inquiries when
he'd GO to town, an to see for himself
what would be the best kind to use. The
proprietor was scientific sort of a,gen-'
tleman, an had ideas of his own oIile--
times they'd be better than other peo-.'
pies, sometimes maybe not so good.
At any rate, there. was d delay about
the conductor, an in the meantime the
engines were at work, an the big chin
ney was smoking away like blazes. Mr..
Brown, the strange workman, had gone
away, saying, very condescending- like,
that he was sure Jim Forde (that was
me) would be able to fasten the rod to
the chimney as well as he could do, it
himself. He took all his seaffolding
with. him, but before he went away he
fixed beam with a pulley in it into the
+ top of the chimney, an left a long rope
hanging through it, so that man could
be hoisted up at any time ; an there the.
rope hung dangling, week after week.
until the. owner came home, bringing
the rod along with him. s,... e9gS
Once it had come, there was no good
losing any more time in fixing it, SO one
Saturday afternoon in january, up |
went on a plank, slung securely at the.
end of the rope, my tools along with me,
an settled myself astride on the stone
coping. Twas rather late in the day.
but the morning had been too wet an
stormy to work, an the owner was as
impatient to get the job done as if it
hadn't been himself that was hindering
it all this time. was as much at home
atop of the chimney as e was on the
ground, and worked on without once
looking down, until my job was finished,
an I was putting up my tools Then,
all of a sudden, Il heard a irattli1ig noise.
an looking over, saw the plank going
down very fast. / called oft, "Hullo,
there send that up again, vii you r
but the only answer I got was a loud
laugh, for all the world like silly Jerry
the natural's and sure enough there he
was, standing by the ,windlass jumping
in, clapping his hands. A -.
| looked about for the man whose