The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1881-01-08

cry; hungry enough to faint now.
Mrs Taney forgot to eat her dry bread,
or drink her milk. The meadow lots! 1t
was to buy those lots that her husband
had made their lives bare and hard and
wretched from their wedding day. The
good wholesome produce from the farm,
which should have fed the children, had
gone to market, while they ate the refuse;
the money which should have educated
them had been put in the bank to buy
these lots. When her baby was i'll no
doctor was brought, and her child died;
the money saved went to the lots; the
mother had begged for headstone forthe
grave. There was Lefty, growing to be a
woman, half-clothed, without a sparkle OF
fun or pleasure to Tighten her young life;
hile poorer girls dressed and went out
and had company, and enjoyed, as girls
should, days filled with comfort and hap
piness. Every penny thus saved William
laid by for ''the lots" Yes those twelve
acres had come to be the absolute God for
these people Not happy life, nor God,
nor heaven.
After supper his mother followed him
out.
"William," she said desperately, chow
many wears will it be before you can buy
the lots p
"Years? The lots?" in unfeigned
amazement. elbow on earth can you
understand business p
1t was the first time she had ever spoken
in this way.
II don't know. But I'm afraid [ will
not live to see it. 1t is so long
She went back to the kitchen. The
dishes stood untouched upon the table,
and Lefty was seated upon the steps,
basket of red peaches beside her, which
the boarder brought down from his room.
He was young man, a teacher in a
Virginia country school, who had come up
to these hills geologizing in his summer
vacation.
II brought them from the Mcbride
farm, Mrs. Taney," he said. "They are
very common kind in the Shenandoah
Valley, handing them to her.
Mrs Taney's features grew warm.
'I remember tree just like these at
home" she said, "by the old mill. My
old nurse used to hold me up to pull them
for myself"
"Your little girl tells me that you came
from Fauquier county. 1t is fine coun-
try
cit is the most beautiful in the world,
said Mrs. Taney.
She stopped and went in hastily. She
felt the tears choking her. She could
hear Mr. Burke tell the child that his
school was in Fauquier, and that he had
often passed her grandfather's house. 1t
was for sale now, with dozen acres about
it; would sell very cheap, no doubt. Land
had deprecated since the war. "a quiet,
comfortable little homestead, too, he said,
as any in the State.
Mrs. fancy paused in her work.
"Oh, if l could only show it to Lefty"
she said to herself 'The dear old farm.
The sunny porches, and the Bourbon roses,
and the great oaks centuries old" She
had never spoken of her old home to her
other children, but to Lefty she had talked
of it often when they were alone. Lefty
was like herself, the others were all Ia
neys.
She came to the door.
do you know, Mr. Burke, if there is
an old negro on the place-a gardner" 2"
"Uncle Tod? Oh, everybody knows
the old man. And his stories about the
Clevelands, de family as he calls them. "
ave were the Cleveands. And old
Tod is really living yet?'' she laughed, for
the first time in year.
When Lefty had gone in, Mr.. Burke
paced up and down the porch. He was
manly, large-natured fellow, and his heart
ached with pity for the poor, pinched, lives
ofthis child and her mother. All he could
do to show kindness was to lend books to
Lefty, which she devoured eagerly, for she
was fond of reading; in fact, she had OBJ
stinately persisted in staying at the free
school until she had educated herself.
William Taney waited until the young
man had gone, and then he went into the
pantry where his mother was straining
milk. Something in his manner made her
set it down, trembling.
"You have bad news to tell" she said.
"No," with an uneasy stricken laugh,
"most folks call it good. Fact is, mother,
I've made up my mind to marry"
ooh, William her old cheeks color
ing.
II made up my mind three months ago.
And the girls courted, and the wedding s
to be to morrow. There, now. No need
for you to look in that way. am gener-
ally pretty close-mouthed about my own
business; you might know that. And l
don't choose to have the matter cackled
over at home. The girl is Miss Susie
Crawford"
His mother came toward him. He was
her son after all, and this was the turning
point of his life. She put her arms about
him and kissed him. "God bless you, my
boy" she said.
But he stood as immovable as q log.