Morris tribune., 1882-09-14


but in the country fresh air, q little tirewood,
and, above all, pure water, are to be had for
nothing, In towns the first is often not to be
got, the poor cannot afford to buy the second;
and when think Of the water rate-I am no
political ecouomist-I have the most unjust
dislike to the man who collects the water rate
i never can see why Gods free gift to man
should be sold by spooufulls at the cost of
many lives! However, much is being done and
more will follow.
Here in this beautiful place. space was quite
unlimited All down the hillside linen lay
bleaching in the sun, aud another contrast was
not only in the way 1t was left out all night, but
III the absence of bolts bars and shutters in
the houses. Not even the shop had shutters,
aud theft was as unknown there as though
mounted guard watched necessarily. over the
place.
The shop (there was but onel sold every i'm
aglnable thing from treacle and behring's 10
needles and cheese, and the widow who kept
the shop was an autOcrat III her way. She was
licensed to sell spirits, and it would be good
for all humanity if, all licensed individuals
acted on the same firm principles, 70 some
she poSluyely refused to sell At all; to others
she allowed only what she considered right for
them TO have. She knew the private atfaiIs of
every individual, and WAS guided by that |
have seen her refuse a dram to 4 laukv, shy
looking shepherd who asked for one, saying to
him i'll the tone YOU might use 10 an uureGsOn-
able child: "Hons ava, Sandy, We ken weel
Your head is nae like !;hor heads, and 4 drap
will sot II spinriN@. Ma, IA, man, gang hame,
and dinua cnMOAro your neal with ithers!"
And the man quietly withdrew with look OF
shaeplsh re-lGaation. To another man she
SAID: surrey, | Ildaa hear We rightly; its ma
4 dram We re seeking, and yOur wife sac So
her, (Which did not refer 10 SObrietv, As might
be ima-lncI, but slckiIuess.l When lie showed
temper she said, with change of voice that
would have suited an actress I'm sorry rvo
got no spirit gool enough for you, Mr.. Cra1,
but you'll set |: ~ the next shop, which was
exactly eleven miles OF. With this carefuiuess
for the welfare of her neighborS, she was not
IT all above making i close bargaIa, and feel
convinced (lud, indeed, my housekeeper never
let's me forget ~ that paid more than ought
10 hav9 done toc sOuo bandaaaS that l bought
at he" sLOU.
From MS woman, who talked upon all sub
Jects en- amore, heard 4 great deal ab)ut Old
Mrs. Gr2ni and Jean, and everything heard
was - Tue credit Of BOTH The old woman had
been An excellent mother 10 a delicate dau5h-
ter who "ied Of a broken heart or the sudden
death of her husband. The only grand
I Ira,;,,,, Kenneth nx A1 tEo had been
ana, ~ was often the case in Scotland
before school boards came in the way he had
received 4 first rate education, and had turned
OUT by sll accounts line young fellow, steady
and clever
Mrs Grant had come to Burnside more than
the placa; no one knew why she had come
there. or anything about her antecedenis. II
WAS supposed the old laird was acquainted
with her story, bu5 he never had told it to
anyone. He hal requested his nephew and
successor to allow her 10 live out her
life rent free, and, III addition 10 this.
small yearly sum was paid to her from
some unknown source She was necessarily
busy, ami her spinning and knitting were quite
famous. Jean had gone 10 her when she was
well grown girl Of ten, and the relations between
them were more those Of mother and child
than Of mistress and servant. When she had
been there TWO or three wears misfortuuss be-
gan 10 come and they never came snglv
Widow Grant fell and hurt herself so much
that she did no5 recover the injury: then she
had paraytlc stroke, anu by degrees sank
INFO the complete state vi helptessness IN which
she was when | first made her acquaintance
Jean devotion was uuceasnG, and her spin
ming aud kr !ttiUS filled up the gap when the
poor woman WAS helpless Very confused aud
various accounts We're given of how aud why
Kenneth had goue away. All that Ceopte
knew for certain was that Jean. for the first
and only lime since she had lived ri Burnside,
had gone IL SEye, and returned only the very
day Kenneth had left for New Zealand, aud
that hey had not met
Not long after his departure the little sum
of money which made the small household 50
comfortable suddenly ceased; and Widow
Graut had refused, in excited and deter
mined manner, 10 allow any inquiries to be
made about It. Jean acQuiesced Their wants
were very few, but everybody said that since
henneEhs departure she had not looked the
same, and it was evident that, as in all life's
histories romance was woven through il all.
Though why, as by all acc UNITS Kenneth had
been '+a!r SET on having her for his wife, she
should have refused him, and have actually
been the cause of his leaving the country, was
beyond the comprehension of every one.
NV visits to Burnside became of great inter
est to me. The old woman began TO look for
ward to my arrival with much evident pleas
ure, and tue freshness and originality of Jeans
remarks were very pleasant She had read
nothing save the pages of nature 20 lavishlv
distributed around her; but everything came
with such acute observance and her mind
naturally was refined that used to fael
when with her rs if had more to learn
from her than she could learn from me.
CHAPTER Ill
shall always remember certain autumnal
day, not long before left this Highland spot
dav when the golden haze of an ''lndlan sum-
mer' filed tine air In a valley stretching
away through the hills some oats were ready
10 cut, aud nei Shboring farmer who had i'm
ported the first reaping machine to that part
of the country had lent it for the occasion.
Every one turned ont as though it were 4
festival. In harvest many respectable mare
rled woman earns enough to ciOthe herself and
her children for the rest of the year The
hOLA - pLcdSdNL ~ bueul, anu ll6y are rs
proul Of their Quickness and deXterity as auy
London belle OF her prOwess i'll dancing. 1t
was certainly one OF the prettie5t sights ever
saw; the many cOlors of the various dresses
the activity and merriment the machine
worked round the field, leaving the straight
lines Of PROSTATE corn in Its track in regular
rows. Al stated Intervals one woman and a
man were placed; deXt3rous little
band, woven from the cut corn, was laid on
the ground, and an armful of corn laid upon
II; then the mans strong fingers knotted the
ond round it. and set the sheaves upright The
driver and his fellows hurried on the horses
and tried to keep the workers busy; and the
workers, with many 3 laugh and Jest, exerted
themselves with their utmost quickness in
| order to stand ostentatiously idle before the
machine came round again Seated on the
| hillside, where the lingering gorse flowers and
wild thyme attracted countless bees. watched
the scene, trying to distinguish the faces /
knew.
After little while I recognized Jean, her
active and upright figure one of the busiest
there. As usual, she was bareheaded, and her
| hair cleaned like red gold in the sunllghtt As
| usual, too, her manner had the quiet reserve
| that she never laid aside; and q noticeable
thing was the silent respect which the man
| with whom she worked treated her. He fol-
| lowed her footsteps as though one wishing to
| serve her, not as eQual
| sat long enjoying the peaceful and happy
scene-familiarity had only made me more fond
! of that secluded spot-and l thought had
| learned to appreciate it better; sweet scents
and sounds were all round me. The breeze
swept past me as it rose and died away, ruffiing
| the surface of the sea, and hurrying the flight
of the countless insects that rustled their wings
| among the wild flowers. a..-..
l was reused from my day dream by seeing
| b little barefootod lad 1 knew run off to Jean
and pull her gown. In moment she had
snatched up her plaid, spoken to the manager,
and was gone, followed by the boy. I con.
jectured that the old woman was perhaps ill
but was always afraid of intruding, and
knew that if l was wanted Jean would send
for me. 1 left the hillside and wound
my way up steep path leading homeward.
rcnnand q the ton % On,