Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1883-06-30

In the morning when you wake, after a night
of healthful repose, refreshed and strong, you
will see her, quickly moving about the hre:
If she notices that you are awake she Will
express her sincere wish that you have had u
good night. And then she glides out OF the
room, YOU get up, put OH your clothes (they
call it ''dress," these days. and sit about the
fire, which somebody has made while you
were asleep.
In a few minutes Uncle Daniel and Will
liam come in, and you learn from them that
soon after you got in bed, weary with your
walk Of Q . er ten, had skinned the buck, cut
it up and put it away and rising at daydawn,
had that very morning taken q tramp OF sew
eral miles. Pretty soon, you have 1ntima.
an hour before you had smeIt the odor of
parching coffee, and soon thereafter heard
the sound of the little coffee mill which was
crushing the fragrant oriental berry: The
old lady always prepared her coffee after the
arrival Of her guasts, and hence 1t was always
fresh. The table would show the same bill
of fare which you had tried the night before,
wi b the addition of ham and eggs, or soft
boiled eggs without the ham. When you
indicated your wish to leave, your horse WAS
brought out, harnessed and hitched to the
vehicle, the baggage slowed away, and you
make the usual inquiry as to the 'damage"
which you have inflicted. To your astonish-
ment, you are told that seventy-f1ve cents Is
ample remuneration for all the services
which they have rendered for your accommo-
dation. After your departure, other way,
~farers, as you were, will take your place, and
meet with the same hearty but u~npretentlous
treatment; and they and you and all that
preceded you, will sincerely wish that they
may ever fare SO well. The recollection of
turkey steak, made from the breast of a wild
joys that are past, pleasant, but still mournful
to the s0uln
1 have said that the house had no adorn-.
ments. It had none. The outside was des-
titute of attraction, and only those who knew
the character of the inmates would ever,
stopping place, Its recommendation lay
within. Like the leaden cssket of Portia.
which 'srather threatened than did promise
aught," it contained the ''counterfeit" of
loyeliness and simplicity. Many places there
were then-and are nowhere, with archi-
beautiful flower gardens, there was no COM
fort, either to the inmates or to the stranger.
MANY q time and oft" in the years gone
by, when a school boy going to and returning
from our state university, where l was .
student(i), when travelling on public or pri-
vate business. or for mere pleasure, l have
availed myself of the hospitality of this plain
dwelling and enjoved the food and lodging
which it always afforded, as we'll as the kind
hearted aud sensible conversation of the
occupants. / have joined the old man and
William more than once on a deer hunt and
sat around :he same campfire, with others, |
who have since been carried across the river |
Of time, and | trust are now with the blest. |
On these and other occasions the father and
the son were true men-gentlemen-it for |
the ASSOCIATION of all persons who mistake not
hne apparel and well chosen language for the
higher and nobler characteristics Of the
heart. When I first met them on q hunt /
had q small shotgun, 16-gauge and 20 inches
long, weighing about Z pounds. Their ideas
Of u deer weapon being q musket of about 10 |
bore In size,4 feet in length and 10 or IL
pounds In weight, they looked with feelings
OF contempt upon my little gum, and regarded
it as only Mt for sparrows and ~snowbirds, or
possibly o squirrel, if perched upon the lower
ofa black jack. But after I had dem
its power by bringing down a fine
deer was at q close range, but never could
q gun a. that do the duty of cold Bet
sey" in securing the skins of more than one |
In that day, and for years beforsS the Sec
ton to which I refer abounded in deer. 1t
was poor and sparsely settled, and intersected i
with streams having wide swamps, which
afforded shelter for these game animals. The |
forests OF iong-leaved pine were then undis- |
turbed by the demand for naval stores. Now
the turpentine getter has visited nearly every
one, searified the trees, made the woods
- liz IA I'LL ny tuIS uleduS Qulte
US much as any other, the deer have been
forced to seek a more quiet retreat. A few
are still left, and when the trees are sworked |
up" and stiffness again comes, 1t may be ex-
inhabit the waste places. But Uncle Daniel,
having ''served his day and generation" has
away never to return; Aunt Polly
for in her day we had no Mollies, Bessies, |
Sallies-has long since gone to the shadow
land, and few are left who equal and none
who anrpasS their virtues.