Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-09-08

) some ut the cottages allured m,
appetite. Que of the best oi these
entered, bu, | had hardly place,
!, my foot within the door, before th
: children snrieked, aud one of tn
: women tainted. The whole villag
/ was reused some fed, some at
l tackled me, until grievousIy bruise,
by stones and many other kinds o
) missile weapons, | escaped TO tn
open country, and fearGully tool
| refuge IN Il low howell, quite bare,
and making a 'wretched appearance
, after the palaces 1 had beheld il
the village. This hovel, however
, Joined a cottage of neat and pleas
ant appearance but after my lat,
dearly bought experience, darec
not enter it. My place of refuge
was constructed of wood, but so low
that could with difficulty sit up
right in it. No wood, however
was placed on the earth, which
formed the floor, but ii was dry
and although the wind entered il
by innumerable chinks, l found il
an agreeable asylum from the snow
and rain.
"Here then | retreated, and lay
down, happy to have founrl a shell
ter, however miserable from the
inclemency Of the season, and still
more from the barbarity of man.
"As soon as morning dawned,
crept from my kennel, that l might
view the adjacent cottage, and dis
cover If could remain in the habi-
tation / had found. 1t was situated
against the back of the coItPge, and
surrounded on the sides which were
exposed by pig-sty and clear
| pool of water. One part was open,
and by that / had crept IN; but
now | covered every crevice by
which | might be perceived with
stones and wood, yet in such 4 man
ner that | might move them on
occasion to pass out; oil the light |
enjoyed came through the sty, and
that was sufficient for me.
Having thus arranged my dwell
ing, and carpeted it with clean
straw, | retired, for l saw the figure
of man at distance, and | re-
membered too well my treatment
the night before, to trust myself in
in his power. / had first, however,
provided for my sustenance for that
day, by a loaf of coarse bread, which
| had purloined, and a cup, with
which | could drink more convent
emily than from my hand, of the
pure water which flowed by my
retreat. The floor was little Fais-
ed, so that it was kept perfectly dry,
and by its vicinity to the chimney
of the cottage it was moderately
warm.
"Belng thus provided, l resolved
to reside in this hovel, until s0me-
thing should occur which might
alter my determination. 1t was,
indeed paradise, compared to the
black forest-my former residence,
the rain dropping branches and
dank earth. / ate my breakfast
with pleasure, and was about TO
remove a plank to get myself a
little water, when I heard step,
and looking through a small chlnk,
/ beheld a young creature, with a
pail on her head, passing before
my hovel. The girl was young
and of gentle deneanor, unlike
what | have since found cottagers
and farm servants to be. Yet she
was meanly dressed, a coarse blue
petticoat and linen jacket being
her only garb; her fair hair was
plated, but not adorned she look
ed patient, yet sad. L lost sight of
her; and in about a quarter of an
hour she returned, bearing the pail,
which was now partly filled with
milk. AS she walked along, SEEM
ingly incommoded by the burden,
a young man met her, whose cOuil-
tenance expressed a deeper despOnd-
ence. Uttering few sounds with
an air of melancholy, he took the
pail from her head, bore il to the
cottage himself. She followed and
they disappeared. Presently l saw
the young man again, with some
tools in his hand, cross the field
behind the cottage, and the girl
was also busted, sometimes in the
house, and sometimes in the yard.
"On examining my little dwell
ing, | found that one of the win
ddWs Of the cottage had formerly
occupied part OF il, but the panes
had been filed up with wood. In
one of these was a small and almost
imperceptible chink, through which |
the eye could just penetrate. |
Through this crevice'a small room !
was visible, whitewashed and clean, |
but very bare of furniture. In one
corner, near small fire, sat IN old |
man, leaning his head on his hands
in discOnsolate attitude. The \
young girl was occupied in arrang-
ing the cottage, but presently she !
took something out of a drawer |
which employed her hands, and she |
sat down beside the old man, who,
taking up an instrument began to
play, and to produce sounds, sweet
er than the voice of the thrush or
the nightingale. 1t WAS lovely /
sight, even to me, poor wretch
who had never beheld aught beau
tiful before. The silver hair and
countenance Of the aged
cottager won my reverence, while
the gentle manners OF the girl en-
ticed my love. He played IL sweet
air, which j perceived
drew tears from the eyes Of his
aIuiable companion, OF which the
old man took no notice, until she
sObbed audibly; then he pronounced
a few sounds, and the fair creature,
leaving her work, knelt at his feet.
He raised her, and smiled with
such kindness and affection, that |
felt sensations Ola peculiar and over
nature; they were a mix
lure of pain and. pleasure, such as /
had never before experienced, either
from hunger or cold, warmth or
food and / withdrew from the
window, unable TO bear these emo
tions. H
"Soon after this the young man
bearing on his shoulders
a load of wood. The girl met him
at the door, helped to relieve him
Of his burden, and takieg some OF
the fuel into the cottage, placed ii
on the fire, then she and the youth
went apart into a nook OF the cot
tage, and he showed her large
loaf and a piece OF cheese. She4
seemed pleased and went into the
garden for some roots and plants,
which she placed in water and then
upon the fire. She afterward con-
tinued her work, while the young
man went into the garden, aud APP
Deared busily employed i'm digging
and pulling up roots. After he had
been employed thus about AN hour,
the young woman joined him, and
they entered the cottage together.
"The old man had, in the mean
time, been pensive, but on the APP