Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-10-15

would not get such careful tending as
from Martha. Soon, however, Grace
was enabled TO see her child frequently
at hoydale, for within a twelvemonth
OF her marriage 4 baby-boy was born to
her and as Martha Toose had had an
addition to her family few weeks be.
lore, Mr.. De Roy himself suggested
That his wife's foster-sister should be
engaged as wet-nurse. So Martha came
TO Roydale and two or three times
week honest Richard Toose would
trudge over from the village in the
afternoon, bringing his children to see
their mother, and with them little Rosy
The orphan" Mr.. De Roy, who was
fond of children, liked to see all these
brats racing about his house and
grounds and, from the first, he took
a particular fancy to Rosy, who was
not shy before strangers like the other
pumpkin children, but would Chamber
on to his knees whenever called.
So all would have gone on as well as
deceit can go, if, unhappily, the mind
OF Richard Toose had not got disturbed
by prosperity. So long as he was poor
he had worked hard and been "A we'll
behaved fellow; but since Mrs. De
Roy had been in position to make his
wife secret gifts of money, he had
worked less and taken 10 drinking.
When Martha obtained her situation
at Roydale, Richard ceased to work at
all, and spent almost all his time at the
public-house. He did not prate in lis
cups, for his rustic shrewdness warned
him that he might kill his golden-egged
goose by incautious talking but his
dull soul became inflamed by ambitious
IDEAS. He wished TO become a farmer
then he settled down TO the notion of
owning public-house. The proprietor
of the Trotting Donkey in his village
was going to retire from business, and
offered TO let Toose have his fixtures
and goodwill cheap. To Grace's dis
may, Martha was as much seduced by
this scheme as her husband. 1t pleased
her TO think of becoming the mistress
OF thriving roadside inn. and she an
swered sharply whea Grace combated
her whlm, saying that she could not
bear to let Rosy be brought up in pub
lic-houSe.
81 s'pose, marin, your child woan't
ketch more harm there than moine,"
replied Martha in her broad dialect.
But, Patty, see how your husband
drinks. And he will have more temp
tations To do 80 if he becomes a publi-
can" rejoined Grace, coloring.
"Moy man doan't drink and faint
your bis'ness if he dew" answered
Martha rudely.
This was the first unciyil word she
had ever spoken to her mistress, and 1t
cut Grace 10 the soul, the more 50 As
she felt her helpless dependency. She
had to desist from her opposition /; and
the TOOSe couple having
Mr.. DE Roy, obtained
from him snm of money TO buy the
As soon as Grace'S baby
was weaned, they entered upon the pro-
OF the TrOtting Donkey ,and
from that day a shadow fell on Mrs. De
Roy's life.
There was Il GOODNESS between her
and Martha, and it increased rs the
ToOSes began 10 lose more and more of
their honesty in their new trade. They
had no talents for business and feeling
that they would always have the De
Roys to fall back upon if things went
i'll, they were neither industrious nor
prudent. Their house became booZ.
ing den, where credit was given to the
lowest village tepers, with whom TooSe
and his wife would sit drinking by the
hour. Then gambling and fights took
place on the premises, and the police
had to make bad report of the house
to Mr.. DE Roy, who, being maglS-
trate, took the thing to heart, and re-
with the Tooses. They an
swered with an independence which
him; but Grace pleaded for
her proteqeS with what sickness of heart
Heaven knows J, for she feared being
debarred from seeing her child. AT
first the Tooses had continued TO bring
Rosy to Roydale once or twice week
but soon they left off, saying they had
not time to go out. Then Grace had to
90 and see the child at the inn, where
she perceived that it was getting he
elected, dirty, and was learning ugly
words from the "DOnkey's" diSreputa-
BILE customers. One of the worst pangS
that mother can know, that of seeing
her child ill-cared for without being
able to remedy the evil, thus fell to
Grace's lot {; besides which, now that
the inn was always crowded with loaf
ers, Mrs. DE Roy dared no longer drive
up In her carriage to the door too fire.
lest she should excite atten-
ton. An affTont which she received
one day eventually obliged her to cease
her visits altogether.
She had driven up to the inn on a
summer afternoon, when there was hol-
iday in the village, and she saw Rosy
being dandled on the knees of grimy
fellow of bad character, the village
who was amusing himself
by giving the little thing sups Of beer
out of quart pot, while thrOng of
rustics who looked ON guffawed with
laughter. Seeing Mrs DE Roy, the
blacksmith got up with Rosy in his
arms, and approaching the carriage, ,hic-
coughed in a breath that smelt of hg-
uor "Oi say, murm, this bit o. a girl
Is Just the loikeness o. VOW. If oi seed
yer together, ord think she were
yourn," and he grinned.
The man only meant joke in his
heavy fashion, but Grace turned pale
and faint, thinking her secret was out,
and she drove home well nigh hysteric
with terror.
She did not see Rosy to speak to after
this for three months. Sometimes, a.
she drove through the village with her
tenderly-nurtured boy, lying on the lap
of his new nurse on the front carriage
seat, sac caught sight of the poor aban-
doned mite playing in the mud of the
road with unwashed children, and once
she saw Rosy with her little head band
aged up in brown paper, and looking
pallid and i'll as it ste had had fall.
Yet the mother dared not alight to
fondle her child, because of the gaping
clowns who were near. All this was
horrible, and the secret torments told
on Grace's health, so that her husband