Daily Republican., 1885-06-20

The old man cAu afford
To ante up the wherewithal
To take the folks abroad. IL
II
JUNO. ].
BY KATE A. JORDAN. III
She WAS only slave-Juno
Standing by . hay.rack with hands
slasped behind, rare feet crossed list.
lessly, head m0urnfully on the side.
large eyes black and shining. Allied with
} lonely sadness and spirituality which
tho thin, black face, poor
Juno was the very picture OF misery
and dull hopslessness.
From her earliest memory, that inner
self which We all possess had been laid
upon the rack Of cold treatment, harsh
words and thankless labor ; yet, even at
seventeen her heart was not bitter, and
Q smile on her lips was no rare occur
renee.
This brief rest by the hay-rack was
her only breathing time. Her thoughts
now were full Of the young master who /
had ridden from the gates Of Cameron
Lodge months before under tho ban Of
his fathers implacable displeasure, to
shape his fortune unaidod and alone In |
the great world.
Il wonder what under oil dis sky Ia |
yo' now, Mas Edwards. Twan't right |
mo- just to drive y0' away for loving
pretty Miss VentnOr who WAS not 30 aw.
full high and mighty As would suit old
massA. 30 handsome, SO sweet, 30
roll,ckin' a. 20 was showed off on de
cold world like an old coat cause 20
did what your kind heart said ! But
loves you-oh, jes de came Cameron
Lodge has always been lonesome to me
sence yo' went away. Juno loves vol"
she murmured aloud, looking upward
and speaking the words in sweet,
thrilling tones, Juno loves yo' for
ebber-yo, who took her part and
'couraged her, and was not toO proud to
call her little juno and not 'yo' lazy
bonesl'
The sky in the distance, crimson and
silver fiecked, seemed TO rest tenderly
on tie tops Of the wood covered hills.
A peaceful hush was over everything ;
the balmy airs of Indian summer rus
tied among the reddening leaves, and
blew gently on Juno's cheeks and brow.
The glow Of fires smothering on cabin
hearths made fantastic shadows on the
grass, and the song Of the negroes trudR-
ing homeward from tho cotton fields
reached her cars with faint, resonant
sweetness.
"Swing low, sweet chariot"
Juno hummed with them,
l"Coming for to carry me home!
l looked ACROSS Canaan, ard what did Il sec
A band Of angels coming after me,
Coming for TO carry me home ~
She walked listlessly down the road,
beating up clouds of dry dust with hel
bare feet, and turned into o narrow
path In the woods, where no sound but
the swish of squirrels tail stirred the
J bracken, and the tender gloom of eGrly
: twilight filled the forest with a golden
haze.
\ A long way Juno wandered, parting
: the brambles fearlessly, and clearing
!, wide brooks at jump.
She stopped suddenly, her large eyer
rolled with fright she caught her breatf
and stepped back.
!, Something lay directly in her path OF
the very edge OF narrow stream Of
, water bubbling over the rocks.
When the first moment OF excessive
= fear was past. Juno saw that 1t wa
) q mans body, turned on the side, hi
: face hidden on his arm.
Was he dead, dying. or merel'
= asleep?
He wore the clothes of gentleman
. and there was something expressive o
helplessness In his attitude.
Il She dropped on one knee and touche
him roughly, her intent, black fac
n looking strangely weird in the hal
light. The man did not move.
- She turned his head gently aroun,
X peered down in It, and hoarse, gas
10 ing cry left her lips.
u, "Oh, Massa Ed ward-dear Massa E'
wardt" she moaned, and then shoe
f. him frantically in her endeavor to roui
y, him.
lis He opened his eyes slowly ,languidl
and she saw for the first time that b
VI akin bore the imprints of that dead
a southern fever which had ravaged Il
Dr. country for miles arou. A, and Whit
had stricken him dow 4 as 1t had stric
Az en- hundreds of others, without m
let ment's waning.
: "Juno," the stif, parched lips gaspe
- TT had come to take last look at &
~, ,o old house weeks ago. before leaving
foreign parts-but this deadly disease
: racks me through. Promise-do n
30 bring me home!"
70, "Not to the Lodge, but to old Mercy
: own cabin which STAINS all alone by
T. lCIu pAtCu. Anu uOW Cdu w Did
12t up" she asked excitedly, tears cou
ing down her cheeks, and scarcely 81
At OF essed sobs breaking from her lips
ih comes. "Try and rise. Can yo' sts
up and lean on me? Juno will hi
you aloDg-jes 80 !"
After much difficulty he gained
~ feet, and with head dropping on
z chest, and both arms resting heavily
Ieii Juno's shoulder, they both crept slow
toi along.
= Out from the woods, past all I
2tv familiar hedges and gates he had ola
bered over when a boy, past the trt
IA stream where he had fished, Al0ns
of side path from which could be seen
old home-his no longer-towering II
bars q medieval stronghold of wealth
rom beaten stone against the darkening u
oha But he saw none of these. His Q.
md heavy with the seeds CT the deat
at sickness never looked up once, and
lisf limbs tottered just ~ he reached
iys door of the cabin toward which pc
two struggling Juno was leading him.
now On old Mercy's own bed, divit
ca. from the rest of the cabin by Chi
l curtain, they laid him down the
no q, slave directed the nursing and j.
With obeyed.
Its. "Yo' nebber had the fever" q
son, Mercy. did. Better 90 and les
oct, him with mel"
,r But Juno sat down rssolutely by
Il bed.
ssg. 81 will stay" said she, thou
of him cherry minute sence he wei
VIA, VIA. Jes let me come here and watch b
oiuB ,tarxr utoht