Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-03-26

one thought for himself and two fol
others, shortened the way to lunches
ter, the county town. 1t was a dull
place enough, except on Thursday,
which was market-day. To-day, how
ever, wss Tuesday-the normally dull
est day in all the seven. 1t was there
fore with some surprise that, as he
went along Westgate street towards
the Cross, he came upon the tail of a
little crowd, mostly of boys and girls
from the back alleys, but with others
among them hurrying in the same di-
rection as he, and shouting, while the
corners were blocked up by knots of
women, and the tradesmen were, by
one consent, standing at their doors.
whats up to-day?" Stephen asked
one of these.
''Oh, it's only the soldiers answered
| the man. "A regiment on the march
bound for foreign service against old
Boney, hear say. l wish, for my part,
they'd gone another road; the red
coats do sight more harm than good,
unless they stay for a month that 5
another pair of shoes. Do you want
anything in my line, this fine day?
Hark-there they go!''
As the shop-keeper spoke, flies and
drums far down the street shrilled and
ratified into the The British Gren-
adiers." Stephen could see the glitter
ing points of the bayonets; and the
ragged tail of the march broke out into
a cheer.
Poor fellows!' thought he. 'sAnd
men among them with Patiences of
their own, no doubt: it makes one
ashamed to be happy when one thinks
of war. And might have had to beat
drum or carry musket myself if it
hadn't been for old Tom Blackthorn.
To think that l should have been able
to pay him back for half he's done-it
seems like a dream. But for the better
half; no, that's beyond paying" He
stepped into the best matchmaker and
jewelers. in the town. - | want a gold
ring-quite plain, said he, with more
of shyness than man of mark in Mill
port ought to have felt when conde
scending to make 4 purchase in dead
alive Manchester.
But the man did not smile. What
ever he might have felt once on his
own account, he had become callous to
such things; even plain gold rings were
only in the way of trade. SO he pulled
out a drawerful. large and small, real
gold and sham, thick and thin.
Stephen had already, with his meas
uring tape, marked upon his own little
finger the point where the right ring
should 60 to lit the finger it was made for.
Having chosen the thickest and the best,
he was about to order it to be engraved
on its inner surface with the posy he
had chosen, when his eve was caught
by another, which he had rejected for
being, perhaps, half a shade less thick
than the other, and which happened to
to be already engraved.
He took it up to read, and he started
to see the words
.sLore aOW find ont the aCay.'
There was, of course. nothing won
derful to find any common posy on any
common ring. But it so singularly Gas
he fancied) leaped with his own thoughts
as he had come along the road, that the
finger of Fate seemed to b, pointing out
the one ring in the world for the finger
of Patience Blackthorn. The very
words he had thought of-the words of
her own very song; and as it were
writing themselves for him, without
going through the cold-blooded process
of being engraved. 1t was as though
his own thoughts had flown before him
to the shop, and had stamped them
selves, fresh from his heart, upon the
ring. Lovers are always finding such
adventures, and always thinking them
peculiar to themselves.
:" will take this" said he. The
ieweler, who seemed a taciturn fellow.
nodded. as if bridegroom's fancies
were matters of course, and the pur-
chase was made.
1t was really a very wonderful
thing" thought Stephen. 1T seems
too strange to believe finding a ring
with Just those very words. I'm glad
there must be something out of the
common in this ring; just as there's
out of the common in the
whole story. l shouldn't have believed
such story if I'd been told. Still,
though. when one comes to think of it,
it isn't likely Patience Blackthorn
would be married with a common
ring"
That was the whole of Stephen bust
ness in Manchester that day. Having
had some cold meat and a glass of ale,
for his walk had made him hungry, he
set off to return to Legs Croft by the
same road he had come. But he had
not reached the fifth milestone when it
occurred to him that. as he was taking
a holiday from his holiday, he might as
well 90 home by way of the church
where he was to be married. Of course
he bad seen the church of his native
village many hundred times before;
but then it had been only common
steeple, now it was to become a sacred
building indeed.
To get to Legs Croft by way of the
church one had to leave the road, as l
have said, the fifth stone from the town,
and follow path that led through some
open fields to the top of some low hills,
whence on one side one could
see the lazy smoke and the minister
tower of manchester. and broad river
beyond; on the other. the network of
low, wooded slopes and narrow valleys
in which were hidden Leys Croft and
Welstead, and many another ancient
farm. His back turned to the minister
and river, Stephen looked toward the
woods and pastures. all in their gold
and green, and smiling as if the land
scape were alive and Tapped in the ut
most luxury of peace and verdure. The
chimneys and the turmoil of Millport
had broken his familiarity with the
view, and he was able to regard
the scenes in which he had been
born and bred, and had learned
10 love, with travelled eyes. 1t
seemed impossible with such
before him. to remember that
The world was at war. and that other
just as peaceful of right. and
IS ready to smile with fruit and harvest,
we're at that very hour, maybe, the
of