Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-10-23
ana glad looking forward to tne coming
of the sprinp


And the shivering kinds are glal to hide
Away from tho winter weather.
CnoRus-
But soon the birds will begin to sing,
And we will sing too my dear,
To give good welcoming TO the spring
In the primrose time o. the year,
Hark how the black lake. torn and tost,
Tn un ders along its shores,
And the burn is hard in the grip Of the frost,
And white, snow white, are the moors.
c HORUs-
But soon the birds will begin to sing, eto.
o, then the warm west winds will blow,
And all in the sunny weather,
It's over the moo rlands we will go.
You and l, my love, together.
CHORUS
And then the birds will begin to sing,
And we will sing too, my dear,
TO give good welcoming to the spring
In the primrose time o. the year
Why surely the blood must have been
dancing in his brain when he wrote that,
and the days white and clear around him,
and life merry and hopeful enough. And
now? Well, it was no gladdening thing
to think of: he listlessly put away the
book.
pail of water and thrust his head into
that-for he was glad to feel that this
muzzy sensation was going; and there
after he dried and brushed his hair with
little more care than usual, and put Oh
u clean collar Nay, he began to put the
riUnfS-nnn
land lodges had taught him how to do
that rs well as any woman could and he
tried to brighten the window panes IL lit
tie, to make the place look more cheerful,
and he arranged the things Oh the mantel-
shelf in better order with the bit of white
heather in the middle. Then he came to
his briar-root pipe, and paused. lie took
it up, hesitating.
Eyes, my friend. you must go too" he
said with 1lrm lips; and he deliberately
broke it, and tossed the fragments into the
CRATE.
And then he remembered that it was
nearly three clock and as he feared that
Kate MenzeS might send some one OF her
friends to fetch him, or even come for him
herself, he put on his cap, and took u
stick in his hand, and Went out. In half
an hour or 50 he had left the city behind
him, and was lost in that melancholy
half-country that lies around it on the
north; ont he cared little now how the
landscape looked; he was wondering what
had brought Meenie to Glasgow town.
she had heard of him. And at lnver-
Mudal too ? Well they might think the
worst OF him there if they cnose. Bat had
Meenie heard
He scarcely knew how far he went, but
in the dusk Of the evening he was again
approaching the city by the Great " est
ern Road and as he came nearer to the
houses he found that the lamps were lit,
and the great town settling down with
the gloom of the night. Now he feared
no detection, and so it was that when he
arrived at MelroSe Street he paused there.
4 Should he venture into Queen Crescent !?
/ it was but IA stones throw away. + or
he guessed that Meenie must be staying
with her sister, and he knew the address
that she had given him, though he had
never called nay, he had had the curiO5-
ity, once or twice in passing, to glance at
the house, and easily enough he could
now make it out if he chose. He hest
tated for a second or two then he stealth
lily made his way along the little thor
oughfare, and entered the crescent-but
keeping to the opposite side from Mrs.
Gemmlll's dwellng-and there quietly
walked up and down. He could see the
windows well enough they We're all of
them lit, and the house seemed warm and
cOmfortable Meenie would he at home,
there, and among friends, and her bright
laugh would he heard from room to room.
Perhaps they had company too-since all
the windows were aDlaze rich folk, no
doubt, for the Gemmllls We're them
selves well-to-do people, and Meenie
would be made much of by these
strangers, and they would come round
her, and the beautiful Highland eyes
would be turned toward them, and they
would hear her speak in her quiet, gentle,
quaint way. Nor was there any trace of
envy or jealousy in this mans composition,
outcast as he now deemed himself.
jealousy of Meenie why, he wished the
bountiful heavens to pour their choicest
blessings upon her, and the winds to be
forever soft around her, and all sweet and
gracious things to await her throughout
her girlhOod and her womanhoOd and her
old age. No; it did not trouble him that
these rich folks were fortunate enough to
, be with her, To listen to her, to look at the
clear, frank eyes; it might have troubled
him had he thought that they might not
, fully understand the generous rose sweet
: ness of her nature, nor fully appreciate
her straightforward, unconscious sim
plicity, nor be sufficiently kind to her.
And it was scarcely necessary to con-
!, slider that; of course they all of them
would he kind to her, for how could they
help it?
But his guess that they might be enter
tanning friends wa, wrong. By-and by a
cab drove up in a few minutes the door
was opened he ventured to draw little
nearer, and then he saw three figures
! one of them almost assuredly Meenie-
, come out and enter the vehicle. They
, drove off no doubt they were going tC
some concert or theater, he thought; and
he was glad That Meme was being anus
ed and entertained so, and was among
frie nds. And as for himself p
well" he was inwardly saying as he
} resumed his walk hOmeward, the dreams
) that look so fine when one is up among
3 the hills are knocked on the head sure