, 1886-01-24
RED EARS AND KISSES.

The corn Ind all been cut and piled
away in great stacks in the huge
barns. The Canadian landscape had
been clothed several times in siIvery
frost. The rye was peeping up through
the upturncd fields, and the first week
of the farmers season Of leisure had
passed. In that great stretch of level
country about Stratford, where farmers
reap as rich harvests as are garnered
anywhere in the Dominion, n pro
gruInme Of fun had beer prepared by
the young men and There
We're com-huskings where red ears
brought kisses, surprise parties, where
nobody was surprised, straw rides, APP
ple-paring parties, and gatherings where
the staid ~cotilion was danced 10 the
music of a violin. The first event of
the fall Of 1889 was an apple pairing.
This whetted the appetites of the oun
try folks, and everybody was eager for
the big corn-husking that was TO bring
all the beaus and bellies into the big barn
of Farmer Treuette. Ii was known to
the young, manifested farmers that
Sally Treuette, the only daughter of the
old farmer, was to guide the course of
eyents during the husking, and hat a
great many red grains Of corn had been
mingled with the white grains that had
been dropped in the corn hills in the
spring. Every red grain Of corn meant
an ear of the same color, and every ear
meant one kiss to the finder, and per-
haps more if he could smuggle the ear
forward again.
There was another circumstance that
added an unusual excitement to the
husking. Sally Treuette was a rosy
checked, plump, raven-haired lass whose
roguish eyes had made sad havoc with
the hearts Of nearly all the young men
for miles around. There was hardly
one Of them whom she had not smiled
upon at various times and whom she
had not snubbed numerically after
ward. Red-haired Jim Radford, who
owned forty acres of fine farming and
near st. Mary's, and Owen Jones, a
sharp-feathered Yankee, who had
opened a country store near the railway
station in S%tratford, had Zach sworn in
the most solemn manner TO marry Sally
or prevent her from marrying anybody
else. Radford was tall, broad-shoul-
dered, and strong of limb, with muscles
hardened by work. Jones was tall,
slim, and angular, with hectic cheeks
and a sharp cough that told of weakness
and disease, but lied every time they
told it. He was like many old stone
houses in the neighborhood. The more
they settled and the worse they APP
peared the stronger they We're. Rad
ford xrna nlkyapa narxrn1u and i'll af aaaa
when he was in the presence of Sally,
but Owen was always able to talk a
streak and tell marvellous and interest
ing stories of adventure that were very
entertaining to the unsophisticated
Sally. She liked Radford for his worth
and Jones for what he seemed to be.
The night of the husking came at last.
The silver resent of the new moon
hung in the west. The air was Just
frosty enough to be invigorating. A
string of twinkling lanterns hung across
Farmer Treuette's barnyard. Lanterns
swung from rusty nails all over the in
terror Of the barn. The unhusked ears
of corn had been torn from the stalks
and heaped in n great pile in the enter
OF the barn. Store boxes, upturned nail
kegs, and rough benches formed "A circle
about the pile. The old, rambling farm
house 100 yards away blazed with lights.
1t was crowded with elderly men and
women preparing, in n bustling. gar
rulous way, the refreshments. Sally,
clad in the brightest calico purchasable
in Jones store, with punches of bright
ribbons at her throat and in her hair,
fitted about like n speck of color in an
ocean of somberness. Canadian farmers
always make as much noise us possible
when they are out fora jollification, and
:he jingling of bells, the Gathering of
wagons, and shouts from vigorous lungs
made the night air culver. Young men
and women oon appeared in the farm
yard, and peals of laughter were heard
coming from the barn. Sally shook
hands with everybody who appeared,
and welcomed them all in n sprightly
fashion. Then the work of husking be
gan at once, for both men and women
We're eager for the dancing that was to
follow it. Radford seated his big form,
adjusted a hickory corn-peg ON his
strong right hand, and soon a stream of
glistening ears was flying over his left
shoulder. Jones sat right opposite him,
where the ears bulged out MS if to meet
him. The others sat wherever they
could find seats, or stood back and
dragged little piles a ears toward them.
Almost the first ear that Jones husked
was n red one. He arose deliberately,
walked over 10 where Sally was sitting,
and kissed her before she knew what
his intentions We're. She uttered n little
scream. and Radford half sprang from
his seat.
"Whatcher doin'g' he asked angrily.
Keep cam" said Jones, smilingly;
vars a red ear"
Everybody laughed uproariously eN-
cept Radford. Jones had hardly seated
himself again before he found another
red ear, and again he kissed Sally with
an JUNCTION that filled Railroads heart
with envy. Jones found the red ear
persistently, but nobody else succeeded
in getting any, and the laugh that had
heralded his success finally gave place
10 mutterings Of discomfort.
look yer" said Radford. suddenly;
-all those yer ears must he left whar all
kin see EN-. No repeatin', mind yer"
A little applause greeted this, but it
was hushed when Jones said, sarcastic
ally;
Thar they be. A goodlier pile than
ye'd husk in twicet ther time"
He pointed behind Sally at a pile Of
red corn. Still Jones found nothing
but red ears and Sally got all the kisses.
Nobody else found any, and the com
mon discomfort was apparent when the
pile hal finally dwindled away. Then
"A fiddler began scraping out wheeling
dance music, for Jones success had cast
n damper IN tho party and the merry
tt... l~a...l