Smyrna times., 1886-08-04
Miss Winny.
4 STORY OF CANADA AND ENGLAND

Creek. Take chair on the piazza
till dinners ready-we dine early in
these new world parts. Fine farm {?
Well, yes; Indian Greek is a nice
place, if I do own it. All, as far as
you can see-grass lands, cOrnfelds,
woods and creeks-all belong to me.
Stock, too-they call it the best stock
farm in Ontario, believe, and l dare
say they're right. All mine and yet 1
came to Canada twelve years ago with
out even the traditional halfcrOwn in
my trousers pocket. You look sur
prised. Would you like to hear the
story l never tire of telling, somehow.
| began life as the son of village
carpenter in the south of England.
You know that class pretty well, l
dare say, and what gulf was fixed
between me and the vicar of the parish.
And yet-and yet-from the time she
was seven years Old and 1 was eleven,
and she fell down in the dusty road
outside the carpenters shop, and cried,
l picked her up and smOOthed the lit
tie crumpled pinafore and kissed the
dust out of her golden curls, l loved
but one girl in the world, and that was
the wears daughter, Winny Brans-
come.
Madness, you'll say. Well, perhaps
so, and yet a man is but a man, and a
woman; and love comes, whatever
one may do. There's no class distinc-
ton recognized by childhood, and we
were playmates and friends till she
went to boarding school. If Miss
Winny had had a mother, no doubt
things would have been different; but
we were alike in never having known
a woman's care, and the old vicar was
blind to everything but his theological
treatises.
But when she came back from Lon
don boarding school, 4 beautiful young
lady, all smiles and lacas and little
lovely ways-then l knew. l had
tried my best to study and work, and
make myself more like the men she
would meet but what can a lad in an
English village do? I had just enough
education to make every other lad in
the place hate me; and beside the
men of her world ! suppose | cut rather
an astonishing figure. Yet the love Of
her was so beyond all else in me, that
mad, hopeless as l felt it, I had nc
power over myself; and the first time
l caught her alone in the woods-sht
avoided me, saw, and had to watch
for a chance-I told her my whole
story and waited for an answer. She
grew scarlet-a rush of color that
dyed her fair, sweet face-then deathly
white.
Dick, she said, and she was tremb
ling from head to foot, you know it car
never, never be; you know you are
wrong ever to dream Of such thing
Some girls would think it an insult
l know you better; but if my father
heard of this, he would say you haC
abused his kindness to you. Forge
your madness" And she ran away
from me.
l let her go. had seen the blusl
aud tremOr, and guessed that if haC
been Mr.. Lotus, the young squire, in
stead of Dick Hawtry, the carpenter
son, her answermight have been differ
ent. A great resolve sprang up in m,
soul, and took a solemn vow in thOs
June woods. That very night solt
the old shop (my father was dead, ant
had taken the business), and witt
the money l bought an outfit ant
started straight for Canada. 1t wa
pretty tough work at first, but
worked like a galley slave-starve,
and pinched, and saved, and neve
spent a penny on myself except for tn
books I sat up half the night to rea
and study. Well, in this country tn
man who works and doesn't drink
sure to get on and l had a might
purpose in my head. By and by
bought some land dirt cheap, and sol
for three times what l gave for it
then l began to make money fast.
should call my luck wonderful if I b.
lieved in luck, and didn't prefer t
think was helped by a power ia
ADLER than my own. At last, te
years to the very day after set foot q
Canadian soil, bought Indian Cree
farm, and began to build this hous
All the neighbors thought my GOO
fortune had turned my brain, for / Fl
ted it up and furnished it for lad
down to little rocking chair by m
study table, and work basket with
tiny gold thimble in it. And when a
that was finished, / took the first sh
for Liverpool.
Ten years builds city over her
1t doesn't make much change in
Devonshire village. The very gat
+ were still half off the hinges as I lie
y them, only the people were lit
/. older and a triae more stupid; al
4 there was new vicar. Old Branscon
had been dead six months; died vel
poor, they told me; there was nothil
left for poor Miss Winny. My hea
$, gave one great leap when heard tha
!, And Miss Winny? Oh, she had gol
'e governessing with some people wi
: were just off for Canada, and the sh
sailed tomorrow from Liverpool.
The Liverpool express never seemt
. to crawl so slowly before. got the
to find every berth taken on board Il
antarctic, and the captain ragingat &
non-appearance of one of the ere
Without a seconds pause / offered
the vacant place. ! was as strong as
horse and active enough, and thou,
the captain eyed me rather 8
; kance-I had been to the West Fl
tailor on my way through London
was too glad to get me to ask al
questions. So l sailed on the sh
. with my girl, little as she knew it.
saw her the first day or two, looki
so pale and thin that she was like t
ghost of her old self, and yet sweet
10 v,,, QUO, tt,o,, o.,o,. boco,o M. Il