The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-03-17

good many people Ill OrQef. That half-dropped hint that some day they'd find he had remembered them, acted as wonderful "open sesame" to hearts and hands. He was half-fed out of this generosity, and, it being about Christmas time when he sud- denly died, the seasonable presents which came in furnished the baked meats for his funeral feast.
 Peter Grant at distance, working hard to support himself and his motherless boy, had not even received an invitation to the funeral. So com- pletely had his uncle ignored him that he had gone clean out of other peo- ple's memories, until, no will being found, no will being heard of, it grad ually dawned on those present that Peter, the dead mans only brothers only son, was the next heir and right ful owner to the property.
 Not very much as we might view it, but things are measured by con- parison, and to those who are labor ing for others a little bit of land of their own, though numbering no more than two hundred acres, seems a very enviable possession.
 Pick holes as they might in Peters past disobedience and present ignor- ance-for he had chosen a sailors life and knew very little about farming no one could say his head was turned by his unexpected good fortune. He took possession in such humble way that he seemed to be apologizing to those around him, and if it had not been for his boy he would have been disposed to sell the farm and share the proceeds with those who openly de- clared they had a better right to it than he had.
 With an accurate knowledge of her sons disposition, Mrs. Grant had made long journey to see him installed in his new home. She prided herself on never shirking her duties, and while deploring the necessity of leaving her own comfortable little house, where she lived surrounded by her three well-to-do married daughters, she gave it as her intention to remain at Winscott, her sons farm, until she saw him comfortably settled and mar ried.
 Already her eye was fixed on the right wife for him to have, and only waiting until the place was in proper order. She had sent an invitation to certain second cousin, who, as good luck would have it, was a buxom widow well-disposed to take another partner. The widow had nice sum of money at her own command, be- sides which she was mistress of a comfortable little roadside inn, which sine said she found tiresome to man. age, and wished that in it's stead she had farm to leok after.
 This wish decided Mrs. Grant. Knowing that the wish would be re- peated to her she viewed it as an over ture, and as Mrs. Pollard lived but twenty miles away she sent message begging that Cousin Selina, as she called her, would come to Winscott for few days stay.
 Mrs. Pollard accepted the invita- tion, and the visit paid in the early summer had gone off famously.
 Peter, quito innocent of the motives which had brought her there, well comed her most cordially. She was a bright-eyed, good-looking woman, and, though close upon forty, bore her years so we'll that she looked younger than Peter, who was ten years her junior.
 Like all sailors, Peter had very lxus snrsnnr xr,skl& Cousin Selina, little prompted to it By Mrs. Grants well-dropped hints and suggestions, began to think seri- ously of the matter.
 She went into the capabilities of the land with business like precision, and finally decided that, with the help of her money and supervision, it might be worked into very prosper ous concern.
 There were drawbacks; one more especially-Peter's little son. Mrs. Pollard did not care for, had not been used to children, could not be bothered with them. But perhaps his grand mother would take him; if not, she could find some one who would. Of course the child must be provided for until he could earn his own living {; but, considering what she remembered about the mother, no one would ex- pect her to treat such woman's child as her own.
 "Poor Peter!" Mrs. Pollard did not disguise from his mother that she saw many reasons for pitying him. He had no more head for business than a baby. It might be true that he worked hard himself, but those about were not worth quarter the wages he gave them, and she enumerated the few laborers who, hitherto ground down to the last farthing by his mis- erly old uncle, Peter had kept on at tpcrao oor