Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1890-11-06

ny MARIAF ". II. COLLINS.


Halloween,
nY MARIAT ". II. COLLINS
on sunny little spot on the eastern
side of Rathlin Island where the water
was ever murmuring aud rushing, stood
the little cabin OF Bob MacAllonie. an
honest, industrious fisherman, who earned
a comfortable living for his wife and his
canny daughter, Jeane | will lead you
in fancy to the threshold of the little cab
in you can see the fishers wife, a pretty
delicate woman, husily engaged in clear
ing away the supper, frugal meal, which
| consisted Of oatcn bread boiled milk and
few pieces Of fish which was roasted on
the peat fire which lighted the little room.
In one corner stands the old loom. in the
other the little ilaN wheel. whose hnzzlng
| answers the murmurs of the distant chan
nel-the old heirloom Of the Mac cAldonies
on the corner shelf and its well-thumbed
pages telling Of it, frequent use, beside ii
few toys which were cut from the ma
tive Ok: the little benches which are
placed against the wali-the sound Of the
old bagppc> filling the whole scene with
| ,he music Of "Auld Lang Syne." till worn
out with melody. the inmates Of the little
cabin sink into rcpo-c. but before which,
a prayer in unison i waited 10 the Author
| Of life.
Thus lived the happy MacAldonIe fam
| lily. But In life, when the sun is brightest
and nearly overhead, the astrola5e Of sor-
| row will clint to the very arch Of happi-
ness and bring down to the dim horizon
our fonde>t hore', purposely to demon
>trate our utter dependence. There came
day which brought to this happy little
circle a fearful change. one day while
| the fisherman was out on the water, yio-
/ lent storm burst upon him and being una
Die 10 manage his boat II ccpsized and
drifted away on the broad Atlantic and
the soul Of honest Bob MacAldouie drift
cd 10 his Creator In les than one year
hi> broken-hcart,d wife seemed in ncr
ing, and tired Of waiting and watching by
the sounding sea, became i'll and died
leaving their only child Jcanic, au or
phan.
,leanic made her home with a ncighbor,
for nearly >ix months. who would gladly
have kept her longer but who. on account
Of extreme poverty. had to 60 with the
older members Of his family. far away
| over the firth to Ay>hire, TO reap the har-
vcst. Jeanie was 10 20 with them; so
came the day when the little party of reap
er> left their own little island home, some
! to return. Others to earn what money they
| could and sail for America. Jeanie vas
now a girl Of fifteen with fine complex
| ion and an abundance Of auburn hair, and
| a voice mellow and sweet as the voice of
| spring. She soon reached Ayrshire AMI
was seen reaping with the rest.
The harvest time drew to close and
the reapers We're all going away-all but
her employer and he was to allow her
| eighty shlling> year, to supcrintend the
| work of the dairy. She was not long in
the family before Donald Stuart, the only
son Of the farmer, became enamoured
with her and often lonaed for the time
when his father would give him his share
| of the fortune. Jeane dare not allow her
self to think of Donald Stuart or his
wealth. She had few pounds left after
the sale of some of the family chattels
and with what she could earn during the
year She would save for her journey to
America.
| Many times Donald Stuart would slyly
say, ''Jeanie We Gamma gang awa'-wait
ye, the auld hame will be brighter to ye
soon" But Jeanie half feared the young
gallant and was 10th to stay longer than
the merry harvest time.
The merry days came and found old and
young looking forward to Halloween.
Whoever has Travelled over the hills and
brays of dear old Scotia or has had an op-
portunity to associate with the honest, in
nocent-minded inhabitants, cannot have
failed to observe the manner in which the
people prepare to celebrate this feast For
many days previous, old and young make
preparations. 'Tis come. At the Stuart
farm are gathered all the people Of the
neighborhood, who amuse themselves
with song and dance; many who are anx-
ious about the future try projects. Some
name kernels of corn and throw them into
the blazing fire and if they pop at the
same time, It's considered a sure sign of a
marriage before the year closes; many
such magic tricks are tried and with song
and music of the bagpipes, the evening
passes away pleasantly and the old house
is merry from cellar to tiles.
At last the crowd disperses with good
night songs, and in the silvery moonlight
Jeanie braids her hair says the little PRAYER
which her mother taught her and sinks
down on her little bed, but not withou,
thinking of the long journey which she is tc
begin on the morrow or of Donald Stuart
What magic would she try? In momen
|
jects. She would turn her smock! Yes. .aut
in dreams some one would come and offe
to turn the snowy garment for her TIL,
moon, passing behind the fieecy clouds
stopped longer than usual and veiled he
silvery light, till Jeanie closed her eyes an,
dropped TO sleep. In her dreams Jeani
saw the strange land. She cried in fame
when the prov of the steamer furrowe
the grand old ocean upon which she seem
ed to be tossing-new forms and ne,
, faces-and one which seemed to pleas
her, but 1t was not Donald Stuart's!
Morning called to duties very many VIII
would gladly have fingered in delightfl
dreams. In few moments of preparation
Jeanie was ready to bid adieu to the man