Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-12-19
"ThE DUCHESS"
CHAPTER VIH.-CoxTINUEp.


nohow. When ye're married, Miss Norah,
never bate your gcssoons.
The Duchess laughs again.
I'm remember" she says, moving on q
step or two with a friendly nod as fare
well.
"Will your father give that tree?" asks
Denis, curously, when they are out of
hearing.
"Why, yes. OF course"
But l thought, from what he said, that
he was rather indignant with the people
round here, rather inclined to be hard on
them, and -and-that."
The Duchess turns upon him glance
filed with fine contempt.
"And have you lived with dad four days
and doa't know him YETI" she says. "You
havn't found him out Why, he can't say
NO to one of thsm. He is as good as q
father to them. He abuses both the tenants
and laborers from morning till night like
pickpocket, but he treats them like friends.
or course she'll get that tree; and if the
men are all employed he will in oil proba-
bility go out and cut down for her him.
seH.''
81 see," says Denis, thoughtfully. Then:
what did she want her stick fors''
"Did you not hear? To prop up her
roof, which is falling in. She does not do
mand the restoration of tho roof, as you
may notice, but simply begs prop for it.
Dad will see to tho proper mending OF it
before the .wintor, no doubt, if-if he has
the money; but there are 50 many roofs and
all out of repair"
She signs.
"How you take things to heart" says
he, looking at her with some speculation in
his gaze.
'Oh, these poor creatures, what they
sufer!' cries she suddenly, with little
touch Of passion in her tone. "No one
knows it save those who live amongst them,
and they not always. Why should l not
take it to hearth Am l not flesh and blood
as they are? Must 1 not feel for them?
And every day, every hour, one is ooTl-
PEELED 20 take them to heart. Why, only
last winter man came to dada lacore--
begging for work; and he told us that the
cabin in which he livoi had such holes in
the rof that the rain came pattering in on
them even when they were in bed, 10 and
his wife and three little children. Often,
10 told dad, when he got up at o'clock on
winters morning to so 10 his work ne was
SO frozen in bed that it was reliet to him
to get out of it.
GOOD heavens, what melancholy
story" says Delaney, perhaps only half
believing. He spent little of his time in his
native land.
"Why, that is nothing. Hear the rest of
it, First one little child died. Then it was
lie came to dad beseeching him to give him
any cabin he could and work ON Ballyhinch.
We are wretchedly poor oursolves," says
the Duchess, tears rising to her eyes, ''but
/ we managed the cabin for him; a miserable
little hoe comfortless enough, but at all
events tho rain could not come in. He
cane and took possession, but a week after
ward his wife diei-died from exposure
and cold in that other dreadful house,
"But the owner of that other house
what OF him' lid he escape scot freeY'
asks Dents, with some indignation. "What
right has any landlord TO give his laborer
such a miserable hut TO live in. Call such
a fellow as that gentlenan?'
Il didn't" reasons t~ Duchess mildly.
~ didn't coll him anything; and it wasn't
a landlord eithor-it wasn't gentleman
it was farner-the farmers are ALWAYS
the worst. No landlord would have treated
q labp'rer so, at least not one that know
OF. Yeu think this solitary instance, bat
'udeed they are always SO poor and so
\. ati mt that my heart bloeds for them; aud
not thing is done for thesn-nothing. II /
was Queen Victoria ~
''What little rebel you are!''
81 am no., indeed. You mistake me. 1
quito hate and de.est ell those wicked men
who incite the people to rebellion and to
murder. l heartily coLde1n all these
Leagues and this iniquitous Plan of Cam
paign, which Will help only to pauparize
the already moneyless nation. Indeed"
looking at him with large earnest eyes, ~
think OF nothing, l dwell on nothing, but
only how hest to improve the miserable con-
dition of the laborers and their wives"
"They do seem in want OF help, l must
say; but
"Was there ever so mild, so cheerful, so
gracious n people? Always a smile for one
and civil word! A gentle, loving, do
mesticated people, who want so little, SO
little, so little to make them happy. Day
after day they toll, and what are the
wages Cne shilling and sixpence day,
nine shilkngs week. And out of That
they must clothe and feed wife and chill
dren, sometimes SO many childreni And
rent besides because tho, o laborers who get
a house and a quarter of an acre Of ground
free only get six shillings n week. To me
it is a marvellous thing how nll this is dono.
Nine sht,RnSs n week. What n little sum,
and yet all you English people tah Denis, 1
am afraid you are only half PaddyD ac-
cure these poor creatures Of bong thriftscss,
careless, eXtravagant Extravagant on
nine sh!llings weekv'
I "They never save, you cry. Save with
scarcely enough pennies to keep body and
soul together; and yet they do, poor souls.
They scrape together coin after coin until
they have enough to buy their zig, and
then it, too, must be fed"
81 wish you wouldn't look at me like
that, " says Denis. 81 feel as If | should
like to cry. It's rather mean Of you,
think, to bring me to this lonely spot, where
am beyond succor, and then ill-treat me
es you arc doing"
"Chl / am not thinking Of you," says
she scornfully. 81 am only thinking Of the
poor around nc, and want 10 mako you
and every one think of them. In spite of
all Il at can DO laid TO their charge believe
them to DO tho most enduring, the most
long suffering race OH earth. Do you know
that they Il am talking Of tho poorer class,
the laborers, large class, rememher) never
taste meat? II is not that they don't have
it ofIen, that they have it only, perhnps,
on high days and kslianys-it is that they
have it never. From years end TO years
end they never SEQ IL. Yet how small, hn,
been their complaining To me it all
seems dreadful. do not wonder at this
7 hateful agitation. | am only surprised