The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1890-04-02
Reaping The Harvest.
Br Kit clover.

BY ht OioVcr'
We were married in the carly spring,
Len Howard and |, and on our way
h his western home we made a stop
to visit his rslstiyes. The map es
we're fringed in pink mistiness and
draped in sunshine, and all day from
their fragrant top came the drone OF
happy holey CATERERS Out. IN the
silent woods, pale hepaticas TUNED
theit faces snnward, and golden adj
der.tougues gazed steadily at the
banks IL moss at their feet. We
brushed aside the rustliDg brown
leaves and gathered great cutters Of
fragrant arbrtus, waxen, and pins
and white. %
Like a dream of loyelinesi were
those spripg days, AMI tile wonder
that tue new relauvas.iu.law wee
seen through a c1ul,ur de r s.. Is,
pecially so was Aunt Emily Howard,
with her fair, rOusd face, soft, gray
e, es and tender mouth. Aunt Emily
was a poet born, and loved all things
fragrant aud delicate aud sweet; aud
would stand a moment with head
bent and taee lighted up with a hap
py smile, every tims she went dIwn
to the we'll to draw a pail OF water.
aud sue would lis en- u catch q few
familiar notes Of the happY little
bro TX r.nnng away down III the
meadow beyond. Size was a poet
BON. l..vusn she did not know il her
self, aud followed the lines in which
she had beeu bed, tie patent, ploi-
ding prose Of everyday livi'g.
III al .nt as VAS our Welt, there Was
che tAing that mslrei Il, and that
weighed hrarily Oh my mind. ]
n"tIced mat gtca' pitchers Of hard ei
der aese br uInt from the cellar sey
esal lines d =, AID that Halle, the
iist,a tea yrar old syn nd only Guild,
Was allowed l., dtias a. much and as
oft II a. he chose.
LEONARD" ! said 10 my husband,
Please don't touch that hard cider
again. I'm not afraid for your sake,
Du. want your influence against it
ou little Hal.ie's account He Is 4
bright, nervous chill, aud | dead to
think what his future will be ifail9W.
I'd 10 gn on Ms he is doing"
80, every oily here has cider.
You knos the apple crop Is immens i,
rad t3sre ar n0ae to poor 10 have
CHER"
Is any uth r crop immense!" /
querld, but Len onlJ pinched my eEs
aud laughed
/ found that my husbands words
we're trus. At every place We stop
ped, f,aiaing pitches Of cider male
their appearance, aud before the visit
was coacluded had become 80 con-
scious OF the general favor in which
cider was held, that my heart turaed
coward and | sad my goOd-byes and
turned mT face westward without
having once opened my lips to remon.
ssrate with the parents Of the MANY
brigat.eyed, ruddy checked boys, as
though had talked 10 some Of the
little fellows, advising them 70 leave
sour cider untouched.
The engine bell rang and the crun
ching wheels mere in mutton Clankl
clankl clankety-clank! went the
wheels; now lower, As we whirled
over some level stretch, and again
louder as we rushed between neigh
boring banks, rising 70 q deafening
roar as the brakeman opened the
door 10 shout some undistinguishable
name. In all the confusion and
| noise, ever close in my ear repeated
| .he sill, small voice, "Yon have been
a coward, you did not do your duty
| And the ponderous wheels cried
Drank! druntl drinketyrdrank!"
like the voice Of some mighty, ayeng.
ing Fate. | tried 10 convince myself
| that il aas no affair Of mine; that thi
sane thing lad been going on fJr
years, probably without disastrous
consequences; tia. possibly, children
60 famtl arized with such abominablc
tasting stuff, for abominable il certain
| ~ was to me, would not form q TASTE
| for liquors; in short, / tried al known
sophistries 70 ease my conscience, ant
drive the haunting remembrance from
my mind.
| That bridal journey will always b,
memorable as u silent war with ID,
subject Of intemperance in general
and parental heedlessaess 10 the evil
Of hard eider-drinking IN particular
In the new home making tie SO ec
was forgotten, or nearly 90, or pos
sibly buried under the beer~irin9inI
.asyou please atmosphere Of the vel
| As Len would no t.uh beer q
in fact, any liquor, and IS the babie
carefully avoided eli things tina
pap" did not do, l had in q measur
forgotten tba. thcrs was sin an
, misery and want IN the drink-urae,
, slums, and had an unconscious sens
that such things were only for tht
/ low order Of humanity that might 4
r most have served as proof u Darwin
. thpnrT Of , vuluti1n That slch thin,