The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1890-04-02
THE RED BEGGAR


little cottage by the side of the road to
the town. TWAS humble, but all about
| It, everything, was always neat and trig,
| SO it was evident that it was not the
dwelling of either sioth or want. A
honeysuclkle climbed up over the door,
and gay flowers bloomed in beds before
| 1t; while on the south was the stand for
the bees, where In straw thatched hives
they stored honey MI day long in sunny
weather.
/ In the cottage lived an old man named
Paul and his wife Barbarer. They were
| very fond Of each other, and had 1t not
been that they had no children they
would have been as happy as the day was
long. As it was, they tried not to miss
too much the prattle of little ones which
the storks would not bring to them, but
went on their way in life, thrifty and
kind to the poor, and doing good when
| 1t offered.
In the morning Paul would go afield
to his work, while Dame Barbarer would
remain at home to do whatever house
hold tasks needed attention and after
ward to spin smooth threads of fax with
her distaff, 10 be sold in the market Of
the town or to be woven into cloth from
which she made clothing for herself and
her husband, or, what quite as often
happened, for some poor and unfortunate
neighbor.
Dame Barbarer was always kind to the
beggars who came her way. They SEEM
ed to her so unfortunate in not having a
home that she could not help giving
them at least food and now and then an
article OF clothing. and she was almost
always patient even when their requests,
as sometimes happened. took almost the
form of commands.
''The poor creatures know no better"
she would say, "They have nothing;
not even sense enough 10 know how to
be grateful; but that does not matter. l
do not help them because they beg
prettily. but because they need"
But orce upon time there came q
beggar who tried the patience Of Dame
Barbarer quite beyond even her endur-
ance. 1t was one afternoon when It was
almost time for her husband to return
from the field, and Barbarer was hasten
ing to get his evening meal ready for
him. She had been to the town to sell
some thread, and had been detained, so
that she had not time on her return to
bake wheaton cake for his supper, as
she had intended. She had only very
little bread in the house, and when a
beggar came along and rather impudently
demanded bit of bread and cheese she
was 10th to give it to him.
The beggar was by no means a prepos-
sessing looking individual. His dress was
aM OF red, although It was SO faded and
weather beaten, so tattered and torn that
IL was hard to tell what it looked like in
its best days. The remains of red
cocks feather was stuck jauntily in his
cap and jagged ends Of faded red ribbon
fastened his doublet. Long black hair
dangled In tangled locks over his fore
head, and, with HIS shaggy black eye
brows. half hid his piercing eyes. His
nose was sharp and thin, and there was
To his nostrfis a stzauge cuKve wilIcn
made his face one not at all progresses
ing. Add TO all this that no was lame
of one foot and that he had something
Of a hump between his shoulders, and he
was not at all the sort OF man one would
wish to meet on lonely road.
Dame Barbarer heaved sigh as she
looked at him. aud hesitated, while the
strange red figure leered at her In amaii-
ner that sent cold chill down her spine.
She did not wish to share the little bread
there was for Paul's supper with this
fantastic looking creature, but she was
too charitable to turn him away without
morsel. So she made tho beggar sit
down upon the doorstep, and then she
brought him small piece Of bread and
big piece Of cheese, hoping that the
size OF the one would make up for the
smallness of the other.
The red beggar fell to eating with the
appetite of hoard of locusts and as II
he had eaten nothing for month, and
it was hardly the twinkling of nm eye be-
fore he had finished the bit OF bread COM
pletely.
please, mistress" be said beseeching-
Iy, please. mistress. could you not give
me just little wee bit OF bread to eat
with tho rest Of my cheeses"
what she did not wish to do, cut him a
slice of bread and gave 1t to him with
the best grace she could manage.
The ragged rascal fell to eating even
faster than before, and almost before
she had laid down tho bread knife he
had made an end to his cheese.
please, kind Mistress" he said more
humbly than before, s.please, kind mis-
tress, couldn't you give me morsel Of
cheese to go with my breads'
This also was Dame Barbarer fain to
do; and hungrily as the fire devouring
field Of ripe grain did the varlet make
way with his bread.
please, good, kind mistress" he said.
please, good, kind mistress, could you
not give me very little, wee morsel of
bread TO eat with my cheese?"
And to cut short story which though
1t would DO long in the telling was not
long in the doing, the red beggar would
contrive first to make ON end to his bread
and then to make an end to his cheese,
begging with ever increasing insistance
for more of one and then Of the other,
until he had managed to beg from Dame
Barbarer every morsel Of bread there
was In the house, and the hour OF the
good mans return already striking. And
when all was gone the impudent and un-
grateful red varlet threw back his hair
from his deep set and piercing eyes and
laughed in her face.
''Meny thanks, sweet mistress he
said saifcily. '"If the good man scold
for lack OF his supper, teach him the way
get mine, and it may serve him In
good stead IL he will but take to the
highway aud seek out some soul as char
table as his wife"
Then it was that for almost the only
time In her life Dame Barbarer lost her
temper.
''Get you goner' she cried angrily. IT'S
itnos enough that you have eaten all the
good mans supper when he toiled all
day and you have been asleep, IT is like
", in the sun beside some haystack. but
in return you must stay. and fiout me
for my silly good nature. A pretty re-