Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1890-08-16
Stature A RURAL ROMANCE.

ALtAWN
IN THE LINE OF LORD ~TENSYsoN's
PASTORAL POEMS, only DIFFERENTLY
" $40 honest nusoandmen dwelt side by side
n farms adjoining. Grubbs and Stubs their
y" names.
Rough, honely names in sooth; but all they
had.
And oft those names had served them In good
stead
When they had need Of names to sign - notes
Grubbs had a son Ezekiel tall and staunch
As any rustic who wore pants in boots,
And rose at four TO milk his seven kline
And seek for egglets in the ~hennery.
Stubs had no sons; a daughter only came
To bless her fathers home, to shed sunlight
About its rooms and exc to do odd chores
'Twixt meal times. She was fair TO look upon
AS snowdrops poisoning in early spring
Her name was Mary Ann. a gentle lame,
And gently borne by her. Ezekiel saw
And loved her, whom 10 see and love we're one.
The farms adioined and were but kept apart
By one plain picket fence Of easy compass,
Through which the faithful dog Of Fa mer
Stubs
Did oft meander in the eventide
To chase the dogs Of worthy Farmer Grubbs.
Thus was a feud begun between the twain;
Bun Mary Ann and young Ezekiel too
Were not a part Of the parental strife.
Equal their fathers lots; content were they
TIC know that when some day the old men
hoped
The golden twtg, the farms should be united,
A goodly estate for a goodIy pair.
But one day came q shadow DER their paths.
A schemer from the town intruded on
The peacefui confines Of the Grubhs estate,
Looked here, dug there and shifted and snufed
about,
Saying wiseacrely, with shake OF head:
There's oil upon this land, Of that I'm sure.
Oil that is pent up in a mighty store.
Dig, farmer, and I'll warrant thee thou'lt find
Riches, the like which thou wotst not Of"
So he departed. Then good Farmer Grubbs
Did hold Is heal aloft and elevate
His nose when neighbors passed, as who should
say:
II shall be rich. There's oil on this, my land,
Aid wealth immense shall speedily be mine"
So when Ezekiel came ANA softly said:
Father. / fain would we'd with Mary Ann"
He waxed full wr1th, e%xclaiming in his wrath:
"How nowf thou VINO. when we have dug for oil,
Shalt be a man Of riches; wilt thou wed
This oeggar's bret, this pauper farmer 1he
Gotol 1t shall not be-" ntioi'' =
33ag =
..-sAnd so the son
ven .sUrtowingly to tell his Mary Ann
aud break the match, explaining as he might
That he so rich must LOOK above poor her.
Then there was digging on the Grubbs estate,
Digging in daytime, boring In the night
For oil, rich oil, that was 10 make them rich.
For days and weeks and months they dug and
bored.
What came ortS Nothing, nothing, ever
nothing.
Then came the city schemer, and he looked
About the place cxclaiming: "Marve ousl
Behold the vein Of oil that once Las here
Has vanished and has made its oily way
Beneath yon fence to Farmer Stubs estate.
His is the oil well; yours the memory OFT"
80 saying he vanished, and Ezekiel wept.
That night he hied him unto Mary Ann,
And told her that his love had never ceased, .
Besought her take him back and let no oil,
No sordid, oleaginous obstacle
Disturb the dream, the golden dream Of love,
She said him nay and Knocked him
So he went
Kicking himself adown the dusty lane.
Then Farmer Stubs set cheerjly to work,
And In a few weeks time struck oil right rich.
A fortune rolled in and his wealth became
So vast that all around marveied thereat.
So Stubs waxed wealthy, and so Mary Ann,
Her fathers heiress, grew accustomed to
Ezekiel's loss and married very soon
A foreign noblemau with heavy bills
Which Mary AIMS papa paid Willingly.
So read and learn that We can never tell
Who that is Town to-day may not be up
Tomorrow, and who down that now is up.
Harry B. Smith, In America.