Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-03-25
THE RED BEGGAR

Oaee npon time there Was . pretty
little cottage by the 81 lie Of the road 10
the toxin. 1t Was humble, but all about
it. everything. was Always neat ard rig,
% il was evident that il was not the
dwelling If either sloth or want. A
hoaey such lie climbed up over the door.
and gay flowers blooaaesi IN beds before
it; while O., the south WAS the stand for
the bees, mere in straw that,hej hives
they stored honey all .;ay long in sunny
weather.
In the cottage lived an Old man named
Paul and his wife Bar.arer. They were
sery fond Of each otilsr. and had it not
been that they had 80 ehifiren they
would have ie.an Is happy As the day was
long. As il WIS, they tried not to miss
too much The. pra;ile of little ones winch
the sto-ks would NOT bring to them, but
went on their way in life, thrifty and
kind to the poor. and doing good when
il offered.
In the morning Paul would so afield
to bis work. while Dame Barbarer would
remain at home to do whatever mouse
hold tasks needed attention and after
ward to spin smooth threads OF max Win
her dis,aff TO be sold in the market OF
tho ,own or TO be woven into cloth from
which she made clothing for herself and
ber husband, or, what quite as often
happened, for some poor and unfortunate
neighbor.
Dame Darbarer was always kind to the
beppars who came her way. They seem
ed 10 her SO unfortunate IN not having
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 hen 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 TO know how to
5e grateful: but that does not matter. !
do not help them because they beg
prettily. but because they need"
But oEce upon IA time there came =
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 Helu, anu hafpdfei was hastch
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 10
bake a wheaton cake for his supper, as
she had intended. She had only very
little bread IN the house. and when
beggar came along ana rather inpudehtly
\ L II.
demanded blt al bread ana Cheese she
was 10th to give II to nm
The oeggar was oy no means prePos
sesslng looking Individual Ills dress WAS
all OF red, although 1t was :" faded and
weather beaten, SO tattered and torn That
1t was hard To tell what II looked Ike In
its best days The remains OF IA red
cock feather was stuck Jauntiiy IN ms
| cap and jagged ends "t f.ded req rlhiAii
fastened las doui'let Long o!aca iialr
dansled in tangled iocks over his fore
head. and. with bis shaggy black eye
brows, half hid his piercing eyes his
nose was sharp and thin, and there was
| to his nostriis strange curve which
made his face one no: at all progresses
ing. Add to all this th3t he was lame
of one foot and that he had something
of hump bctween his shoulders and he
was not at all the scr; of man one would
wish to meet on a lonely road
Dame Barbarer haaved sigh as she
looked at him, and hesitated. while the
strange red figure leered at her in a man
ner that sent cold chill down her spine
She did not wish to share the little bread
|
there was for Pauls supper with this
fantastic locking Creature. but she was
too charitah!.. to turn him away without
a morsel SO she made the beggar sit
| down upon the doorstep. and then She
brought him q small piece of bread and
a biz piece Of chaes.. hoping that the
size Of the one would make up for the
smallness of the other.
The red beecar fell to eating with the
| annette Of a hoard of locusts and as il
he had eaten nothing for a month. and
| il was hardly the twinkljne Of an eve be-
| fore he had finished the bit Of bread com
pletely.
| please. mistress" he said beseeching-
ly. "please. mistress. could you not give
me Just a little wee bit of bread to eat
with the rest of my cheese"
The dame, although this was exactly
what she did not wish to do. cut him a
| slice of bread and gave it 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 the bread knife he
had made an end to his cheese.
please, kind mistress he said more
humbly than before, please. kind mis-
tress, couldn't YOU give me morsel Of
cheese to go with my bread?
This also was Dame Barbarer fain TO
do; and hungrily as the fire devouring a
| field OF ripe gram did the varlet make
way with his bread.
please, good, kind mistress" he said,
please, good, kind mistress. could you
not give me a very little, wee morsel Of
bread to eat with my cheese?"
And to cut short story which though
"o"ii oe long III 'i'e teii'he was 10.
long III ''ie ooi's' ,ie 'eo oeegai "ouiu
oohiii'e i'is' 10 make al emu 70 Ills oreao
an" .''e'' 10 MAKE a" emu 10 HIS cheese
oeHsis WIN ever increasing ,hs's'ance
ior more Vi one anu 'hen Oh 'he o'her-
un',' i've ''''' "'A''e' 10 Us 'ro'ii ha'i'e
oaloaier every ''oisei o. 'reio .herf
was !" '',e ''ou'e' am" Tue ioui vi ''ie
eoo'' ii'ai re'uin a,reaus s'r'Aihg' anu
"heh aii was gone the uhpudent ana uh'