Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-08-10

than those suggested by yourself, and
have had the necessary papers recorded
as per direction The body of land is
fine, but the buildings are inferior-only
dozen or 30 cabins and the old over
seer's house. All the home buildings
are on the widows part. However, If
you propose settling in Virginia, you
win Of course soon remedy all that"
1.-THE devil willr' muttered the impa-
tient recipient of the epistle from which
the above sentence is quoted. "What in
thunder does he suppose wanted with
the land without the house? can have
new houses by the dozen; what wanted
was the old one. l didn't know the old
lady was living still She must be hard
on to seventy, for she had left the mid
die mile stone well behind twenty years
ago. I'd have liked owning the old
house; though the Lord knows what
want with it, or the land eitherP'
However, he wrote to the lawyer again,
giving the necessary instructions about
fencing and other matters, and intimat-
ing that his business might require his
presence in the east before many months
had passed, and that in that event he
would probably visit Virginia.
The months had passed, bringing with
them the necessity which Mr.. Anthony
had forecast. He had come east and
was now in Virginia. He had arrived
in the village the evening before and es-
| tablished himself for the present at the
| solitary boarding house Gt could not be
called hoteD of the place, which was
kept by new people, who had been resi-
| dent in the village only matter of ten
, or twelve years and of course were I'M
connected with that bygone time which
| to Anthony seemed to move forward and
join hands with the present the moment
| he left the train at the wayside station.
Twenty years. Had it been twenty
years since he had seen it all? 1t might
have been twenty days, he thought at
| first, for the little change apparent. The
| same river flowing on with gracious
| curves and windings, the same willows
| on its banks, the same fields and hills,
| the same soft blue mountains in the dis
lance. Could it be twenty years since
he had seen it?
1t was fair picture for loving eyes to
rest upon, and even the chill unhndness
of the November evening could not
| spoil it; but the eyes that gazed from
under dropping lids were more critical
than loving. Soon to their searching
quest changes began to make themselves
apparent. In place of the sleepy old ca
| nal of his boyhood there was a single
track, unprosperous looking railway,
and telegraph poles marked the line of
| what was formerly the towpath.
And there were endless quiet changes
of the kind that mark the progress of de-
cay, the slow inroads Of poverty and
desolation. Twenty years had left be-
hind them traces of their fight in CALLED
and quilted fields that formerly were fer
tile, in hillsides grown up thickly with
broom sedge and sassafras, and in gen.
eral dilapidation Of fencing and build
ings. What the devastation Of war had
commenced poverty and unthrift were
completing, and the foot of time but
marked the road that was leading to
restitution.
| Anthony gazed over it all and scorned
it. He was so full Of energy, will and
activity of purpose that the evidences of
unthrift filled him with impatience.
All the tender beauty of the scene, all
its Old World calm, its repose and soft
enchantment were utterly lost upon him.
The lotos eating phases of existence were
beyond his omprehension-would have
|
Glow small it all looksr' he unused
slghtingly, as he paused in his whiting
to stroke his beautiful brown beard with
strong sunburned hand, land yet
when l was kid thought this valley
was the world. Now it looks to me as
though could straddle that river and
push the hills apart with my two hands.
Lordi how the country has gone down.
down to the very dogs, for want OF
money and push. They hadn't much
practical energy to start with, these peo-
pie, but with one thing and another
they seem to have lost the little they
had. They can't make work tell any
more than kitten can pan ore. They
run to extremes and hit the best part of
their ticks in the wrong place."
He finished trimming his stick thought
fully, handling his knife dexterously,
Z cutting with firm, capable strokes, and
a making every cut further his design
, The grain of the wood was close, its
. fiber tough, but he worked on persist
: emily, without hurry or waste, and
when he had completed the job to his
, satisfaction he closed the knife with 6
- sharp snap and returned it to his pocket
The newmade cane was stout, and h
= balanced it in his hand and then strucl
= it smartly against the rail to test it
= strength.
= eve known the time when a goot
). Virginia hickory would have been 1
= mighty pleasant thing to handle GU
~ yonder," he thought. "That night il
:, O'Hara's saloon when 1 caught Nea
. cheating at draw poker and pinned hi
= hand to the table with my knife, a sticl
. like this would have been handy play
a thing to amuse the roughs with. Lord
- how long ago the old time seems when
~ remember what's come between"
. There was a slight rustling among tn
y dead leaves and grass of brier pate
- near. The man turned his head instant
ly, as one accustomed to note the slight
10 est noise, and peered down into tn
/ tangle. At first he could distinguis
Is nothing but soon two long brown ears