The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-11-18

uTuBH6J on Llle uOOIS anu bu6H, as SHe
poured out my tea, told her all about
it. ....-,...
"And if you've been such a precious
baby as to be taken in by the first pitiful
tale you hear, I'll never forgive you"
she said.
"But suppose his tale was all true,
Patty"
"Why, then, Bill" she sad, very slow
ly, "all have to say is, that if ever you
are as hard pushed, | hope you may meet
with as good friend
1t was about month later that went
home, and | said!
cts all true enough, Patty"
''What's all true, Bill?" she said, for
we had never mentioned the fiddle since
that night.
'About the fiddle" said. "The hard
times when we were out of work were to
much for poor Abel Browns wife. She's
dead"
"Dead!" she said softly, and 1 saw the
tears come into her bright gray eyes.
After a time used to get in the habit
of taking that fiddle down and making a
noise with it, and often and often, as I've
scraped away, making the most horrid
noises, Patty would sit there stitching
away, quite satisfied; for, as Abel Brown
said, it used to keep me at home.
never got to be good player, but at
last could scrape out any popular tune
from the notes, and mauy's the pleasant
evening have had, playing polkas and
waltzes and quadrilles, and all the new
songs; but, somehow, | never hung that
old fiddle up on its nail without seeing
Abel Browns sad face, and at such times
I'd say to myself: ''Ehe poor chap was
right"
Why, when the bad time came again,
and our shop was closed, and pound by
pound all our savings went, try how [
would to get work elsewhere, that fiddle
was about the only consolation 1 had.
Month after month went by, and my
hands were growing as white and soft as
planned, only spent her time working
with her needle, and trying to persuade
me that she had no appetite, or that she
had something while was out, SO as to
save few pence.
One day, feeling half mad, and ready
to do anything, after hanging about the
shut-up gates of our workshop, and wish
ing could have turned my hand to some
other trade, l went back home ready to
tell Patty that we had better emigrate.
There was Patty at her needle, in our
room, trying hard to keep our bodies
and souls together with shopwork, and
there hung the old fiddle in its happy
green bag from the picture nail, but there
was no picture there now that, and all
our best things, had gone long enough
before.
took the old fiddle down, as my habit
was, tightening the bow hair, and was
beginning to play some very old air,
"Grammachree, l think it was, when it
seemed to strike me that the fiddle lad
brought what was like curse to my lit
tie home, and that | was to suffer as Abel
Brown had suffered before me, and that
l should see my poor weary-faced wife
die before my eyes.
Then felt kind of reproach that l
could be so unmanly as to have kept that
instrument which might have been sold
and saved poor Patty's weary fingers
from some of her toll. l thought about
it all that night and the next morning /
took the fiddle down, tuned it and ran
the bow over the strings and shivered,
for the sound came and died away as l
had heard them when Abel Brown had
touched the instrument at our workshop.
Feeling half savage thrust it back in
to the bag and strobe out of the house,
not even turning my heal when Patty
called after me to know where / was
going, for she would have stopped me
from selling it, know.
HE said it was good one and worth
the money! muttered. II must have
my two pounds back now"
hardly know how it was. / suppose
my legs took me naturally toward our
works, as if was to find the friend there
when could hardly believe my eyes,
for there were about dozen of our fell
lows-haggard, gaunt-looking chaps
talking eXcitedly as they went in, for the
gates were open, and as 1 half staggered
up l saw the two governors were there
too.
"Ah, Johnson" said one of them
"glad to see you, my man. We've got a
large contract and you may begin work
tomorrow morning."
The gates seemed to swim, and all was
blank. and when | came to l was in the
counting-rOom and some one was holding
a glass of water to my lips.
Indeed, my lad, said one of my en-
ployers, kindly, when he had questioned
me bit. Pm sorry it has been SO bad
as that. But come, the troubles over
now, and perhaps you would like a SOW
ereign on account
l went back home like a man in
dream, walked straight to the nail and
hung the old fiddle up in its place before
going to Patty's side and putting the
sovereign in her hand, saying, as 1 did
so, the governors words, 1.-The troubles
over now"