Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-02-04

Wou10 not smile upon htfn. If the aver age yield of wheat in his county was twenty-five bushels to the acre, he could count up but twelve or fifteen. The fly, the rust or the army worm was sure to favor his fields above all in the neigh borhood. When hog cholera afflicted the farmers along Devil Creek bottom it usually began with Buggs' swine and cleaned out the whole herd. He had been burned out as often as all the other farmers in the township combined. Three years before a cyclone, which went whooping through that part of the state, jumped over six farms lying just west, but swooped down upon Buggs' barn and scattered it like chaff. Then it bounded up into the sky and didn't come down to business again until it struck the next township.
 His brother John probably 1nonopo. ized the family fortunes. At least Jacob always thought so rntil quite recently when he was forced to make up his mind that i'll luck was the heritage of the en. tire Buggs family.
 John was seven years the junior of Jacob. At the age of fourteen he ran away from the farm and lost himself in the great city. In the course of time the boy was looked upon as dead and buried. Ho had been gone so long without a word of news coming back from him that to these retired country people it appeared natural that John had been murdered before he fairly penetrated to the wicked center of the death dealing metropolis.
 So Jacob inherited the old Pennsyl- vania farm when his father died. Then he married Jane Baxter. The fruit of this union was Rebecca.
 Even in the blessings of children JacoE was denied his natural share He yearned for a son and his first born was girl. His hope that he might rear few hardy heirs to share his labors on the farm as his years came upon him was never re. alized. This one girl seemed to be about the usual measure of his success in life.
 And she was taken from him. Worse still, his brother John had not been mur. dered, but turned up one day when Re becca was about eight years old; came tc claim his half of the farm, not including the one thousand dollar mortgage which he Jacob) had placed to get money witE which to build new barn instead of the one that had been struck by lightning and consumed the year before. Yet John was rich; had enough money If his own to buy twenty such farms. Why should he be so greedyP
 And while the two were preparing to share their patrimony, Uncle John was becoming extremely fond of pretty, awkward Rebecca.
 Then there was compromise offered by the rich brother from the city. If Rebecca's parents would give her to him for adoption he would not only quit claim his interest in the farm, but would pay off the mortgage besides. They flatly refused to consider the proposition at first; this to their great credit. But the uncle at last convinced them it was for their daughters good. She would receive 8 finished education and he would leave her all his money when he died, for he declared he was q woman hater and would never marry. And so Rebecca was given up to her uncle, who carried her away with him to the city.
 The next year a man from the far west induced Jacob to ''swap" farms, and he went with his loyal wife to Morgan's Mills. Of course he had been cheated in the trade, grossly beaten. From the day he entered upon his new home things went from bad to worse, until the western farm had been mortgaged for about all it was worth.
 And in all those years neither Jacob nor Jane had ever seen Rebecca. John, in his selfishness, denied the girl the privilege of going west during vacations, and the parents never possessed enough ready money to carry them to New York, even had they mustered the courage to enter that wicked, danger beset city.
 Meanwhile Rebecca had developed into a most beautiful, talented girl. Her uncle surrounded her at school with all the luxuries for her suite of rooms that money could buy, and her ward robe was the envy of the school. Her vacations were spent in the city or at the, seashore, where she lived the en- chanted life of youth surrounded with wealth and the pleasures of riches.
 But one thought troubled her. That horrid name, Miss Buggs! She thanked heaven she had been born girl, and therein was her consolation. Being $ girl she would some day marry and get rid of that hated patronymic.
 So she was looking anXiously forward , to the time when her Uncle John would take her from school, introduce her into society and give some young man o , New York a chance to rescue her iron her nightmare.
 And she had resolved in the innernos recesses of her heart that no man should ever lead her to the altar who had { commonplace name. A Fitzallyn, { Montmorency or a St. Cyr might do But no Hoag or Coons or Fox or Ja. would ever get Q smile from her.
 Alas for the dreams of maidenhood!
 Uncle John was 8 plunger. In on day he lost every cent he could call hi own, and the climax was reached whel he blew out his brains without a though of the girl he had taken from her hom eight years before.
 That had occurred during the winte preceding Rebecca's s return to her parents By selling few of the jewels whicl she possessed she had been enabled to re IL Il