Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-02-01
A SELF WTLLED GIRL.
By AUGUSTA LARNED.

the sun.. "She expects the chickens to be peeFin by tonight"
 q can't be out in the lot and in the stable and in the sparrowgrass patch, and milkin and chorin all in the same breath, grumbled Burns, Let her manage the fool things for herself and I'll bet my hat them aigs will all be addled in less than no time.
 Meantime, Agnes was taking in great breaths of inspiration and freedom as she bounded away on Selim's back and noted the tender young green of the fields, or followed a water course, bor- dered by the blossomed white thorn into the deep woods. She felt she had never seen the spring as she saw it that day threading a narrow path near the crawling brook, where the light glim- mered on smooth beds of white rock and spotted the trunks of trees as they leaned above the pools, sliding in green and gold sheets over pcbbly bottom, and the dogwood swayed softly in the south wind, and the air was filled with calls of wild birds and the chirp of the callow young in airy nests Odors of sassafras, and black birch and pepper root came
 
 moss shone on the rocks, and the fern beds were uncurling their fronds, and millions of young leaves fluttered over head like animated butterflies, and the young maple leaves glimmered pink and yellow down the vistas of the wood.
 Then she came out on lonely hills, where billowy curves and breasts of forest land sloped to little clearing by a woodman's hovel. with brood of wild eyed children about the door and the black evergreen growth was capriciOusly streaked with the young green The blood of the new year leaped in the woody veins and tingled in the tender shoots, where the sky shone so still and far over an illimitable distance, and the faint Cawing of crow was heard way up in the clouds Agnes paced home under a broken sky by a rough road used by the loggers, and through gaps in the trees saw the valley and Scrabble Hill shining down beneath her in shifting patches of light where curtain of clouds released its rays to splinter on rocks and young copses and sown fields. She eX- ulted in the sweet solitude and the sense of freedom For the first time in her life the spring greeted her like sister of her own age, who could comprehend all her emotions After exercising Selim in jumping ditches and fences until she was tired, she rode home in a light drizzling rain and gave orders to Burns to harness hIm to the market cart the next morning at six, as she intended to drive into Littlcfield with load of as paragus and lettucc
 Burns took uI his hat and scratched his head as if to help the idea in pene trating his skull "1e ain't broke to harness, miss.
 Never was in a harness in his life, |" answered Agnes carelcssly but it's time he learned how to pull
 And you mean to drive him the first time tomorrow morning.
 'Of course 1 do," turning her eyes on Burns in way that shut him up and made him creep off to tho stable, nut tering to himself "Ef she breaks her neck with her durn recklessness it won't be my fault"
 How the girl managed to COW Burns and make him perfectly submissive to her will the very first day of her arrival at the farm was Il puzzle even to him. Perhaps it was the look of her clear eye, a look of natural command that made him feel small and insignificant; some such look as he remembered in her father, who had quelled a riot among the strik- CTS on one of his railroads by his per sonal power and authority, Burns noticed that his wife, W, generally car ried the day in their matrimonial differ ences, had grown surprisingly meek as she crept i'll and out of the keeping room with the tea things where Miss Ransom was kneeling before the fireplace coax. ing some sticks of rather wet wood to kin. dle to blaze. Agnes had rumamged out of the attic pair of brass andirons over which she exulted as real antiques Mrs Burns had fully intended to call her by her first name She had always spoleI of the Ransom girls to her nelghbors as if she enjoyed q close and familiar inti macy with the family of her wealthy employer. It was not the custom tc l give handles to names on Scrabble Hill and now that Agnes was poor she fell that she had no call to kotow,
 But since the tall girl had taken pos session at the farm, with her hazel eye speaking authority, the proud, young head set so superbly on her shoulders the level sweep of her glance as if sht owned the world, Mrs Burns had no ventured on Agnes" not even in pri vate with John, but had confined her self to the personal pronoun she. She got a temper like steel trap, know sh has," whined Mrs. Burns, as she wa cutting the bread for Johns supper
 "l guess she won't bite your head of, |, returned Burns, with his face buried il tho crash roller towel, after having per formed his ablutions at the kitchen sink We've got togive in to her so far as it her place to boss, but she mustn't interfer with our part of the house. It won kill us to begin and call her Miss Ran som right away. No familiarity, sez but square deal, and each one to toe tn mark on her own line. We'll keep t ourselves and let her keep to herself No mixin. She's just like the old man