Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-08-12

grade rs can be found in any country
where birth, not wealth, is the standard
of responsibility. From the higher class
their employers-they were removed
by ignorance and poverty; from the
lower-their charges-by race instinct.
There was no antagonism between the
inhabitants of tho large house where the
proprietor lived and the inhabitants of
the small house in which dwelt his prime
minister, such as appears to exist be-
tween the rich and poor of other sections.
Nor was there any effort on the part of
the upper class to keep the lower down
or to hinder members of it from acquir-
ing knowledge or property. On the con-
trary, there existed between the two
great amity and fricndlincss, and in
some instances, where tho tie was of
long standing between employer and
employed, a sort of feudal feeling which
led the one to yield protection and cor
dial liking, and the other an admiring
respect and loyal, if lazy, service.
1t is no uncommon thing even yet in
the south to hear one mar say of an
other: I've knowed him all my life.
My father was his fathers overseer way
back in slavery times. They are right
down clover people, his folks are; we
allus liked EN- mighty we'll" The liking
was generally mutual; and that the
"oversccr'' class of the south remained
so long, and remain still in great
measure, in a lower position is due partly
to their own willingness, partly to the
habit of subordination.
| Across tho raYine from the Beverley
| mansion, beyond little stretch of
1 Of
which had formerly been occupied by
slaves belonging to the estate. Some of
the houses had fallen into partial or to-
tai ruin, but few were still inhabited.
| rs was shown by the curling smoke as
/ cending from their chimneys. Above
| them, nearer the crest of the hill, stood
| the ovcrsccrs house-a neat building of
| hewn logs with rough porch i'll front,
| and still in IL good state of preservation.
1t had been occupied by family of
| white tenants ut the time when this por-
ton of the Beverley plantation passed
into other hands; but the lawyer, in
obedience to instructions received from
| tho now proprietor, had moved them
out and had the house done up little.
| Not that Ned Anthony cherished any
sentiment connected with the house i'll
which he had been born; on tho con-
| trary, he considered it emphatically ga
| dog hole;" but he was practical follow
and we'll used to roughing it, and
thought that the ''uld shanty" would do
we'll enough to live in for II month or so
whilc he should run up n decent house;
that is, if he should decide to make any
soiourn in Virginia.
| Anthony stood i'll one of the rooms
whistlinS softly and looking about him
one morning about Il week after the
night ON which he had renewed his &C,
Iquaintanco (as he thought) with his old
Iplayfcllow through the parlor window
The next day he had gone down to Rich
mond to order Some things he needed FOL
his temporary establishment and to tall
to contractor about putting up house
for him in case he should decide to "stOI
on the ranch" for year or so. He was
not man that ever let the grass grow
under his feet.
Standing i'll the middle of the ole
room, the past got hold of him some
how and pushed its way through tn
hard crust of the outer man to the sane
tuary which even tho toughest of u
keep somewhere about our anatomy 70
| tho refuge of a few tender associations
our youth, our homes and mothers, tn
girl, perhaps, whose eyes gave us our frs
heartacho.
Old Mrs. Anthony had not been in an
way show figure. She was tall an
spare of limb, and slow of speech an
gait; her eyes We're sad, and her thin
sallow face had rather n mournful eS
preston. She wore rough clothes an
q kerchief folded cornerwise over he
grizzled hair, and smoked q corncob pip
, in the intervals of her labors; but sh
was n good woman, faithful, dutifu
wife and devoted and self sacrifcin
mother, kind and gentle and patien
and indulgent to her offspring, as wome
of her class usually are. Her son-he
Il youngest born-had loved her, and
was of her alone he was thinking as h
stood by the hearthstone and looked &
the corner where her spinning whe,
!. and her old split bottomed rocking cha
used to stand. Poor old mother! if 81
could see him now, standing Their
- wealthy, educated, we'll dressed, hol
ored among men and owner of the ol
plantation on which they had lived {
servants!
OF the saturnine, long haired fathe,
and the five lank, slab-sided' brother
tho problem of whose useless existenC
it had taken civil war to solve,
thought little. He had not cared fl
them greatly, and it was no distress
him to know that they were dead. b
his mother was different. She had bee
the one human creature he had loved u
selfishly-besides little Mary Beverle
He was thinking of her, of his grief
her death, his indignation when with
the year his father had brought hon
another in her place, his hatred of
stepmother, which had resulted in b
kTunning away from home to seek b