Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-09-07
IDENTIFIED BY A CROSS

lhIchL upou HouSeuOlu IudlleIS, Ill re-
spouse to my colored domesticS an
nouncement that "Suse Maxey had
fetched the berries" and was alto
gether unprepared for the vision of
beauty that awaited me there. A young
girl, apparently not more than 10, stood
with one small, brown foot resting
upon the door step, IA bucket OF scarlet
berries poised upon her knee.
AS / approached, with a backward
Of her sum-burned, berry
stained hand, she pushed away the
dark calico bonnet, which some miss
ing pastebOardS had caused to drOOp
over her brow, revealing by the action
hair, shading Il small oval face of the
richest olive; Il pair of eyes like two
great, shining, dark jewels, and deli
cately regular features. An ugly-look-
ing bulldog, with pendent tongue, sat
near her, as il he, too, were sensible
OF her great beauty and kept guard
over it.
You'll bring me some berries every
day." | said, as l emptied her bucket
and placed a shining coin in her hand
if it's only Il cupful. You see," l ex-
planned, my brother is an invalid,
and it's very difficult, away off from
the market, to get anything to tempt
his appeatite"
III bring 'em to ye long as they
last" she replied, with a strong noun
tain accent, and yet in a voice of
wonderful sweetness, like a fine inStru-
ment touched by an unsllilled perfor-
mer. 'Thar'S Il sight of 'em up in the
woods back of whar we live"
rs there no one who can come back
and forth with YOU" L asked, regard
ing uneasily the lovely upturned face
and eXquisitely rounded figure. 1t
seems to me hardly safe for you to
walk SO far alone"
Oh she said, with Il laugh that
displayed two dimples and a row of
regular white teeth, Il amt afeard
Thar's mostly folks liven' in hollerin'
distance of the road, and | reckon"
with Il glance at the dog, which he
acknowledge with a strong beat of the
tail, nobody won't interrupt me with
Lawyer about. You see Pete (hes nay
brother) is busy with the crops, and
Ma she's got about all she can ten to
round the house, and them's all's at
home
Well" / said, III depend upon
YOU" and, leaning against the door
frame, ! watched her as she passed
down the long dark avenue of trees,
the dog Sllullking close at her heels,
until the last CLEAN of her red calico
dress had disappeared from sight.
''Oh, Robert" | exclaimed, as | re-
turned to the front porch, where my
young brother, half reclining in an easy
chair, was taking his sun bath, you
ought to have seen that girl One might
live lifetime without meeting anoth-
er half SO lovely"
Il don't think l admire beauty I'M
adorned" he said, with a languid
smile.
These rustic maids, with their con
tempt for the rules of grammar,
their uncOuth costumes and limited
acquaintance with soap and water,
must be seen in pictures to be appre-
ciated. In real life they are not very
attractive"
They interest NE more because of
these very things" / said. There
seems to me to be such undeveloped
possibilities in them. / wonder" / con
tinued, thinking aloud rather than
speaking, my eyes fixed upon a dis
tant sunlit landscape that seemed swim
ming in space, IF it is not with some
such feeling as this, infinitely stronger,
of course, that our Heavenly Father
regards us in the midst of our ignor-
ance and defilement"
Robert sighed and closed his eyes
YEARLY, and | desisted.
Together we were fighting that in
sidious foe, consumption, which threat
ened him, and his physician had sug
geSted a summer home in the noun
tains and an outdoor life as the best
way of combating it.
A few days after this we rode ovel
to the MaXey'S, / on Il foraging eXpedi
ton, for it seems to me in those day:
/ was constantly on the lookout fol-
something with which to spur Roberts
laggard appetite.
Their home, Il rude cabin, was situat-
ed in a romantic glen, the beauty OF
which their poor, crude agricultural
and architectural achievements had
been unable to destroy. In its rear a
mountain rose abruptly, up the rugged
side of which were horizontal rows OF
corn and tobacco. To it's left ran 9
brook, making a succession of leaps il
its hurried descent, and churning it
self into foam by its own impetuoSit"
and along its banks fiourished a mar
row strip of vegetables, to which Sust
had alluded in one Of her visits to M
as the gyardin."
Mrs. MaXey came to meet us. Sh,
was of the blonde type, much faded
with time and hard work. Her son
a beardleSS youth of Is or more, wh'
hung about in the background witt
rustic sheepishness, was of the SAM
style. SuSe doubtless owed her Orien
tai beauty to her pap" who, tn
mother Informed us during the cOurs
of our brief conversation, with a hast.
application of the corner of her 2prol
to her eye, had got killed in time {
the war"
Il am a convert" Robert said as w
rode away, glancing back at Suse. who
standing in the doorway framed wit
poisoning morning glories, looked al
ter us, her small left hand shading he
eyes There's no mistake about he
beauty. What a sumner she'd be wit
a little groOmingr'
Shortly after this my apprehensio