Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1893-01-12

3. VXv(I Mcnard died, /.
: I ! J ! ! ]. J,
I t1NH I people, came
ssrNNM -%EN, far and wide
,MHN%S -%Wllkl to look ;st the
IMnAVts,sszzS-IDMIh lo W, long
TNlWNfg1 |WN|, building a
WMWk I NI" modern roof
Es. WM " built on bat
III Mw :. tered / one
ipfndation, coeval withthe revolution
Anore modern blacksmith's shop had
on quilt at one end, whose doors had
iTg been closed IA solitary. white
pAe tree, half dead and beaten by a
e%tury OF storms, lifted its black crest
ci2se by, and waterfall, hidden iii
evergreen woods, came smutterina
ioWiy over the rocks in. the rear. PED
pc talked in whispers about there
oeing ghost on the. premises, Dog
sgrs shook their heads and said thai
Tue bad drainage was enough tb
make churchyard full of the sheetea
ana shrouded gentry" Artists on the
star OF illustrated newspapers came
there to sketch the ruined building rs
sae Oldest in tho. country, and bus-
glars slyly ransacked the place ut
que intervals-as old Milo had the nauie
oi being an ideal miser, who hid bags
OF money up chimneys and kept boxes
OF gold eagles under the flooring of the
qnused rooms-always however, with
out any satisfactory result. And ola
ntilo' sitting like a withered mummy
~ the sunshine, on certain old, bench
which he much affected, grinned from
ear to ear and chucklcd when people
asked him why he. didn't keep a watch
aog or take another family into the
Aonse to- protect him. -.-. s..,.;,
Land O. Goshen!" said the old
imiser. What do l want of dog to
cat me out of houae and home? And as
Tor family--well, l calc'late there's
fools enough in the house already since
Mary Jane fell in love. with Bill Jones,
the cooper's son.. Let the ghosts go
Ehosterin' around. They don't hurt me.
And as for burglars, dear heart if they
KNEW how little, there was to steal
1heyNlb be a-puttin' in. their time to bet,
Ter advantage somewhere else.'.. -,.. q
I Bill Jones, strapping young giant
with yellow, curly head and simple,
blue eyes, was regarded as brave
man when'h he went to ask old Milo
tMenard for his granddaughter's hand
an marriage The old miser regarded
him with scornful eyes and worked his
itoothless jaws about after most ap-
lpalling fashion. e +
I "Eh!' said Milo. "My Mary Jane2
WHAT'S it you're sayin' about her?" );
t; u love her, SIR" repeated Bill, land
she loves me-" r.
+ "Pshaw" said Mr., Menard. st q
s. "And I'want to marry her, protest.
ed Bill Jones, sticking gallantly to his
post. ~ 4
( We'll, you can't" snarled ,Menards
"Apd there's an end of the Natter !
lean support her." said Bill Jones'.
1.-THE cooperin business is lookjn' up;
tand-E ~. 81
T "That don't make no difference
ssnid the old man. my gal don't mar
Try no one but a blacksmith. The old
Eshop has got to be opened again; the
business has got to go on" /:
/ Bill Jones stared. Then it was true,
ms the neighbors said, that Milo Menard
nyas wont at times to light the forge
atires at midnight and work away on
rusty old nails and bars of long-unused
iron,. especially Oh stormy nights when
.sleep fed his pillow. rt" :
4 Don't you think, SIR" he hazarded,
shat the cooperin'--N FitEt d !
!. .'T don't know nothin' about the
cooperin', and don't care nothin'
about it, "said Milo, steadfastly. "But
this do know: The man who marries
inygal has got to. be blackslnith!'
"a Then" said Bill Jones, clenching
his Hercules fists, "I'll be a black
smith" 'a@'
He meant it,. He apprenticed him
self the next day to sturdy son of
Vulcan, whose forge roared in red vol
lcyso flame up the chimney of a neigh
boring shed and never rested until he
bad,uualiHed himself to shoe any horse
In the state. ~. Z, ~.
'Iawouldnt do that for any girl"
said Harvey Martin, Farmer Martins
nephew.
"Ah!" SAID Bill Jones. "But you
don't know how love that girl! I've
loved her ever since / met her comm
down Rabbit Hill that snowy AFTER
noon with horseshoe in her hand.
n'Gran'ther. says it's bad luck to pass a
horseshoe says she, laughin', when
made bold to ask her what on earth
she was agoin' to do with it. so al
ways bring 'em home Grand'ther's
got pile of 'em in the! old shed back
of the forge She had such pretty
way with her, don't you see; and her
cheeks were that pink and her eyes
that black, as you couldn't think of
nothin' but doll! A blacksmith, in
deed! If the old cove had bid me be n
rope-dancer I'd ha' gone to work prac-
tcin' with will"
Old Milo smiled grimly when he saw
Bill Jones handle the red-hot iron in
the old forge and viewed a set of
horseshoes that his mighty hand had
hammered out,
ut ain't!bad W ork," said he. You'll
be blacksmith, boy, if you keep on.
Yes, you may marry Mary Jane, if you
like-now!"
Mr.. and Mrs William Jones' wedding
trip was only to the nearest town to
buy a store carpet for the best room
and a set OF blue-edged crockery 70 go
to housekeeping with.
Its sheer Extravaganza growled
oId Milo. "Cleau-scoured boards is
good enough for anyone, and there
was enough old plates and cups about
The place, though a trife cracked and
clipped. But it amt my money they're
roin' to spend, and s'pose Bill Jones
has a right to do as he pleascs with his
own"
But when the young couple returned.
of a sunshiny October afternoon, old
Milo sat ont on his bench, his head
H. h l,r.n oil