Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1893-03-31

was the luck Oh tne HOUSE,
Mrs. Sedgick burst into tears.
.It wasn't my fault, Jotham" she
said. T always liked the child, though
she wasn't no more like our folks than
corn flower is Ike a squash blossom.
But she and Ellen couldn't somehow
acree. Ellen always wanted Martin to
marry Miss Brownlee, and she up one
day and accused Dora of settin' her cap
for Martin, and Dora couldn't stand that;
and when they appealed to me, In
afraid l didn't take Dora's part quite 50
strong as l might hev done"
al knowed woman'S tongue was at
the bottom of it ALL" said the squire,
with some bitterness. "Poor Dora"
That night the whole Sedgick fam
lily were aroused by light blaze in the
dooryard-the old fashioned well sweep
burning up. Grandsir, in his flannel
dressing gown and knotted stick, his
leonine head we'll outlined in the scarlet
glow, looking more Druid-like than
ever.
"You done it O. purpose" said he,
feebly shaking the stick at the assembled
family, who were trembling in the door
way. "You know you did. First Dora,
and then the old we'll sweep. The only
things 1 keered for in this world--and
now they're both gone, an l may as
we'll lie down and diel"
'T didn't mean any harmW hysteri-
cally sobbed poor Ellen. 81 was light
ing taper to seal letter-Marlan
Brownlee always uses the new-fashioned
colored wax to seal her letters-and it
burned up too quick, and l flung it out
of the window, but I never dreamed it
would fall among the dead leaves around
the old we'll curb and set 1t on hrel l
didn't mean any harml"
"Don't fret, father" said the squire.
Gwen build it up ag'in-me and Mar
tin-inst exactly like it was before"
The old man shook his head.
"It won't be the same," moaned he
'it won't be the same! Nothlns the
same in this world"
And he took to his bed from that
day.
Poor Ellen hung down her head like q
dropping lily. In neither case had she
intended any actual harm, but in both
instances she felt acuely responsible.
Martin was making preparations to 60
out West. Grandsir seemed to have lost
all interest in the surrounding world.
Her mother went about with swollen
ewes and a pale face, and Squire Sed-
gick sat by the hour on the front porch,
looking as if he had lost his last friend.
One violet-scented April afternoon,
however, Martin came home from the
city, whittier he had been to purchase
some absolute necessity for bis travels,
with fiat parcel under his arm.
"Look, motherl" he said. ''It's some
thing for grandsir. 1 don't know but
what pve been extravagant, but declare
to goodness l couldn't help it. The
minute set eyes on it, thought OF the
dear old man lyin' up stairs in his bed.
It's a picture" he added, as Ellen came
hurryinp to his side-"an oil painting
with fine gilt frame. Exactly like our
old we'll sweep that was burned Gown,
with the red barn in the distance, and
the sun settin' behind the woods, just as
I've seen it 90 down times without end.
You don't know how queer | felt when
I saw it in the store window, and went
in aud paid twenty dollars for it. I'd
do without them campn' blankets and
the fur robe, mother; but | wanted
grandsir to have that picture"
They hung it up on the wall opposite
the head of his bead, and when the old
man walked from nap, just as the sun
set beans shone over the mute canvas, he
looked at it with smile.
"It's our old we'll" said he, not evinc-
ING the least surprise. 'Just like was
a. a.lookin' out of the window at it. I've
got the we'll sweep back ag'in now, and
D'raps Dora'll come next. Who knows"
And for the first time in a week, ne
cot up and dressed himself, and deigned
to give sort of conditional approval to
the repairs going on in the burned dis
trict.
"lt looks too new now," said he, ad-
iusting his "far-away" spectacles. "But
p'raps in a year or two it'll be more
weather.beaten an nat'ral-like. l can
allays look at the picter, though, when l
want to see the old we'll sweep"
Ellen pulled her brothers sleeve as ne
stood iutently regarding the bright little
oil painting on grandsir's wall.
"Martin," said she, "nobody ever
could have painted that picture by guess.
1t is our old we'll sweep, and there's the
very butternut tree and the broken
shingles or the barn roof. And don't
YOU remember, Martin, how fond she
used to be of paintings'
He turned suddenly around with an IT.
radiated face.
"Why didn't l think of it befores" he
cried.
# i
Mr.. Solomon Feldman, sitting behind
his desk rail in the darkest corner OF the
dark little art store, was startled from an
abstruse financial calculation by the ques-
tioniug CLEAN of pair of dark eyes close
beside him.
"Is it sold7" soft voice timidly asked
-"my Odd Well Sweeps | see 1t is
gone from the window. Oh, is it posi-
bic that l can be so lucky as to lave sold
that pictureT
Dora Sedgick was very plainly dressed
Her shoes and gloves were unmlstablJ
shabby; there was certain pallor in her
skin and sharpness in her features which