The morning times., 1895-07-25
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"Th6 Fland0rSHS."
Rv Adelaide Innh

upon the cabin, which seems to be shrink
ing into the earth. The window is broken
and stuffed with rags and hat or two the
shingles are falling off, aud the settling OF
one corner suggests that a high wind would
complete its demolition.
Its one window ovcrIoOks the graveyard;
and at night, When the mists from the val
ley are rising, and the whip-poOr-wiIis are
calling back and forth it is u -oLeIy place
indeed.
Jim, the founder OF the family, tramped
into Crow Hollow from no one knew wheTeJ
and took posS SesSiOn OF the but more than
forty years ago. He was repeatedly in
yited to yacate by the tOwnspeOple, but
hegrinned at them for their trouble, aud shot
their dogs, and persisted i'll staying.
Here ne laZed and fiddled away the days
and nights-eXcept when he visited a vii
layers hencoOp, or, by way of diversion
carter drinking his fill Of bad whisky,
smashed neighbOr's window, or held up"
an fnOffensive farmer for a gallon of cider
one morning, after tribe Of eypSieS had
left the Hollow. a red-cheeked young woman
wearing mans hat was seen frying pork in
camp kettle at the rear of Jim's shanty,
while he, with a conspicuous black eye and
a missing tooth, was lOunging about the
door
The years that followed brought children
anu II utTtG>tQ reputation 10 tuc pair
Was anything missing from a ClOthesIue
of linen to u piece from the village commun-
ion service, no one questioned who were the
cuprftS, the constable simply arrested Flan-
ders-if the old man was ugly drunk, and
Wim-Heury was not to be found, the old
woman was substituted. SO il occurred that
the FlanGerSts as an undivided family, sell
dom graCed the home. SIarth, the little one,
toddled about lodging blows and making
V-iT fFg : g
enough TO climb the stone wall which divides
the 'Old Road" from the cemetery. and
there, in world Of gravcStones and daisies
She found safe hiding place. The7e, with
pumpkin dressed in trailiH 2, dirty apron,
she spent whole days, creeping home only
when her sharp little ears could detect
neither oaths nor blows mingled with the
strains from the violin There she whim-
pered nonsense TO the pumpkin and grave
stones, Confiding to them that her mother
used 10 be pretty and had white teeth,
'"causc she didn't smoke a black pipe"
Particularly happy was little Marth 70
hide among the fallen leaves and watch
funeral procession, and It was on such
an OCCASION that she would impose upon
her pumpkin don by telling her that "the
lady with a collar" was her truly mann
ma" and she was crying cause poor
Martha was dead" In spite OF MaTth'a
crossed fingers and solemn affirmation,
it is altogether likely that Maudie looked
incredulous, for at this point she was
shaken and bumped against graygstOne
untu she seemed properly convinced, theI
clutched tightly TO her mistress little
{ tatuered piEaIore. while that young prevarI-
Gator cried herself to sleep.
Age had a shrivelling effect upon Maudie
but she held her own wonderfully, anC
would have lasted much longer had not
/ Win Henry used her as an emphasis IL
( trying TO convince the old woman that sh(
/ was a snake with two heads.
! Marju CId not soon become rCCOuCiled
/ to the loss OF Maudie There were whole
! fields OF pumpkins, TO be sure, but week;
/ of searching uId not disclose one winch ap-
| pealed to her, and she hugged the aproI
! which had clothed her lost doll closer
/ and whimpeIed beneath her breath fol
! God TO send Maudie back.
One summer when MaTth was grown tai
and awkward she sulEed into the village
school. Sne did not take TO books readily,
and it hurt her some what TO be called "a
Flanders" hut she mastered the alphabe
before she gave ii up. One day Jim came
into school to see his gal He was
drunk, but that she did not mind so much
| as that he should steal the dinner-basEet
and books from the one little girl who had
bafriended Ter. She cried a little over
the primer which had been loaned her
before she put it back into the teacher:
desk that night.
She did not go to school a gain. but spent
her time, mostly, sitting in the doorway of
the Shauty, looking across the graveyard.
and wishing the jail was further away, and
her father was not Jim Flanders.
Unusually reckless must have been the
FlauderSeS, for il came about one summer
that, with the exception of Marth. they,
au unbroken family, were sojOurning in the
county jail
Thirty miles (in the opposite direction
| from the temporary home Of Wi m Henry
and the old mani was not far for Marth to
walk, ana u brought her to ClarktOwn.
Here it seemed that the gods who had re-
fused to turn her father into Squire Bach
elder or TO send back Maudic," listened
kindlier, for, in ans wer TO her prayer,
please Lord, make a lady look out OF a
wuder aud tell me to come in and wash
her dishes, forever aud ever, amen she
was accoSted by the Tabor sisters, who,
in great distress. were trying to get old
Spooney to take his head from among the
apple boughs and trot along as he should
Without doubt, SpOoney was surprised
into obedience, for to have a long legged
girl crawl along his back and pun his ears
and take apples out of his mouth was a
new eXperi ence.
For this timely assistance the TdbOrS
were duly grateful, and Marth was invited
10 rue. II may nave bttu llitL l4iN nero
inc was nervous from fasting, and her long
walk, or perhaps the little women seemed
overtrustful, thus appealing TO the romantic
in her for certain it is that she rOmanCed
dreadfulIy in reply to their kindly cues
tioniugS.
Before the Tabor cottage was reached
sse was told that she might try the house
work for the sisters.
One night Miss Lucinda was Mortified
to find a drunken tramp in the kitchen
with his feet on the table. Marth was
pressing bundle into his hands. The man
staggered out of the house. ErinniDg ma
liCiously, while Marth, with a tiny red spot
on either cheek, hurried about her work.
Biarth did not come to the sitting
that night to the reading.
They're stole" she made answer, when
Miss Nancy intimated that another gown
would better become her at the dinner abIe,
and the most diligent search could not pro-
duce shred OF clothing belonging to the
girl.
In the days that followed Marth's step
lost something of its lghtneSs, and her
eyes became shifting and uneasy.
One morning a little later she was gone.
No word, no intimatiOn; simply gone
OF course ii was ''ungrateGuT' for Marth
to leave without warning" ," but as Miss
Nancy said, 'if she had been as mean as
some she would have stayed till she got
tfit Ilp tIbIutS WHICH were ilIbliiicCu HtI
to replace those that were stolen"
Fifty miles from ClarktOwn is Factory
Vile, and here MartA plodded. There were
months OF encouragement for her and hard
fighting for life, but Factoryyille was not
yet grown large enough to be altogether
heartlesS, and its inhabitants We're mostly
working people.
How she accomplished it the chronicles do
not relate, but in a year she was the pos
SCISSOR Of a little stock OF millinery and had
patronage enough to pay her rent.
That the young minister should seek her