The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-12-23
SELECTED STORY.
The EllertOn's Christmas,
AN AUSTRALIAN SKETCH.

AN AUSTRALIAN SkETCH.
30 how hotl" sighed Susy Ellerton,
as she stood on the porch at the west
ern side of the house, tanning herself
and watching the sun-a great ball OF
fire roll slowly down in blaze of
crimson and gold, foretelling another
day Of heat.
"To-morrow'll be scorcherl" said
Tom joining her. eff it isn't the
queerest Christmas weather. What do
you suppose they are doing at st.
Michele"
ooh, baking mince pies and trying to
keep top of the snow-drifts," said Susy
with another weary sigh. Don't /
wish we had one herei"
"Thats easy enough to be bad, i
should think. Just conglomeration
of meat and spice and plums and
things"
"Ughl Mince pies this weather."
exclaimed his sister with shrug.
"But o snow-drift nova huge, white,
sparkling snow-driftl Wouldn't 1
just"
"Take plunge in it, eh?" laughed
Tom. "But this isn't 80 bad as they
are having it at Sydney. Thermometer
1909 in the shade. We ought to be
thankful we've 80 much room to breathe
in"
"Plenty Of room, I'll allow, Tom, but
unfortunately scarcity of air, and
what there is feels as though it came
out of furnace" said Sally, who, with
Nab, had come out of the sitting rooms
to get breath.
81 don't see why father came away
off hereto this country of opposites
and Oddities" complained Nab. at
isn't fiji for anyone to live inl"
"Oh, but this weather won't last for
ever" said Tom. SITS midsummer
now, you know"
"Yes," Nab continued querulously.
"That's just it. Midsummer in De-
cember, when we ought to be snow
shoeing it and freezing our noses, or
sitting around blazing iresl When
it's morning here, it's time to go TO bed
at st. Michel. The north wind is hot
and the south wind is cold, the east
wind is healthy and the breeze from
the west brings distempers. The leaves
grow edgewise on the trees, the owls
boot in the daytime, and the cuckoos
cook at night, and quadrupeds lay
eggs. Everything here is topsy-turvyl"
ooh, now, SIS" replied Tom paci-
fically, eve may have 'southerly bus
ter as the natives say, before many
days, and change all this"
"No chance of that, should say"
remarked Sally, with the sun looking
as it does now"
"'All In a hot and copper sky,
The bloody sun at noon.
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the moon,"
quoted Tom. " Graciousl / never real
lied the heat of the old fellows narra-
tive till this sdmmer. However, must
be off in the morning to the sheep sta
ton to give Bob, poor old fellow, a rest.
1t must be awful poky to be pottering
along after flock of senseless sheep all
day in the heat"
This was the Ellertons' first year in
Australia, at least, the first year with
Mrs. Ellerton and her daughters, Susy,
Nab and Sally. Mr.. Ellerton and his
three sons, Robert, Edwin and Tom,
had come over from St. Michel, Can
ada, to Sydney, at the urgent advice of
a Canadian friend, two years before, to
settle in the back country and go to
sheep raising and farming.
He had been fortunate in obtaining a
fine farm few miles from the coast,
although there were still on it the prim-
tive buildings which had served its
first settler, an Englisnman who had
lived there ten years. A short time
before he had lost his wife, and with
his two motherless daughters he had
returned to England, selling his farm
to Mr.. Ellerton at almost a nominal
price.
Here the Canadian and his sons lived
through one season, tending their
sheep and making their own "cham-
per-" when the mother and daughters
were sent for.
In addition to his first farm Mr.. e.
lerton had purchased sheep" run !"
several miles away on the downS,
where there was good grazing during
that part of the year when the drouths
prevailed at the farm. To this "run"
the sheep were driven at the beginning
of November, after the sheep washing
and shearing, which occurs about the
middle of October Robert had been
left in bark and waffle hut to care
for them and protect them from the
ravages of the eagles and dingoes,"
the latter the greatest enemy to the
flock with which the shepherd of Aus
tralia has to contend.
Tom and Ned had remained at the
homestead to assist their father in the
harvesting. Bob had been away at the
station nearly two months, the harvest
ing was completed, with the exception
of the later sown wheat, and now Tom
was to take his turn at the run"
Mr.. Ellerton and Ned, in the inter-
val of labor, had gone to Sydney with
their clip of wool, expecting to return
on Christmas eve at the furthest, so
that the day before Christmas Mrs. e.
lerton and the girls were in full posses
zion of the homestead.
1t had been an unusually dry sum-
mer, with frequent hot winds, and
when the winds abated the sun was ex-
TSS Health and strength carry us
TyG through dangers and make us safe
W in the presence of peril. A per-