Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-01-16
Splendid Time Ahead.
By WALTER BEsANT.
ICop. light, 1895, BY the Author.l
CHAPTER |.

CHAPTER !.
4 1t was Sunday evening III July-an
| evening aglow with warmth and SPLEEN
/ dor; an evening when even the streets
of london were glorious with the light
I of the splendid west; an evening when,
/ if you are young Gas l sincerely hope
/ you are), only TO wander hand in hand
1 over the grass and under the trees with
/ your sweetheart should be happiness
I enough. One ought To be ashamed to
ask for more. Nay, great many do
/ not ask for more.
They are engaged. some time. bat
not just yet, they viii marry. They
/ work separately all the week, bat on
/ the Sunday they are free to 90 about to-
I gether. OF all the days that make the
/ week they dearly love but one day
! namely, the day that lies between the
Saturday and Monday Now that the
voice OF the Sabbatarian has sunk to "A
I whisper or Z whine; now that we have
( learned TO recognize the beauty, the
! priceless boon, the true holiness of the
/ Sunday, which not only rests body and
brain, bat may be so used as TO till the
mind with memories Of lovely scenes, of
+ sweet and confidential talk, of lovemak-
4 ing and Of happiness, we ought to deter
mine that Of all the things which make
mp the British liberties there is nothing
for which the workingman should more
+ fercely fight or more jealousy watch
/ than the full freedom Of his Sunday
4 freedom uncontrolled to wander where
; he will to make his recreation as he
/ chooses.
II the church doors are open wide, let
the doors of the public galleries and the
\ museums and the libraries be opened
wide as well. Let him, if lie choose,
step from church to library But if he is
I wise, when the grass is long and the
bramble is in blossom and the foliage
/ is thick and heavy on the elms, he will,
after dinner, repair to the country, if it
is only to breathe the air of the fields
/ and lie on his back watching the slow
4 westering of the sun and the listening
/ to the note of the blaclbird in the wood.
Two by two they stroll or sit about
( Hampstead Heath on such an evening.
+ If you We're to listen Ca pleasant thing
I to do, but wrong) to the talk of these
I couples, You would find that they are
/ mostly silent, except that they only oc-
casionally exchange Il word or two.
Why should they talk? They know each
/ others cares and prospects; they know
/ the burden that each has to bear-the
evil temper of the boss, the uncertain
ties of employment, the difficulties in
the way of an improved screw, and the
/ family troubles-there are always fam
l. Il 70
member or other. l declare that we
have been teaching morality and the
J proper conduct of life on quite wrong
prineiple-namelv, the selfish principle
We say, Be good, my child, and you
viii 60 to heaven. The proposition is
no doubt perfe tly true But it proposes
a selfish motive for action ! would
rather say to that child, BE good, my
dear, or else yor viii become an intol-
cradle nuisance TO other people " Now,
no child likes to consider himself an in
tolerable nuisance.
These lovers, therefore, wander about
the Heath, sometimes up to their knees
in bracken. sometimes sitting under the
trees, not talking much, but, as the I'D
I phrase has it, enjoying themselve
i very much indeed At the end Of the
Spaniards road-that high causelvay
whence one can see, in clear weather,
the steeple of Harrow church on one
side and the dome Of st. Panl's on the
other-there is a famous clamp of frs,
which have been represented by painters
Z over and over again. Benches have been
placed under these trees, where one can
.-i& =
with the Hendon lake in the middle dis
tance, aud range Of hills beyond. and
fields and rills between
On one Of these benches We're sitting
this evening two-Adam aud Eve, boy
and girl-newly entered into paradise.
Others We're sitting there as well-an
ancient gentleman whose thoughts We're
70 years back, a workingman with
child of 3 OH his knee, and beside him
his wife, carrying the baby But these
+ lovers paid no heed 70 their neighbors
They sat at the end Of the bench Tho
boy was holding the girl hand, and ne
was talking eagerly.
Lily, he said, you must come
nome evening to our debating society
when we begin again and lear me speak
NO one speaks better That Is 2cknOwl-
edged. There is 70 be "a debate on the
{ house Of lords in October ] mean to
come out grand When I'm done, there
viii be mighty little left Of the lords .
He was handsome lad, tall and well
set up, straight featured and bright eyed
The girl looked at him proudly He was
! her own lad--this handsome chap. Not
that she was bad looking either Many
an honest fellow has to put up with
/ girl not nearly so good looking if you
were to compare.
He was a clerk in the city She was
IA the postoffice He attended at his
Office daily from half past to 6, doing
] such work as was set before him for the
/ salary of g. week She stood all day
long at the counter, serving out postal
orders, selling stamps, weighing letters