The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1896-01-08
STORY OF A NEW YEARS.
RESOLUTION,
BY ELLIS PARKER BUTLER.

had known Gregory in the states.
He was an A No. young fellow and
We had worked side by side for three
years at the same desk in little whole
sale house in Iowa. How Gregory ever
happened to leave Canada and find his
way to Iowa, is too long and too dull a
story to tell; but he did find his way
there, and soon after he arrived we be-
came great chums.
He sang in the choir, made out the
bills of the concern for which we work
ed, rode horseback. and had boils. OF
the four occupations, the boils seemed
To interest him most, and no wonder,
for they were with him night and day.
He used to back up to me and say
Look at my neck, will you, old fell
low, and see if that spot looks like a
boil ~ Usually il did.
We all used to advise him what TO
do for them, and he did it, Our desk
drawers were always full of his tonics
and lotions and salves and when any
one pulled one of his special drawers
open an odor like an apothecary shop
escaped.
But all this has nothing to 10 with
my story.
When Gregory was called back to
Canada he made me promise to visit
him at Sutton-West some time. He
said it was the most beautiful spot in
the world, and that it had a climate as
much superior TO ours here in Iowa a.
gold to lead.
So when found | was to have two
weeks vacation during the Christmas
holidays in '93, | wrote him that was
coming. His reply to my letter was en-
thusiastic. The weather was superb,
the sleighing excellent, pretty cousin
was visiting them. Come right along,
and he had big carbuncle on his arm.
So / went.
To get 20 Sutton you go through
Toronto and up little branch railway,
and rom Sutton you drive several miles
to Sutton-West along the shore of Lake
Simcoe.
Gregory met me at the station and
wrapped me well in robes. A servant
drove. Gregory explained that he
would have handled the ribbons him
self had he been able, but owing to his
carbuncle he was obliged to carry his
arm in a sling. He was downright
glad to see me, and asked questions all
the way to Sutton-West, about the old
friends in Iowa.
1 enjoyed the first half of the ride,
but the last half was decidedly cold.
1t seems that they had had a change
of weather and were now having a
genuine Canadian winter.
The place, which they called Old
Sotherwood, fronted on the lake, and
was rambling old building in the real
English style.
There were II rooms and they kept
l3 stoves i'm continual action. The
room without stove was an extra
room in the attic and was used for a
store room. Gregory said that all the
men turned out in the fall and hauled
wood, and then when snow fell all be-
gan chopping, and chopped until time
to plant in the spring.
1t kept Gregory busy feeding the
stoves. He would fill up number one,
and then fill number two, and so on,
and by the time he had number Is
stocked he would be ready to load num-
Der one again, and sometimes he would
not be able to get around in time and
the fire in number one would be out
before he had number l3 full of wood.
The front door was completely snow
ell up, buried behind 30-foot drift and
Gregory told me it was a lucky thing,
for if it had not been and anyone should
have opened the front and rear doors
at the same time the lake breeze would
have blown the whole unlucky IL stoves
out of the house and clear down TO
Toronto. That lake breeze was what
they called ''bracing weather" up there.
Down in Iowa we would have locked
ourselves indoors and said: "What
fearful blizzard ~
And they seemed to enjoy it. The
girl cousin, Maud Gregory, did not
mind it in the least, and would take
her skates and sail out for little spin
on the ice on days when was wonder
ing whether we had not better tie the
house to the pine trees to keep it from
blowing away.
But then she was accustomed to it.
She had never been farther south than
Toronto, and frequently spent her win
tiers there on Lake Simcoe.
She was beautiful girl, too. saw
that the first time met her, and saw
it more plainly every day.
By the time had grown little ac-
customed to the beautiful climate we
were quite good friends, and as Greg
ory's carbancle practically confined
him to the smoking-room, the pleasure
of escorting her on her numerous skat-
ing trips naturally fell to me. And
did not shirk my duty.
She was an only child, and her faith
er was clerk in one of the Toronto
banks, the Commerce, and Maud was
very desirous of helping him by secur-