The record-union., 1897-01-10
CUPID THE FIDDLER.

In a strange little village, somewhere
in England, lived Prissy Emlet Pee
PIE sometimes strayed very near her
home, and strayed away again tired
and hungry, longing for sign Of hui
n AN creatures, when all the time they
had been looking right over the tops
of score of cieimneys, old chimneys
wrapped about with ivy ard house
leek, whence if the wind had lain Alright
bacon and eggs. Stomachs, braced by
the keen air CT the plain, and the fear
of never smelling anything more sub
stantial, would have been irresistibly
drawn ON by such means, in spite of
the fact that there was naught but dun
grass from their feet to the wind-hole;
but If they had followed their noses,
they would certainly have heard some
thing soon, a rusty pump braying the
thud of chopping, the crying of babes
or the Growing of cocks. Spurred by
the sound, they would at last have won
sight of a wisp of blue smoke arising
from TIE ground, and so have lighted
cn Little Dinder, lying curled up like
field mouse in a hollow of the great
green blanket, with pinfold, pump,
church, and parsonage, spr1nglng up
with an inn and eighteen cottages to
look after them, beside a rough chalk
road, which a few miles back over the
brow was but faint track. And there
was a tinkling stream, turning up I'M
ahaShed from nowhere, and frisking
down the roadside as if it had been
guiding the wanderer for miles past
like a properly conducted watercourSe.
Weary men who found these things
were often very irritated, and would
vow that they had never seen such a
place in their lives, and thai: it ought
to have been marked on the map; they
wanted to know how people could live
in such a hole, and how they ever
found uf1eir way into it or out of it..
Then Prissy, as she slapped thick, salt,
glistening rashers into the frying-pan,
or raked together snlclderirg turves.
would say: "Lor bless zee, we'm able to
get here right 'nough. We'd jess look
at that tump,' indicating with her fork
a far-away clump of frs, like a pimple
on the face of the plain.
But the travellers, unless they were
old, or blind, or bilious, looked not at
the clump, but at Prissy for she was
goodly to look at, sweetly slender, di-
v:nely tall, and generally half blinded
by drifted wisp of golden hair which
needed tucking under a thick net with
a rounded arm. Nature, the ever young
Mistress of Arts. had taught her to
lCok at one in kind of accidental,
dreamy manner, and to retire into her
self as a down rabbit dives into it's
hurrow. But her little ways were all
her own, and when she looked at a
man so she did not know quite what
ne thought about those eyes of hare
bell blue, and when she so dived, she
dived In spasm of fear that there was
a smut ON her nose
Now, it fell out that Robert Ross of
the Mill took certain teggs of his fa-
ther's, certain lambs, and certain fat
beasts to Langston stock sale; and hav-
Ing sold well he drank well, and wended
home as the sun turned back When he
came to the chalk pit on the Thousan nd
Acre, by reason of the liquor that was In
him he took the left-hand track after
the three stones, and then bare leftward
at the Gibbet, which, as every man
knows who is sober, is the way to Din
der, and never to Mallop, Therefore his
long legs brought him into the inn at
Dinder,as Prissy was getting her fathers
supper against he came back from
Langston; and when Prissy came in
from the kitchen and looked ait him in
that way of hers or ever he was aware
his soul made him like the chariots of
Amminadib, and he could scarcely gasp.
Quart please, miss
After score or so sips at his cider, his
heart rose within him and he conversed
He said it was a cold day, and he said
it was a bit goldfish, and he said it was
cold coming up by Thousand Acre
Somewhat later he said it was dampish
and main sharp in the wind; and he
said 1t did blow bit wettish, but he
thought the rain would not come till
the change of the moon. Then he said
it was cool for the time of the year, and
Prissy looked at him, and he immedi-
ately perceived it was warm evening,
and said so.
Then the little wanton god stirred him
up with his poisoned dart and he be-
came anxious about Prissy's health,
ness of his sympathy he even expressed
the hope that she would put a bit Of
something soft round her pretty head
when she went out and not get cold,
or let the sun harm her. Then Prissys
mother wanted her, and Robert went
to sleep with his curly poll on the
scrubbed table hard by his blue mug
A couple of hours later the rectors
roam came cornwards at a great pace
over the turf, and it took some persua-
sion to make him stop at the inn. How
ever, the withered little rector was his
master. and burly John Emlet alighted
carefully, with coffin-shaped case un-
der his arm and a round box in his hand
and bade the rector good day, and
thanked him kindly. and said his Prissy
should be round at half-past 6. The
thump of the aforesaid case being de-
posted upon the table aroused Robert
from his reposing, and he watched Pris-
sy's blush as her father unlocked the
brown case and produced a fiddle.
well, l never did, said Mrs. Emlet
ITO think of the rector's a-wantin to
teach my gel that thing! A pretty fig
ure you'll cut, Priss"
I'll warrant she'd make a fine play
err" her father said, patting her shoul-
der fondly; and 1t do seem to as It's
more wimmin's thing than a mans
thing, all a tweedleein' and a twiddle-
diddlin' about
Prissy said nothing, but she looked at
the fiddle and a string broke. There
now" said she, 'ithe old things gone
and broke of its own self! Now how
about half-past 6?"
Then Robert stretched out a hand for