The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1897-04-04

temptation of being seen in such high
company by Sam and all the village
for his head was now completely turned
by all the attention which he had re-
ceived, and any lingering doubt as to
the success of his claim was quite dis
| PEELED by this time. Indeed. he felt
that the hour had come when he might
proclaim himself to all the world as the
new Squire of Legion. Poor mani
| Could he have overheard the CONVEX
/ sation about him when the carriage
| drove on after dropping him at the
| ''Bevis Arms, it would have been a
terrible BLOW to his vanity. AS it was.
Irene Ashton's last appeal to him was
disturbing enough.
DO promise me. Mr.. Bevis, that YOU
will not interfere with your daughters
wedding. Nothing else can ever make
up to her for the loss of her lover. Let
her be happy in her own way!''
| There was no time for him to reply,
as with a parting wave of the hand she
drove away. and her words We're soon
forgotten in the satisfaction of being
/ the center of a wondering, admiring
group. Sam Bewley and the others
had seen him get down from the grand
carriage and pair. with a footnan to
open the door.
After this he felt it quite conde-
scension to drive off in the carriers
cart through the fertile country, rich
with water meadows in the valley be-
low, while on the upland slopes the
golden harvest was ready for the
scythe; and he knew that every farm
and homestead as far as the eye could
reach was part of the Leyton prop
erty. And it was all to be his; nay at
that very moment he was in truth
lord and master of the whole broad
country side The thought was abso-
lutely intoxicating. and now that his
tongue was once loosed, he poured out
all the pride of his oVerburdened heart
Honest sam listened with wonder and
dismay to this strange talk, in which
he did not recognize his old friend, the
village orator, the champion of the la
boring man.
presently, as they drove round a
corner, they came unawares upon a
row of women wedding a turnip field.
or, rather, standing still. leaning on
their hoes and gossiping to their
hearts content At the sound of wheels
there was general movement. and the
whole company moved on with clock
work precision wholly intent upon their
task
There now, look ZEE Fam, did zee
ever zee the likes o. that?" cried the
embryo landlord, in fierce INDIGNATION.
An to think as all they lazy drabs be
yarnen ten pence or mebbe 20 much's
shillen day; why, ties downright
| robbery 20 tes!"
This was more than the carrier could
stand, and he burst out into a roar of
laughter
why, measter, or Zir Oliver. as us
mid call ZEE now, | can tell 'ee a tale
vor TO beat thik there. 90 zee mind how
Warmer Yeatman zent thy lad Zimon.
last fall. wi all they little pegs O. his'n.
down to copse vor to I'll theysens wi
acorns? Well. now to tell zee the truth.
Warmer he vur a big vOcl vor he'd a.
telled the children as he'd gle they
haf crown q bushel bag for they
acorns. 70 what does thik there Iii
mon do? He be all day a-dreven they
pegs away vrom the weak trees. 20
as he an the Warden boys mid pick
up all the acorns! Tel zee what-they
pore little pegs mid all 20 we'll bided to
hoam, vor mar "a mouthvul did they
get; an then Warmer doant find they
grow no fatter!'
But his companion did not see the
joke of this; he only felt that such
mental labor had been a grievous wrong
| to his SON and heir.
| 1t was still afternoon when they
| reached Combe DalIwood, for the old
| white horse was cheered by the knowI-
| edge that he was trotting homeward
| Oliver Bevis got down at the corner,
| by the carriers gate. and walked up
the village street, holding his head
| high, as though this common earth
were not worthy of him. How mean
| and squalid everything looked The
wooden bridge across the stream. the
| Row doorway of his home. half hidden
| by clustering jasmine, the rough stone
| floor, the smoke-discolored walls of the
small dark room with its narrow WIN
dOwsi
| But what he seemed to miss more
than AL was the princely waste of use
| full space in those stately chambers at
| Legion Hall. Here he and his family
| were huddled together; and in such
close quarters, he felt that his wife and
| daughter lost much of their comeli-
ness, while as for young Simon, in
| his WOrk-a-day clothes, sitting on a
| stool cutting great lunches of bread
and butter with his pocketknife, he
looked a typical plowboy.
| Dinah misinterpreted her husbands
air of annoyance and disgust, and came
to meet him with ready sympathy,
| eager to soothe him after his disaD-
pointment.
''Thee nun be right down wore OUT
wi thk there long dreve, 20 doant zee
Worrit vor to tell we nought about ct
till thee've had a cup o tea. The pot
have a-drawed well, an ties all ready"
said she ''Tedden no odds to we, vor
us doant want no change. wi a good
thoam and good children, an our Lyddy
20 happy WI her lad; he've a-ben here
bit by now she added in a lower
voice. with an encouraging smile at her
daughter.
"Doant zee be SIGH WOOL, Dinah,"
shouted her lord and master, with am
indignant stamp of the foot. Didn't
L tell zee as t'wur all upzides WI Tom
Yates, an our Lyddy mum be squier's
leady one o. these days. 'TwuM all be
zettled avore long, an thee'n have
maids an men, too, vor to be at thy
beck an call in big house, an thee'II
ha nought to do but put on fine clothes
and zit there wi folded hands,
Mrs. Bevis gave a great start of sur
prise at this news and silence fell up
on the group until poor Lyddy's over
wrought feelings found relief in unac-