The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1898-12-02

] august MdLLGQ dGEO5S
/ fields the sweet and soothing, Odor of
! the green and yellow growing things.
| The grain stalks waved their tasseIed
heads gently and rhythmicaIly-
| ocean Of gold-and the birds chirPed
their JOY among the ripening fruit in
/ the branches Of the harvest APPLE
tee, there by the corn crib.
On the back porch Of the old, old
/ farm hOUse-an echo, seeming, of an
/ other day,-behind a screen of Dutch
mans pipe and vOodbine. Aunt Jane
/ sat IN a cane seat" brought from the
I front room, husking the sweet corn for
| dinner.
Now and then an ear Of the pearly
! kernels would fall from her hands into
/ the pan and she would, for an instant,
/ look of down the road or across the
/ field toward the dark green wood be
yOnd- absently, her mind racing back
/ the pathway of the years to the days
/ when she and Silas were children to-
| gether in the old red schOOlhouse; lead
ers, afterward. in the singing school,
| lovers at the husking bees, and then
their wedding.
Once or twice Aunt Jane took of her
steel bowed spectacIes and pulling up
/ her apron cleared the glasses with a
corner Of il. Then she would arrange
them again comfortably astride her
nose, slipping back the bows into the
ruts that time had made above her
ears, and pulling down. ever 50 slight
", the gray hair over them. Then, Of
sudden returning to her task, she would
tear of the green husks impatientIy,
as though by sheer force pulling her
self back TO the evening Of the pres
ent, from her. moments ramble in the
morning Of the past.
With my book. over on the other side
of the porch, I did not intrude into the
domain Of Aunt James revery. Ere
quently on looking up would see her
lips moving. as though she hUmmed to
herself some Old-time song or repeated
in her heart some words that long since
had been told her. I would smile, sim
ply, and resume my reading. When
the last ear had been stripped of its
gown of green and the brown silks"
had been picked from between the rows
of kernels, Aunt Jane set the pan down
on the floor of the porch and gazed
out across the fields.
do you see" she said, after a mo-
ment, and from the tone the words
seemed as much addressed TO herseIfas
TO me, though I responded. DO you
see" she said, that big tree cross
there, right at tn edge O tn woods.
TIL one mex [ tn old blasted Oak?"
I leaned forward in my rocker and,
shading my eyes with the open book,
gazed in the direction she designated.
YES I replied; "has that tree a story,
Aunt Jane?'
1 heard a sigh, but so gently breathed
that 1T seemed but the echo Of a sigh.
''NO, faint got a story. That's tn tree
where Silas asked me { marry him.
Nearly every man in tn Heminway
family, pears, asked their wives L
marry EN- under that tree. SiIas'
brother, Seth, asked Sary L marry him
while they was a-strOIIin' through
them woods one day. long. long time
ago. Seems ages almost 1t was right
under that tree that he asked her. Sary
told me of it durin' her las sickness
when we tryin' L take care of her here
at tn house Her room was the back
one upstairs, an she asked us Z pull tn
bed down sO't she could see tn tree out
o. tn window. If I amt mistaken she
died a-lOOllin' at that tree. She told
Seth fore their fust child was born
that she wisht. If she should die, he'd
take tn child out under that tree every
birthday o. hern' an tell It that IT was
there that its mothers happiness be
gun. But Sary didn't die-nOt then.
She had three boys an one girl grown
up before she passed away. I wonder
If me or Silas ever told You bout tn
christenin' o Sary's eldest2'
And through the moisture that mem
DRY had caused TO gather In Aunt James
eyes there broke the light of a smile
that broadened and deepened until she
laughed.
Your mother likely knows II" she
said, but If she amt told 1t L you 1
sPOse / might as well"
And knew that there was to be for
me another delightful human chapter
out Of Aunt James delicious volume Of
"reminiscences. I leaned back in my
chair and closed my eyes 10 be carried
away By her to another day, another
wOrid-to me.
"Seth's wife's name was an EmpsOn
fore she married Seth. Tn Heminway
an tn EmPsOn farms Joined down be
low that stone wall by tn creek TIL
Heminways was always on good terms
with tn EmpsOns an tn EmpsOns was
always tn same with tn Heminways.
so, with tn two farms joinin'. 'tyvant
no mOre'n nachera1 tibet IN course o
time Seth an Sary should get married,
[ sOrter Join tn property a mite closer,
as old Hiram Heminway used L say
An 'twant. Tn weddin' O tn two was
jest tn ordinary conclusion o. two
children bein' raised within a stones
throw o each other an no blood rela-
ton between en- 1t was tn nacheraI
result OF a PrOtracted period o. singin-
school an husLin' bees Anyway they
was married Their eldest was born
bout tn end Of tn second year as ]
recOllect now. remember that child
almost as well as L remember Ezra, my
first 1t was as pretty a baby as yOu
ever set your eyes on, and as bright and
IS smart, from tn begiuuin', as q crici-
ct. II was about two months old before
they nRTaed 81. And then O. course
came & seth en- Sary th' thought 81