The record-union., 1898-10-02

sert himself, or, growing tired OF ex-
| tending the helping hand she now look.
ed upon as a right, made no attempt to
throw off the yoke which had grown
in proportion to that of the Old Man Of
| the Sea.
I But drot it," she exclaimed in a
| burst Of confidence to her neighbor,
there's them as zort O. vansyAit. bless
ZEE, and nur one O they upstartish
gentry 'ood get to heaven eff so be It
warnt for us poor volk."
| To sum up her estimation in a few
| words, the person was but poor
| creature at best; but what could be
expected from one who was apparently
unable to see through the most. bare
| faced of her little tricks and de-
| vices?
| To-day her list of woes were grievous
| and plentiful She felt sure that the
messenger had helped herself freely
from the generous weekly basket sup
piled her from the vicarage. The pud-
ding had not suited the remarkable
| style Of digestion peculiar to herself,
of which process she included detailed
| account; also it was evident that the
annual distribution Of blankets would
| not take place till so late in the year
that she was sure the poor bodies would
be starved with cold before they came
| into their property Her visitor pro-
posed to see into the matter.
And they Goals SIR she added,
| with a plaintive wall Of mingled in
jury and indignation, 'ef so be the kind
| ladies as wound thic there coal money
was to hear on the sinful waste O they
| coaled- Coal,' she continued scorn-
fully, mo more o. coal than thiccy
chunk O. rock!
The curate expressed his sorrow, but
Gran was not SO easily checked. It
was not for her to say where the fault
lay, but they that had the spending Of
the money should know best.
"Ee've tight O. vine doins to look
| to, sir" she added, with self-consciOus
resignation, "wi'out heedin' the troubles
Of the likes O. us poor volk-"
"Gran!" came a sharp voice of in
dignation from the. gateway Gran,
you wicked old woman, how dare you
say such abominably ungrateful
| things! Then as the speaker entering
the wicket approached them she added:
| It's a wonder you aren't struck dumb
on the spot, indeed it is. AT any rate,
you may be sure it's not for the want
of deserving it,
| Gran gave a shamefaced little court
| esy as these words fell Unexpectedly
| upon her ear, and at the same time
| the curate lifted his hat, to all ap-
| pearances shocked, if not little
panied.
TT was a pity he thought-that is,
she was SO very pretty, Miss Doreen
Rivers-and working SO energetically in
| the parish too; but how could she ex
pect these poor souls to learn to con-
| troll their tongues if she made no eff
fort to moderate her own language?
| Still Gran accepted the reproof with
surprising meekness, even though it
were possible that the visitors open
basket suggested the best tea and 9TH
er luxuries. Yet the loss of a tongue
| was a somewhat SOLDERING prophecy
| even to Gran.
Bless zee, miss, I mean nur harm"
she faltered alphabetically, though
faint for the likes O. I say nur word
ag'in'-
| NO, Gran" remarked Miss Rivers
with emphasis, lit certainly is not, and
| SO I think you had better keep silent
| for the future"
| The curate frowned. She was hard
on these poor souls, he thought-he had
half suspected it for some time; had
I! even received insinuations from the
| people themselves In respect to her
| inf1exibility upon matter Of pawned
| coal tickets. To come among these
| humbled cottage folk and fail to help
| and cheer them was unsatisfactory
enough but to bully the long suffering
| creatures during her visit-the idea was
| intolera BILE. He must speak to the young
woman on the subject, and at the first
| opportunity Not a very pleasant or
deal, he considered. On the whole, he
might have found it easier if her eyes
had not been such a very trustful sort
| of blue.
'Ef so be as I've said aught to Of
fend the gentleman began Gran in
| low mumbling voice.
You are very sorry" interrupted
! Miss Rivers quietly. - We'll, there's
one thing, Gran, your words are not
| of much avail, or it would be pretty
hard on your friends and ac-
| quaintances, I'm afraid" Here the
| speaker gave an irrepressible little
chuckle, while the young fellow at her
side struggled hard to preserve a de-
meanor suitable to the occasion, and
| tried not to see the joke.
Mr.. Hilton has been very good to
you," continued the girl with a touch
of feeling in her tones. wouldn't you
like to do something to please him, for
| once?"
| The old woman glanced up at them
shrewdly She half suspected plot
! Come to the harvest thanksgiving on
| Sunday" continued the speaker per-
| suasively Surely you've something
you are grateful for?" Her eye roved
around the tiny garden in search of in
spiration.
He do be a vine marrer," murmured
Gran. following the direction Of her
glance.
1T is, indeed agreed Miss Rivers
! admiringly well, then, your beauti-
| full marrow"
The curate thought it advisable to as
| sist her at this point. 1t was by no
means a high minded suggestion that
Gran should go to church in order 10
please him, or that, once there. she
should proceed to give thanks for the
solitary vegetable that graced her gar
den; but after all Miss Rivers had made
some Roadway, and that was every
| thing with Gran. He resolved to carry
| off the situation as lightly as possible.
II know now" he volunteered with
| a laugh, what the poet meant by a
winsome marrow; it certainly does
| Gran credit. We return thanks on Sun
day." he continued gravely, "for all the
| gifts of God-the kindly fruits OF the
earth, in fact