The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1901-08-23
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.

kA67NaAV anu IL Illdlu sat uuueF Il tree,
! AsssWsgj little stream at their feet
! and the lush summer all around. The
! land was wild and beautiful. The cul-
| tivated fields to be seen by bird
! above their heads were only little,
| irregular islands grouped through the
sea of forest. Near the pair-that is,
not half mile away-stood the lar
gest and best farmhouse within many
miles. 1t had frame addition built
in front of the older log structure, a
big, rough, grassy yard, and at one side
garden equally divided between flow
ers and vegetables.
Two stout danes sat on the back gal
lery, one knitting, one with folded
| hands.
81 tell you, Betty" said the idle one,
81 don't give my approval to the way
you're a-lettin Lucindy carry on. That
gal is the talk Of the county,"
"Now, Sist' Emmy" replied the
other in an aggrieved, long suffering
tone, "that's a turrible way to talk.
It's onjust. The talk Of the county,"
she repeated fiaring into a little un-
usual vigor of utterance, sounds as if
the poor child had done somethin dis
respectable, and goodness knows
don't know sence when there's a law
in the land that gyirl's got to marry
afore she's ready"
''The trouble with that gal," said
sist' Emmy, "'pears to be that she
won't git married when she is ready"
1t was the belief of her relatives that
Mrs. Emmeline Simms persisted in say
ing "gal' for the express purpose Of
mortifying and irritating them and
that she particularly loved to so desig-
nate Lucinda. Lucinda being the source
of certain innovations in the family
| English.
"There she sits out there" said Mrs.
| Simms, pointing to the pair visible as
small blots under the distant feathery
walnut tree, "a-lettin that poor fool
spark her and as like as not a-lettin
him pint the day ag'in, and then she'll
go kick over the traces once more at
the last minute. And talk about bein
the talk of the county, do you reckon,
Betsey Ann. that anything is a-goin to
| be more talked about on the footstool
| than a gal breakin off her weddin after
| they've begun to bake the cake2 Do
you?"
| "Now, Sist' Emmy" began Lucinda's
mother, exactly as before, you know
there was mighty little cake baked.
You'd jest come and hadn't fairly got
| into the fruit cake and Lucindy never
let it get that far afore, and she won't
| ag'in, 'cept she's goin through with it.
You forgit the feelin's of gyirl. They
don't alluz know their own minds.
| Ethan Simms Is only your nephew by
marriage, and Lucindy's your own
blood niece, and my feelin's is hurt,
Sist' Emmy
| Betty Ann, don't begin like that.
You know I'm as fond of Lucindy as if
she was my own child, but you never
did have no government, and do say
that to have all this courtin startin up
ag'in with that eejet-I think the mans
bewitched-when it was scan'al enough
to have the weddin broke off dfter the
| invites was OUT Mrs. Simms stop
ped an instant, then escaped the laby-
| rinth of her own sentences by cutting
through directly to the main matter
"The gal ought to be made to drop
hiN or take him."
Seems as if it's more Ethan's busi-
ness than y-than anybody elses, and
he pears mighty anxious not to be
dropped, whether he's taken or not"
"Humph! Ethan's a plumb eejet-
far be any denyin Of that from tne-
but Lucindy is full as eager about
keepin him danglin as he ia, and you
don't lift your finger about it. don't
know why the Lord sends families to
women with no government, but he
most certainly do"
OF course her own caprices were also
being discussed by Lucinda and her
lover under the walnut tree. Truth to
tell, these caprices had always furnish
ed them with conversational material,
a commodity which otherwise they Of
ten must have lacked.
For four years they had been "court-
in," and three times wedding day had
been set. The last time, only three
months before, the usual retreat by
the unstable Lucinda had been delayed,
as we have already learned, until pub
licity and general condemnation were
its well merited portion.
Lucinda now stood under the walnut
tree a lamentably attractive and ap-
pealing figure of a culprit She was
only slip of a thing, though 10 years
were quoted warningly to her. There
We're few unmarried girls in the settle
ment SO old. a '''''
Little, tricksy brown curls had slip.
ped from the bands and knots she tried
so hard to keep smooth. Her brown
eyes were swimming in tears, which
were falling one by one over brown
cheeks as round as a childs. She
knotted her hands in her apron, though
it was her best one and just ironed, as
she said: t.t. "o"'..' "a
II do care about you, Ethan; you
know do. l want to marry you some
time; you know do. But-but l don't
seem ready to settle down right off.
1t looks sort of dreadful-everythin
all fixed one way then for the rest Of
your life. like being a gyirl." On this
last word this friyolQNs young nersaW
caught her breath and began to sob.
You wouldn't think that Away If
you cared for me-" said the seated
Ethan gloomily, prudently keeping his