The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-08-15

--.u,. IN Bradford were both glad
Gerry when the old Bradford
homestead was sold to Ehphaiet
e, D the great iron master.
ST. 4,,.ar,.bodv liked the Bradfords, and
land had been theirs since the
~ was first settled. But they had
-, down in the world, as to money.
w., Rradfords grandfather had gone
-aouritv for a friend and had to mort
raoo house and land to pay the debt.
49, father struggled with the burden
Ill he died but a mortgage, where
t,oro &c no money to pay interest,
,,,ob less principal, is worse than the
1ocusts of Egypt.
whom he died the holders foreclosed,
and tbe place had to go; there was no
help for it,
AIRS Bradford had a good house with
fve-acre lot on the. edge of town. 1t
came from her father, who had tied it
tight to her petticoats, so she and her
dauehter and Jim went there to live.
An old friend of the family got Jim
tbe position as station master at the
,aiIroad depot 1t was come-down
1 for a Bradford, of course, but you
never would have guessed that Jim
Thought so. He had taken his diploma
as a civil engineer, just before his IA
I tber died, and had a place offered him
out West.
But his mother was delicate, and
/ ching to Jim so that the doctors said
4 # might kill her If he left. And Jim
buckled down to work on the railroad
as cheerfully as if they had elected him
governor. The wages were enough to
provide for his mother and sister, so
he worked with a will. / think the
folks thought more of him than ever
because of that; know / did. / was
one of the men at the depot, and so
Twas under him.
The Simmses were certainly an ac-
|ouisition to the town. They made their
summer home in Bradford, and lived
there from May until November. Mr..
|Simms left the old stone house stand
|ing, only he built wings, and restored
lii. as they call it, adding all the mod
|ern improvements, until it was far and
AWAY the finest place in the country
round.
There were several children, but Miss
constance, the oldest daughter, was
|the flower of the flock in my opinion,
End | wasn't the only one who thought
30, either.
She took hold of it as If she had been
born in Bradford, taught in the Sun
hay School, sang in the choir, and the
Congregational minister said, was in
ktant in every good word and work.
Milly Bradford was another church
worker, and Jim was the tenor of the
khoir, besides the fact that the Brad
lords had always been the finest fam
ply in the place, SO, Of course, the
Eoung people soon got to know~eacha
bther.
My wife was always wishing that
Jim and Miss Constance would make
match of it. She, my wife, is great
reader, and she said it was what they
would do in books, but / told her to
hold her tongue, and not to be advising
The truth was that was
pretty sure from what L saw for my
self that Miss Constance liked Jim,
while he was head over ears fins love
with her, and had made up his mind
hot to let her know it. / couldn't see
why not, she was rich and he was poor,
but the Bradfords went back to the
-May1oWer, and beyond, Wnlle EnpnaleC
Smms began as striker in black
fmith shop, and wasn't ashamed OF 1t.
However, Jim paid Miss Constance
DO more attention than politeness re-
blurred, and 1 got real provoked at the
way he missed his opportunities. The
6immses always had houseful of COM
bany, and 1 was afraid Miss Constance
would marry somebody else, because
Jim didn't ask her.
l said as much to him one day.
bad known him all his life, and he shut
fne off so quick that it was the last
time I let off any steam.
Things went on in this way for two
pr three years, until had about given
pp hopes. The two families were fair
" intimate Mr. Simms liked to show
PIT the Bradfords to the people who
eame to see him, and so Jim and Milly
were asked to all the parties at the