Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1902-01-16

supper for US, in a little grape Vinea ar
Dor, at the right Of the house and oppo-
/ site TO bills grave" after which
as the chill of the night had begun "a
come on, we repaired to the iarges'
Of the two rooms in the cabin, where
before a blaze of fir bark, in huge
6replace. the old man was led to talk
| of "Bin"
On some rows of shelves, at the
side Of the fireplace, there were a
number of books, among them Ialne. S
"Fnglish Literature. Plutarch's
Lives" "Josephus," TRANSACTIONS Of
the odyssey" and the 'liad " Moore $
"LaIla Rookh," SCOTS "Marmion'
Hugo's Les Miserables,' and num-
Der of Fielding's. Smollett's' Thack-
eray's, Dickens and Bqlwer's novels
with other, and later, popular litera-
ture. Nearly all Of these had the name
of William Brandeth written IN them.
"Bin left the books to me-most OF
them" the old man explained, and that
started him talking Of bill general
ly. which was exactly what we desired
"Bill was good fellow he repeat
ed. "but be had his faults Ihey
weren't such powerful bad faults gem
orally. but they KEEP him back a heap
And he KEEP me back. Him an me were
pardners and he was monstrous good
company. You never heard such
talker as he was People would SIT
around and listen to that mans tum-
tum from rosy morn till dewy eve,
and later Bill was a powerful able
bodied liar, too. I've counted up on
him and found out that, taking the
number Of years that he had been in
China. Spain. Mexico. and what not
that man was POS years old before he
was As. He'd done everything you
could think of, and he'd a made you be
lieve be was the author Of brand Of
pills. If he'd ever set in TO doit.
"The way Bill Brandeth could play
the fiddle was a caution. He left his
fiddle to me. and I sorter took up play
in II after he went over the range"
BY this time my companion had
reached the violin and handed il TO the
old man. who, without any mock mod
esty excuses, took it and tuned it as he
talked.
I'm getting along to'ard the end of
the trip myself" he said, "and my fin
gers amt as supple as they used to
be. Besides. I'm not mp in any late mu-
sic. but I'll give you the best we've got
in the shop. Bin says it's skookum
enough, and he knows, for Bits sperit
comes ands sets around here with me
a heap. Still don't believe in ghosts,
generally, mind you. Bits ghost is
the only one | allow to come loafn'
around where am. / couldn't take to
any strange ghost"
BY this time the old man had the in
strument in perfect tune, and he
brought from it, with graceful and as
tonishing execution, music from old
time operas, such as the charming
songs in "The Bohemian Girl the SER
enade from "Don Pasquale,"' and
touching strains from III Trovatore, -
together with snatcbes from the pop
ular songs of ten, fifteen and twenty
years before. Sometimes his eyes
would dance with merriment, when the
music was that way, and then they
would fill with tears when ii was ten
der and pathetic.
Laying aside the instrument, at last,
he said: "Bill could pay better than
that. but don't think he enjoyed it any
better than do.
"Bin did lots of wild things. But he
did lots Of good things, too" the old
man went on. However, he didn't
like to have anything much said about
his better ways, so | won't mention
'em, for know he'd upbraid me about
it the next time he comes around.
Bill had been tol'able drunk in every
xhoop-up-and-boom, from the time
Westport Landin' climbed up the banks
of the Missouri river and called herself
Kansas City, through the Comstock
and Phoebe, back to Leadville and down
the Gunnison, all over, everywhere, in
the mountains and on the coast, till
finally him and me brought up at Con-
connully. up here in the Okanogan.
"As usual, Bill was fiddlin', singin'
te,lin' stories, playin' cards, giyin his
honeywell, never mind that-having
good time, till one day up there a fel-
low pretty good fellow, at that, but
over full-called Bill a name that the
Kaintucky statutes make it breach OF
the peace to call a man, and they locked
horns. When the cleaning up came
Bill was all right. but the other fellow
had quit. Then / brought Bill over
here. and we settled down on this
ranch. We hadn't been here long be.
fore Bill-poor old Bill Brandeth-de
cided TO climb the golden stair. lsic
him out yonder and he's rested there
quiet enough ever hnce, exceptin' that
he comes in here and sets up with me
sociable to a fraction. and generally OF
nights. and we talk and play the fiddle
Pretty nigh every time Bill gets hold o.
the fiddle he plays that kind of musi,
that folks call quick and dev'lish, bu
If anybody happens along he scoots.
~ hated TO see old Bill go over the