The Washington times., 1906-12-23

81 children were at school sing
i.g the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
i1lIIaby While the wives and
rnothers al home uursed the
baby with one hand and did the house
work with the other. AT the end OF the
village an old man past work sat At
ro4ah deal table under the creaEing
sieuboard of the CauiidOwer, grateful
lv drinking from a mug of ale supplied
bv a chance traveller Whp sat opposite
him.
The shade of the elms was pleasant
and the ale good. The traveller filled
his pipe and. gIancing at the dusty
hedges and the white road baking in
the sun. allied for the mdgs 20 be re-
filled. and pushed his pouch toward
his companion. After which me paid q
compliment TO the appearance OF the
village.
1T amt what iJ was when ] was a
boy" ouayered the old man, hlling his
pipe with trembling fingers. Il mind
when the grindstcne was stuck just
outside the winder O. the fOrSl instead
o. being one side as il no 81, and as
for the shop winder-its twice the
size fl was when I was a young 'un.'
He Ut his pipe With the scientific ac-
curacy ef "a smoker OF sixty years
standing, and shook his head sOlemnly
as he regarded his altered birthplace
Then his color heightened end his
aim eye flashed.
IT'S the people about ere as chang
ed more than the place as" he said,
with sudden heTceness; there's a set
q men about here nowadays as are no
Eood to anybody; reg'Iar raskels. And
II you've the mind 10 listen 7 can tel
yea Of Sns o. two as couldn't be beaE
IN London itself
There's Tom Adams for one He
went and started wot . called Il
Benevolent Club. ThTeepenoe a week
each we paid again sickness or acct
dent, and Tom was secretary. Three
weeks aTJer the club WAS started he
caught q chill and was laid up for a
month. He got back 20 work a week.
and then e sprained something in is
Ieg.- and arter that was well is In
side went wrong. We didn't think
much Of iJ at first, not understanding
figures; but AT the end o. six months
the club hadn't got a farthing, and
they was in Toms debt one pound
seveuteeu-and-sIX.
A-e -a-- -L-N t---G AAALN ID ALAe4A 1AlEL IA
the place. either. There was Herbert
Richardson. He went to town, and
came back with the idea of a Goose
Club FOR Christmas. We paid two
pence a week into that for pretty near
ten months. and then Herbert went
back TO town aEin, and all We ear
OF I'm, through his sister. is that he's
stul there and doing weu. and don't
know when he'll be back.
'But the artfullest and worst man IA
this pIace-and that's saying a good
deal, mlrd you-is Bob Pretty. Deep
e no word for i'm There's no way
OF being ap 20 i'm. It's through 'im
that we i0st our Flower Show and,
II you'd like TO ear the rights %
that. / don't suppose there's anybody
In this place as knows as much about
IL as I d0-barg.nE Bob hisself that
Is. but e wouldn't tell it 10 you as
plain as i can.
Wed only 'ad the Flower Show one
year. and little anybody thought that
the next one was go be the last. The
nrsJ year you might smell the place
a mile off in the summer. and on the
day of the show people came from a
long way round and brought money
TO spend at the CaulihOwer and other
places
1T was started just after we got
cur new parson. and Mrs Pawlett,
the parsons wife. is name being
PawIett. thought as she'd encourage
men 70 love their 'omes and be better
'usbands by giving a prize every year
for the best cottage garden, Three
pounds was the prize. and metal
teapot with writing on it.
''As I said we only 'ad II two years.
The TusJ year the garden as got II was
a utcter. and Bill Chambers, i'm as
won the prize, used 70. say as e was
out o. pocket by *, taking is time
and the money e spent on flowers.
Not as We believed that, YOU under
stand. specially as Bin did Is very
best TO get it the next year. too. 'E
didn't get it, and though p'T'aps most
of us was glad q didn't, we was all
very surprised az the way IL turned
out in the end.
''The flower show was to be cid on
the 5th o. July. just as a'most every
thing about here. was at Its best On
ths 18th OF June Bill ChambeTs's gar
den seemed to be leading, but Peter
Smith and Joe Gubbins and Sam Jones
and Henery Walker was almost as
good. and # was understood that more
than one OF 'em had got a surprise
which they'd produce AT the last mo-
ment. TOO late for the others 20 copy.
We used 10 sit up here OF an evening
~ this Caulihower pubiic-house ana
put money on it,. put mine on
Hsnery Walker apd the time I spent
Ia Is garden 'elping 'Im Is a sin and
3 shame to think Of.
'Of course some Of fe0 used to make
fIm OF 1T. and Bob Pretty was tbs
worst OF 'em all. He was always
lazy, -for-uothing man. and Is
garden was disgrace H'd chuck
down any rubbish i'm #. old bones, old
tins. bits of am Old bucket. anything
10 make it unudy. He used 10 larf
at 'em awful about their gardens and
about being took up by the parsons
wife. Nobody ever see im DO any
work, but the smell from rs place at
dinner time was always nice. and /
believe that he knew more about game
than the parson hisself did.
''It was the day arter this one I'm
speaking about the 18th % June. that
the trouble all began, and it came
about In a very Estrcsdinary way.
George English, quiet man getting