The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1909-07-09
"A HALF-E|FE AND HALF A LIFE. |
Story That is Based on Big Sandy Experience and Was First PHb
IShed Half A Century Ago

Welsh miners; but / believe they are
peaceable set, and we'll try to be
friendly with each other"
The frank speech and the free,
open face seemed to molify my faith
er.
And how do YOU call yourself,
stranger, when you are at homer"
MY name is George Hammond"
Well, as | was telling you, you're
welcome here tonight and ! don't
wv as I've anything against your
settling over the river on Burgess's
lsNd. The people round here have
IN telling me your coming Will
be good thing for us farmers, be-
cause you'll bring US market for
our corn and potatoes but | don't
see no use OF raising more corn
than we want for ourselves, We
have enough selling 20 do with our
lumber, and you'll be thinning out
the trees But there's my old woman
has got supper ready"
| listened as / waited on 'he table,
The talk varied from farming TO
mining and the state Of the river,
merging at last into the politics of
the country, and through the whole
Of II | watched the stranger; no.
/ iced how different was his Ian
guage from anything had ever heard
before: marked the clear tones of
| his voice, and the distlnctness OF
his utterances, contrasting with the
heavy, thick guturals, the running
81 words into each other, the SLOW
only drawl OF my father and his
men; watched his manner Of eating
his neat disposition OF his food on
/ his plate: saw him move his chair
back with slight expression OF
annoyance, unmarked by anyone else
AZ VIII Foushee spit on the floor be-
side him All this | observed, In 6
mood half envious, half sullen-9
mood which pursued me that nigh
into my attic, as peeyisnly Ques
toned with myself wherein lay thu
difference between us.
why is this man any better thar
VIII Foushee or Ned Burgess? He i
10 stronger or better able to do 1
Gays work. Why am | afraid o
him, when | don't care an aCorl
for the others? Why do my fathe
and the men listen to him and crow,
round him? What makes him stant
among them as II he did not be
long to them, even when he talk
of what they know better than he
There is not man round Sand!
that could make me feel as asham
Cd as that gentleman did when h
spoke to me this afternoon. Is /
leCause he Is gentleman Ant
sulleuly | resolved that ! would b
put down by no airs. / was As goo
as he, and would show him to-mor
Tow morning that felt so The,
came the bitter acknowledgment.
am not as good as he is am
stupid, ugly girl, who knows moth
ing but hateful housework and a lit
tie OF the fields and trees; and he
suppose he has been to school an
read plenty Of books, and lived anon
quality And | cried myself TO slice
before | had made up my mind full
| to acknowledge his superiority.
1t was one of my greatest pleasure
, to get up early, Our people We're nc
early risers, except when work press
upon them, and | often secured m
% leisure hour for the day by stealth
e down the staircase, out into tn
! woods, by early sunrise, when, wraI
: ped in an old shawl, and sheltere
% from the dew by climbing into tn
lower branches Of my pet maple,
r would watch the fog reaching up tn
opposite hills putting forth as
/, were an arm, by which, stretched Ga
out over the trees, it seemed to Iii
i itself from the valley,-or perhal
c carrying with me one Of the fe
S books which made my library,
= would spell out the sentences an
attempt to extract heir meaning,
They were strange medley, N
g books; some belonging to lay stel
+ mother, and others borrowed or be;
ged from the neighbors, or brougl
/ to me by the men, with whom WI
n a favorite, and who knew my pa
sion for reading. My mothers tool
d were mostly religious: life I
Il Brainerd, the missionary whose a
= ventures reused within me a glea
e ufreligious enthusiasm; some sermol
OF the leading Methodist clerg
a. which. to her horror, prouounc,
r. stupid; and torn copy of the III
,e itation OF Christ" a book which 81
u threatened to take from me, becau
ID she believed it had something to
10 with the Papists, but to which, {
~ that very reason. | chung with
IS nacitv and read with an earnestne