The national forum., 1910-07-09
AN ENGLISH HIGHWAY
An Eternal Monument TO the
Roman Roadmakers .....-......

"Then I've heerd en-" he said
with a slow decision. "I've heerd EN-
time an again"
/ looked at him in amazement.
Eyes, It's so, master; often I've
heerd EN- when, wor younger, that
wor. All down along these copsies'
as you'd walk by Of g. night you'd
heer em. The rattlin' o. swords an
armor an the tramp O. marchln'
men"
But did you ever see anything?",
I asked.
He shook his head.
81 didn't wait; I'd rum" he said
artlessly.
"Can you hear them now?" I in
quired.
"No; i've heerd folks say as they
never ud heer 'em any more, Us
have it that Carter Maunders broke
the spell. He wor plowin' back in a
bit o. meadow land as lies on the
edge O. the camp an was goin' easy
hard. The horses pulled in the col
lar bit an the plow went fair
through it. When he looked down
to see what it wor he'd plowed'
through big brown pot cram full O.
money, an the coins lay all over the;
plow an scattered round the fur
rows. He looked at it for a moment,
an he got that frit that he ran home.
Ha, ha! Left his team standin' an
ran home, he did, an put all the folks
in a f1uster by sayin' as how he'd
plowed up pots O. money more'n he
could lift. Us all went back wi him,
an there they wor, thousands o.
coins, little green bronze bits, all over
the place The pars'n took an
mended the pot an sorted out the
coins, an now the squire has 'em.
People as know say that they were,
the money O. the same folk as bunded
this greet road, an how mebbe the
camp paymaster buried the money
an wor killed. Still it broke the
spell, an usll never hear the clanNj
O. armor and the marchin' any more
Young folks laugh at it, but there
they never believe owt but their own
eyes an ears"
He finished with an air of finality,
little contemptuous in his tone OF
the degeneracy of the rising gener-
alton.
Taking up his bill hook again, he
moistened his palms in the primitive
fashion of the laborer, and with the
skill Of an expert broke away the
smooth barked slaves crowned with
the clustering buds. He cut care
fully at their roots, saving the twists
at the bottom for the handle crooks
and leaving bare hideous jagged
stump.
IAN ugly end for anything" I re-
marked.
"Walkin' sticks for townsfolks,"
he snorted angrily, "te make 'em look
gentry. people as lives in cooped up
streets O. brick. BAH" And he
slashed away with redoubled vigor.
Then looping off their tops he tied
them with withes.
"You won't be passing this way
again to cut those clumps," ! VEN
tured.
He shook his head "They won't
be growed till after my time, mas
ter" He trimmed jagged stump
and then went on:
"But 'tis the way o all things,
though, an US can't help oursers."
His blue eyes twinkled as he gazed
round at me. "I've had a. pow'rful
lot O. sunlight in my time, an amt
to grissle. Many folks "a seen less;
I'm just bidin' me time"
stepped out of the shade into the
glare of the road again. A couple OF
rabbits scurried across lower down,
black spots of shadow in the sun.
The heat shot. up from off the track
in suffocating plunges.
Anyway" I shouted down, your
children won't deny the existence OF
this road; it'll last them out and their
children"
"Itll last forever" he said de-
cidedly,
Up to the crest of the hill the road
rose, and as I looked back and saw
the midday heat shimmering over its
! majestic breadth broad band OF
white in a setting of cooling green, I
repeated to myself, SAY, it will last
for ever"
And as if in confirmation came the
ringing blow Of the bill hook from
among the ash clumps below. Lon
Daily News.