Year: 1865




the Farriers' heady home brewed than he


could conveniently carry, and would reach


home at a late hour in state which per-


mitted no recollection next morning of how


he got there.


&" 1t was hardly likely that such girl as
Madge Carliston could have reached the


age of seventeen, even i'll a remote place
| like Birkwood without having suitors for
! her hand OF the unfortunate rejected


ones who had been sent about their busi-


ness, with no measure of hard words but


with gentle REFUSAL uttered halfreluctant-
II, as though she were unwilling to infict


so much pain, the only one known to me


by name was young Will Ferguson, a
! guard on the line Will had tried his for


tune and had been rejected, like others be-


fore him /; but whether there was something


in Madge's soft refusal which would not


permit him to despair of success, or wheth-
er it was owing to the consistency and true


nature of his affection, he still went on low


ing as before, and would by no means take


his rejection as final It's a women's priv


ilege to change her mind he would say !;


and who knows but that Madge may change


hers =


"WilPs most formidable rival was hand


some black-eyed Dick Carradus, son of
/ Lord 'Alfreton's baiif:-a village scape-
/ grace, who had been turned out of doors by
| his father some years before had then
! gone to Australia, and had come back, after
! being five years away, quite as poor as he


went, and was now living at home on suf-
| ferance, till something should turn up like
/ ly to suit his lazy abilities.


Dick had not been back long before he
singled out little Madge Carliston as the
object of his attentions. He began by pay
/ ing court to her father, and would lounge
! up to the station of a morning, having no
work of his own to engage him, and smoke
| and chat with the old man between trains,
! listen with respectful attention to his long
! windcd stories, retail the latest village
news, and give him now and then help
/ highland with his garden so that, after
/ time, the morning seemed long and dull
which was not enlivened by visit from
! laughing, good-tempercd Dick. To Madge
/ he had made no open confession of his love,
/ being quick enough to perceive that she
was one of those who are not to be won In
day but he let her see in twenty differ
ent ways how constantly she dwelt in his
/ thoughts TO what extent he succeeded in
winning her affections no one ever knew,
but that she was inclined to favor his suit
seems certain indeed it would have been
strange if girl of her limited experience
and slight knowledge of the world, without
any previous liking for another, had remain
ed insensibe to the manifold attractions of
Dick


Matters had progressed thus for some
months without seeming to progress at all,
when, one autumn forenoon, Dick lounged
up to the station accompanied by a strang-
er, whom he presented to David as his
friend Mr.. Kulp, from Australia. Madge,
who was looking on unseen from behind
the blind that shaded the open window,
thought she had never seen more sinister
and i'll looking visage than that of Mr.
kulp He was dressed in a new, shiny
suit of black. in which he looked very awk-
ward and i'll at ease his great horny hands
being especially difficult to dispose of, and
wandering necessarily into his pockets and
out of them again he would evidently
have felt more at home in the red shirt and
highlows of digger. His face and neck
were the color of brick, and his shaggy
red hair and long red beard, rudely trimmed
by some country barber did not add to the
attractiveness of his appearance. His feat
ures were bold and sufficiently well-shaped;
but the expression of his eyes was so thor
oughly bad that it was impossible TO be
mistaken as to the nature of the soul that
gazed loweringly out of their treacherous
depths. Madge could not help wondering
to herself how it happened that laughing,
careless Dick had come to choose such a
man as this Kulp for his companion.


David went into the house, and present
ly returned with a jug of ale and some
glasses and Mr.. Kulp having produced
some cigars, the three sat down on one of
the benches outside the station, and pro-
ceeded to enjoy themselves after their own
fashion.


1--WE had Lord Alfretons family here
yesterday afternoon said David, after a.
while There was three truck-load of lug
gage and things, besides eight horses. and
lot of dogs and rare lot of money it
came to. Fact ISL continued the old sold
ier, never was so busy since | came here
as I've been this morning for Baylis, the
cattledrover, sent me word week ago to
get him twenty wagons ready by this
morning and sure enough by five o'clock
he was here with lot Of staring, half-mad
bullocks and rare and cold it was too at
that hour but we got them all safe into
the trucks, and the engine fetched them at
! eight o'clock-quite little train Of them
selves. And then Baylis came into the
house, and had bit of breakfast with me,
and paid me for the carriage of the cattle.
Why, lads, I.shall have over hundred and
! fifty pounds to send to the bank in the
morning. I'll warrant such thing never
happened before since Birkwood was sta
ton ; and the old man chuckled to him.
self as he emptied his glass, and seemed to
look upon the whole matter as an excellent
joke


Shortly afterward Dick and Mr. Kulp
took their leave, the fo,me depositing on
the window sill a little bunch of flowers for
Madge, who still kept resolutely within
doors. The two walked slowly down the
road, conversing earnestly together Mr..
Kulp apparently endeavoring to impress
some important point ON the attention of
the half reluctant Dick and in few mo-
ment the latter came hastily back, and go
ing up to David, who was busy digging in
his garden by this time, he said
80 You'll be down to the Farriers tonight,
won't you, governor There's to be bit
of dahlia-show among the villagers, and
they'll be sure to want YOU to act as one of