Year: 1860

=


IN our part Of Hampshire, England whel


we learned reading. writing. and needl,


work. polite behavior and the country dar


ces. was the eldest Of ten children. VI


fathers farm was a small one, held on leas


from our rich neighbor, Farmer Dickson


the principal man in our parts after tn


squire. He had two farms leased from be


sides my fathers. and large one which h


titled himself kept a retnue of men an


maids, did the best plowing. turned out tn


finest cattle, and made a vast deal Of none


by his dairy His wife had died before wa


born, and his house was kept in prime orde


by the youngest of his aunts. Miss Mild


wood. He had neither son nor daughter bu


Master Harry, whom everybody thou Iht


sensible handsome young man, and not hal


50 purse proud as his father Being oul


la ldlord and next neighbor, Farmer Dickson


took great deal Of interest in US. He said


the family was too large for my father and


mother to manage without his advIce but


providing for them was the CHIEF difficulty


and when they heard that a distant relative


OF his, Mrs Williams Of the Golden Sheaf


wanted well brought up girl, not as SER


want. but T. assist IN the housekeeping, they


thought 1t 4i .ht be a good situation for me.


To tell the whole truth. there was another


reason tor my going. Before | left school


Harry Dickson had began to pay me atten-


tons not that ! encouraged him much :;


but he would come after me, and it did not


please his father. The old man thought his


son should look higher than to a farmer s


daughter and my parents, having good


DIT OF PRIDE, were Just as angry when they


heard Of 1t. My father said he hoped no


daughter OF his would ever tempt a young


man to dlsObey his father. Mother said she


hOpeo had more spirit than to wish to mar


~ into itamily who did not consider me
good enough for them Of course my faith
er and mother were right. | gave Harry
back his ring, but it was after good deal Of
crying. He swOre be would never marry
another woman, though his father should
disinherit him and to let Farmer Dickson
and the whole country see that we were not
set on trapping his son, 1t was settled that
should 90 to Mrs. Williams


My father went one day 10 consult her,
and when all was agreed, he took me respect
ably in the London coach, which then passed
through Clatsord, our village, and stopped
at the Golden Sheaf. For a country inn, the
house was large and handsome. 1t had eve
" convenience of yard and stabling, a good
garden, q fine orchard, ana some hundred
acres of corn and meadow land. 1t was sit
uated on the high road where Hampshire
and Surry meet The ground was high .
and from the upper windows one could see a !
mile along the high road and over the coun- |
try.


Stage coaches and carriers wagons stopped
there, so did the country huts and the tray-
elling gentry, corn and cattle dealers on their
way to London, farmers to and from the |
market towns, and all who came or went |
spoke well OF the good housekeeping, the |
fair dealing and general ciyility of Mrs.
Williams. She was a tall, thin woman, up
right, active, and still handsome, though |
bordering on sixty. Her black hair was but
thinly sprinkled with gray. She had good
deal of the gentle-woman in her manners
always wore black tabinet gown, a tam
bored apron, and cap of Nottingham lace.
which was fine enough in those times. But
there was something in her look so stern and
right that ii made one careful of ones doings
before her. Her story, which we had heard
in private from Farmer Dickson, was both
sad and singular She had been brought up
10 q respectable country inn of the country
Of Cornwall, and married a rIch farmer. He
left her early a widow, with an only daugh-
ter. She managed the farm well, however,
and was prosperous woman. Her daugh-
-er grew up beautiful girl, and the moth
RS heart was wrapped up in her ; but the
'on Of a neighborIng squire induced her to
Hope with him, and marriage into bus family
was not to be thought Of.


Mrs. Williams was woman Of high
spirit, strict and proud. 1t was said the poor
yirl never dared let 1t be known where she
lived and the squire's son remained abroad.
But the old woman could not endure the dis
grace she sold her house and farm, left that
part Of the country, bought the Golden
Sheaf, and set herself up where no one knew
her family or history she had been doing
well for many year.


Stern as she looked, Mrs. Williams was
kind to me. and did my best to please her.
There was a good deal of novelty ard life to
1e seen about the inn. [ soon got over the
parting with nv mother and sisters, and of
rying hard to think no more Of Harry,
hough had made up my mind-minds are
10 easy made up at seventeen to live un-
married for his sake Thus the summer wore
way, the harvest passed, and the short full
lays OF November came on. | had got ac-
to the ways Of the house. Though
yood, it was an old one. There was the best
Kitchen and best pal lor opening from 1t ;
numbers of pantries, closets and cupboards,
md a stair behind the dresser, leading right
10 to Mrs. Williams own room. 1t was over
the porch, and had windows on three sides,
which gave her a view of all who came or
went Her accounts were kept there, in an
1ld-fashioned oak desk so were her choice
recipes, and she had them for making every
thing There was a cupboard set in a thick
wall its doors not to be distinguished from
the rest of the wainscot, in which Mrs. Will
Iiams kept the rare and most curious of her
stores. | was once permitted to see them as
a privilege, for she never trusted the key to
any hand but her own. There were spices
and essence, costly at the time of my story,
and not common Y t. old china, which had
been brought by the first of the East India
ships, mixtures for taking out
stains powders for destroying moths
and poison for rats invented long ago by
some of the Cornish people, and Of such a
terrible nature, that if one rat took it, the
rest fed from the place and never came back.
So Mrs. Williams told me, but | won't vouch |
for it and can only remember now that the
poi ON resembled nothing | ever saw but red
pepper, which was an expensive luxury at
that time, and kept in the cupboard also. 1t
nav be believed that | was in great favor,
Tor not only were her treasures SHOWN 10 me
but had tea with Mrs. Williams in the
porch room every evening. She took kindly
to me from the first, because | exerted my
self to learn housekeeping, which my moth
er said was the principal thing for young
woman, expecting to have house of her
own. and still m re because | kept quiet and |
sober, and had no looks of levity. Nothing
OF that kind would have been tolerated at the
Golden Sheaf, inn though it was, the house
being kept with the greatest propriety. There
were no Jokes and very little gossiping plen-
ty Of work, for almost every thing was made
at home, and great deaf of coming and
going.


Our quietest time was about the beginning
Of November, Just before the winter fairs be-
gan. Then Mrs. Williams got her cattle
killed, and her meat salted, and most of the
servants were busy about their work in the
yard and buttery.