Year: 1877

Ana l, lOVe Dut thee Mary Ann:


Mary Ann, Mary Ann, Mary Ann,


Mary Ann; Mary Ann, | love but thee,


Jake Hazard shouted this snatch of sea
song at the top of his pleasant voice, as
he pushed his old whale boat off the
beach on the reluctant rollers, and at last
launched her iii the water.


"That's tellin', amt it ?" inquired Hosy
Long with comic east of his eve across
the boat at Jake, as he showed at her
other side with brawny shoulders and
deep breaths Of efforts.


"Haw, haw" !" roared Jake. 'Ain't you
smart, Hosy. I'Xpect you can see through
a milestone s quick s the next man :"


Hosy grinned horribly; he was not a
brilliant creature, but he could catch fish
better than any man on the shore, and
when YOU 60 blue fishing that's the sort
of company you want.


Now, everybody in Sandy Creek knew
Jake Hazard was mortally in love with
Mary Ann Tucker; he made no secret of
it, and she, being Il born coquette, treat
ed Jake in cat and mouse fashion, till he
was as nearly crazy as Il hard headed
young fellow with no nerves and a mighty
digestion can possibly be. If said Mary
Ann was the prettest girl in the town,
should do her great injustice; for she was
the only pretty girl there; the two or
three tanned, freckled, good natured
daughters Of the Hazards, and Tuckers
and Conklins, who were '.the girls Of
sandy Creek, never pretended to be
pretty; they went their way in peace,
dug CLAIMS, baked short cake made
oh Ma n c,tn
turbed by lovers or rivalry; in due time
somebody married them, because every
body couldn't marry Mary Ann, and
thereafter they lived their lives out as
they might but at Mary AIMS feet soon
cr or later every young man in the town
bowed down and fell.


She was a very pretty girl Her long,
thick hair, Of the darkest, richest red
waved in great loose ripples % her knees
when it fell out of the heavy braid in
which she Wore it. lie skin was fair be-
yond all tanning, and if it WAS a little
freckled nobody saw it in the abundant
and lovely color of her rounded cheeks.
\ low, wide forehead. q dimplcd chin, q
saucy nose, full scarlet lips, and pair of
wicked, laughing, dark eyes, with lashGs
anu plVNS VI 'lttlt DIDNll-lttl, lItthC up II
fair catalogue of charms.


And then she was "cveriastin' smart"
Nobody kept SO clean house as she did
for her father, nobody made such sea pie,
choWder or clam tritters. She fried fish
to such crisp perfection that the light
house people always wanted to stop at
Sam fuckers when they had city COM
pany and took them out fishing, but Miss
Mary Ann did not approve of ''keepin'
tavern" she said, so the light keeper had
thereafter to fry his own fish. Then she
was eAquisitcly neat; virtue rare among
a fishing people familiar with the nnsa-
worry produce Of their nets, as heads, tails
or shells lie about the doors, tlavorous if
not ornamental, till the very hens eggs
have tlshy flavor But Sam fuckers
door step was always swept OF every grain
Of sand or bit Of refuse. Two little posy
beds boarded up against the wall sweet
ened the air with plnlls, sweet basil, and
Il very few hardy roses in their season
there was a scrupulously white bit of cur
tain across every little window, and the
well scrubbed floors had bright rugs here
and there where foot of man might rest,
and save the planks needless stain OF
spot. If the curtains were old cotton OF
bits Of sail cloth, they were still snow
white; and that the rugs were braided
rags, scarlet shirts worn beyond any more
patching. or the remains of bright blue
petticoat, or Il gray vest, and black list
which the tailorcss gave away, did not
make them less gay and tasteful of tint.


Old Sans clothes were patched with
+oJ, II, h,,t
able the red shirt always so bright, that
he was a matter of wonder and admra-
ton all along the shore. And if Mary
Ann did her house work and secured hel
tins and floor and woeded her posy bed,
protected by a big Grass blue apron and
a slat-sided sln-bOnnet, when the apron
came oft, and she sat down to knit or sew,
or strolled on the beach in the afternoon,
then she was always arrayed i'll neat
and pretty calico gown, or Il deep blue
gingham; always some white thing about
her throat, not the least shape of fashion,
to be sure, but a clean and pure ruffle OF
a queer old collar starched out to pertec-
ton, or a strip of coarse lace tied in such
trim bow. When you capped this full
wholesome figure and clean attire with
the beautiful, saucy, rosy face. shining
under a wide black straw hat that Sam
Tucker bought for his ''gal' years ago in
Boston, half with an idea that it was re-
specttul in her to have "a black bonnet ;
as he called it, because her mother was
dead (poor woman, she had been dead SIX
years then), and half because, having seen
a very pretty girl at White Rocks, where
he went every year to take out sailing
parties, with just such hat, he thought
Mary Ann would become it-then, though
you did not see Broadway belle, you
saw wonderfully pretty girl, especially
when the old black hat was set off by a
plume of grass from the salt marsh, q
cluster of pink wild roses, a string OF
gittering yellow shells, a garland of gay
sea MOSES, or Il pompOn of rich golden
sod put in with an artistic effect that q
French milliner's fingers might have
longed to initiate and longed in vain
Moreover the girl had good straight
form of her own; there was room in the
shapely chest for a cherry, ringing voice
that was the delight of old Sam as il
trOlled the quaint songs of the fishermen
or a good loud Methodist hymn, and hel
strong arms, if they were not white, were
both round and dimpled.


No wonder Mary Ann had so MANY
lovers. Perhaps no wonder that she did
not choose one. 1t is pleasant as well as
provident to have a good many strings tC
your bow, and when Jake Hazard had tC
go blue fishing in earnest, not for fun
and she did not want to be crowded with
dead fish and wet lines, and two or three
men, into a dirty boat all day long, there
were always Joe Tucker and Ephrain
Conkling to go after berries with her, OF
some other Conkling, or Tucker, or Haz-
ard to take her grabbing, or shoot peeps
for her, rewarded thereafter by a supper