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Cleopatra.
, ni , iore-promptd to bestow
i fr: , upon n.v little boy,
A l *", ~ with his years might grow ,
AI^V\ M , in nil his games a joy,
', t, ,>Ke<] ii] > with a "cleat and slat,
tiger-striped cat.
, ()llie d her with loud acclaim,
ft*j', ulsVV cring plaints the rat., replied ;
her back, and shr eked her name,
Maria Brown!” she cried;
1 W a,’shrill hospitality,
i" , in a cat to share her tea,
n i,ig. as she sat to sup,
,'ciudihor eats sat down with her;
. „”u day a third came up,
r : , ~r o„ ght a fourth to howl and purr,
A 0 ' 1 ‘ tt „, week its course had run.
I „ine cats, where we owned one.
,j ,),(> night and half the day,
y ‘ I r ,r our cat in constant call;
" iirown !” black, brindle, gray,
' , jn ( ontndngled caterwaul;
Voti-ou !” And shrill and clear,
.jt r ,.plies, “Maria’s h-e e-r-e!”
Burdette in the Brooklyn Eagle.
IffflPtt
gy WALTER BESANT. ’
I One flo v • h° rode away without telling
I Wjbi'b'i' ''. hither he was going or what
I ( ; •• I lie did not return that
I r ‘,y .i two days later he rode into the
I torn rnpanied by a grave and elderly
I Ltlcnif.n. and after leaving the horses
Fjthe in:i l>e walked to our cottage. I
Ii them at the garden gate, and ray
Iu a ,-t felt like lead, because I saw very
I eiearl what was going to happen
I Hi:: i felt certain that the money
, ; demanded and our house sold
jew, l >aded by his sister, who
•il without ceasing for the money
( >1 to have been lent to us, and un
,ui; longer to endure his suspense
y regarding their cousin, re
[ t > bring matters to an issue. Fort
indeed was it for us ho had delayed
cni:o in, therefore, and the grave
nth opened the business. lie
52:1 ■'. .i !.< was an attorney from Mor
[!], tint ilie mortgage, of which men
•c uly been made to Mistress
getht;ir "lou. had been drawn up by him
lithe iv-piest of Mr Mathew Humble;
(jiatre had witnessed the signature of
B v hither, and that the business, in
ikort, w;is regularly conducted in accord
luce with the custom and the require
ments of t ho law.
1 asked him if he had seen the money
pad to my father. 110 replied that he
bad not. but. that it was unnecessary. I
iuiiiucd him thereupon that the money
never had been paid at all, but that my
father, a demented person, as was very
tfli known, yet not so dangerous or so
mai that he must bo locked up. was per
suaded by Mathew that he was signing
iaimaginary deed of gift conveying lands
riiicb existed only in his own mind, be
cause he had no land.
Tin- lawyer made n ' reply to this at all,
“Now. mistress,” said Mathew roughly,
‘is tli time to show the proofs you talked
tout."
“My pr ofs, sir ” I addressed the law
r, iuv, first., that my father believes
timsell prodigiously rich, and would
Korn to borrow money of such as Mathew
luii)!' I .'. next, that ho perfectly well re
k!h rs signing this document, which he
bong 1 1 1 a deed of gift; thirdly, that we
i' positively t hat lie has had no money
1 in his possession; fourthly, that ho
tees wiih indignation having borrowed
Kay, fifthly, that Mathew, like every
else, knew of iiis delusions, and
bald certainly never have lent the
bay, sixthly, that £‘2oo is a vast
set mid could not have been received
ttsp'iit wit bout our knowledge. Lastly,
k Mathew was known to boa base and
•feed wretch who even tried to kidnap
td carry off a girl whom he wished to
tarry ”
“Every one of theso proofs,” said my
nother. • is by itself enough for any rea-
II lie person."
■ lawyer replied very earnestly that
and nothing to do with proving the
that he came to carry out the in
nms of his client, and to give us a
s notice—which was an act of mercy,
‘ no clause of notice had been in
-1 in the mortgage, that the house
'1 be sold unless the money lent
I that it was not his duty nor
; vnoss to advise us, but his own
• ! bat the law of England provides
erly f,,- everything by the help of
ttys, and that, by the blessing of
n, attorneys abound, and may be
!,,( i in any town Finally, he ex
1 his duty by his client in counseling
but our affairs in the bauds of soma
‘ and properly ;ualified adviser
vt.>l, he bowed low and went away,
I ad by Mathew
'hither returned half an hour later
H'nud mo alone
111 i°d me." he said, “six months
"1 more, that should 1 attempt any
"you and vours. you would write
"°. v I waited. If your story was
M ; n would have written to him at
"’ :t of fear But your story was
rue Ah, women are all liars. I
' have known that. Barbara says
,die ought to know.”
’”° 0n - Mathew,” I said.
I j :UT( ‘ 1 If your story had been true,
would have-hastened home. WeU,
-a ! would give you another chance.
• ( ‘arry you off. That would make
' ' ::h ‘e, if he was living. Yet he has
” come "
ii terrors to an end, or to an issue,
' have made mo his unwilling and
wife.
y 've found you out. Why didn’t
“-A of it before? I asked the post
" ver a letter, he truly swears, has
( to you—never a one. So it
11 He from the beginning Very
T. uon Marry me, or sold up you
e leid into the cold streets shall
11?° "
him begone, and he went, terri-
c-Thaps, at the fury with which I
I <>! this I forbear to say more.
' a we sought the advice of Mr. Car
found that he entertained an
; a hout law and justice which
*° differ from that of the Morpeth
' r P r oofs,” ho said, “though to mo
! “ f lear and sufficient to show that
* t T. is a surprising rogue, would go
dng before a court And 1 doubt
" Mother any attorney would be
round to undertake, without guarantee
of costs, so great a business as a civil
action .Justice. my child, in this conn
try, as wu-ll as all other countries, may
hardly be obtained by any but the rich,
and only by them at the cost of vexatious
delays, cheats, impositions, evasions, and
the outlay of great sums upon a rascally
attorney Beware of the craft Let the
man do his worst, you still have friends,
my dear ”
So spoke this kind and benevolent man.
i am sure that his deeds would have
proved as good as his words had they
been called for
W e told no one in the town, otherwise
I am sure there would have been a great
storm of indignation against Mathew, and
perhaps we did wrong to keep the thing
a secret But iny mother was a Londoner
and did not like to have her affairs mad )
more than could be helped the subject of
scandal and village gossip
It was now already the middle of De
cember; we should, therefore, be turned
out into the street in winter As for our
slender stock of money, that was reduced
to a few guineas Vet was I not greatly
cast down, because, whatever else might
happen, the time wms come when 1 might
expect an answer In eighteen months,
or even less, a ship might sail to India
, and return to port
Ralph’s letter would set all right I
know not. now. what 1 expected. 1 lived
in a kind of fool s paradise Ralph was
my hope, my anchor I looked not for
money but for protection, he would be a
shield When the fugleman came to the
cottage we would fall to congratulating
ourselves upon the flight of time which
brought my letter the nearer He even
made notches on a long polo for the days
which might yet remain Vet. oh what
a slender reed was this on which 1 leaned!
For my letter to him might have miscar
ried. Who is to insure the safety of a
letter for so many thousand miles? Or
his reply might be lost on board the ship.
A letter is a small thing and easily lost.
Or ho might be up the country with some
native prince, or ho might be fighting, or
he might bo too much occupied to write.
A slender reed of hope indeed Vet I had
faith Call it not a fool’s paradise; ’twas
the paradise of love.
Then came the day. tho last day. when
the money must be paid oi wo lose our
house. That day I can never forget, it
was the 22d of December Tlio mum
mers, 1 know, were getting ready for tho
next evening. In the night we were awa*
krned by the waits singing before our
house;
God rest you, merry gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay,
and I, who ought to have taken the words
for an exhortation to lift my heart to
heaven, lifted it only as high as —my
lover. To be sure, ho was always a good
deal nearer heaven than his unworthy
sweetheart.
In the night there was snow, and when
the sun rose tho garden was beautiful,
and tho leafless trees had every litt!
twig painted white; a clear bright day,
such as seldom comes to this county of
rain and wind in the month of December.
If oue has to be thrust into the street,
one would wish for a day of sunshine.
Is it not u monstroua thing tliat this jus
tiee should be possible? Will t here ever
come a time when justice and equity
will be administered, like fresh air and
spring water, for nothing?
So certain was Mathew of his prey that
ho sent the crier round at D o’clock in the
morning to announce tho sale for noon
And directly after 11 o’clock he came him
self, with the attorney and a man to
conduct the auction or sale <>f the house.
Wo put together, in order to carry v >th
us, our wearing apparel Mathew was
for preventing us from taking anything—
even, I believe, the clothes we stood m
out of the house. Even the family Bible
must stay, and the very account books,
but he was rebuked bv his lawyer, who
informed him that the mortgage included
only tho tenement or building, but not its
contents We should keep our beds,
then. But whei*e to bestow them?
Whither to g<>? My heart began to sink.
I could have sat down and cried, had that
been of any avail, and if mv mother had
m>t set a better example and kept so brave
a face
“Tho daughter of a substantial London
merchant, my dear.” she said, “must not
show signs of distress before such cattle”
• —die meant the attorney and his honest
client “Get your things together, and
we will see where we can find a shelter
My poor old man shall not feel the pinch
of cold and hunger, though we work <>ur
fingers to the boue.” Her lip trembled as
she spoke.
Meantime my father was giving a hearty
welcome to the astonished at torney. whom
ho considered as a visitor
“In this poor house, sir.” he said, with
a lofty air, “though we have the conveni
ences which wealth can bestow, we have
not the splendor I trust, sir. that you
may give me the pleasure of a visit at my
town house, where. I believe, her lady
ship will show you rooms worthy of any
nobleman’s house, not to speak of a plain
city knight, like your humble servant ”
Th - attorney regarded him with wonder,
but answered not 1 believed lie under
stood by this one speech how impossible
it was that this poor mail could have bor
rowed his client’s money
At stroke of noon the sale was to com
mence But as yet then were no buyers
No one was there to bid except Mathew
himself, who was impatient to begin
It wanted five minutes of noon when
Mr Carnaby appeared, bearing his gold
headed stick, and preceded by the fugle
man with his pike, to show that the visit
was official He was followed by a dozen
or so of the townsmen, now aware that
something out of the common was about
to happen
“Go on with the sale,” cried Mathew
impatiently: “it is 12 o'clock
“Stop!” said his worship “Sir ” head
dressed the lawyer, “)*ou will first satisfy
me by what rigiit you enter a private
house, and next by what authority you
are selling it . ”
The attorney replied with submission
and outward show of respect that be \sras
within his powers, in proof of which he
exhibited papers the nature of which I
know not. concluding with a hope that his
honor was satisfied
“Why. sir.” said Mr Carnaby " so far
as you are concerned, I may be lam also
satisfied that thi* business Is the con
spiraov of a villain against the peace and
nappiii**se of an uiD<*eu‘. girl
itn resjH-et. sit ..id the lawyer
“tlie words conspiracy and viliaitt are
libelous
1 name no names " but he looked at
Mathew who shifted his feet and en
deavored to seem unconscious I name no
names he repealed shaking his forefinger
in Mathew * face yet villain is me man
wtio would ruin a helpless family because
a virtuous woman refuses to marry him
Villain. I say’’
He banged the floor wdth his great stick,
so that evervtswly in the room trembled
“1 do not think sir ‘ said Mathew
“that your office entitles you to offer im
pediments to a just and lawful sale
“Prate rmt to me Master Kidnapper
“If continued Mathew ’Mr Uether
ington disputes my claim, here is my
lawyer, who will receive his notice of ac
tion For myself 1 want my own and
nothing more Give me justice ”
“1 would to heaven sir 1 could,” said
his worship “Go on with your iniquit
ous sale
It appeared at first as If no one would
bid at all for the cottage, though by this
time the room was full Then Mathew
offered £“>o Mr Carnaby bid £55
Mathew advanced £5 Mr Carnaby bid
£OS
Mr Carnaby was not rich yet he had
formed the benevolent design of buying
the house so that we might not be turned
out. even il tiie rent would be uncertain
Mathew wanted not only the amount of
the (pretended) mortgage, but also the
pleasure of turning us out Ah' where
was Ralph now? Where was the boy” to
whom 1 was going to write for protection
if be dared to move?
“One hundred and ninety!” said
Mathew
One hundred and ninety five,” said his
worship
“Two hundred'” said Mathew
Mr Carnaby hesitated He doubted
whethei the cottage of six rooms and the
two acres of ground in which it stood
were worth more The hammer went up
He thought of us and our helpless situa
tion
“Two hundred and five!” he said
“Two hundred and ten 1 ” said Mathew
Again Mi Carnaby hesitated again he
saw the hammer in the air, again he ad
vanced
"Two hundred and ninety five!” said his
worship mopping his face
“Three hundred!” said Mathew
“Any advance upon three hundred?”
asked the auctioneer
Mr Carnaby shook his head.
“Vilhans all." he said. “1 can afford no
more i canuot afford so much Poor
Drusilla' Thou must go out after all ’’
“Going going'' cried the man, looking
round
“Five Hundkei)'”
Mathew sprang to his feet with a cry as
of pain, for he knew the voice More
than that, in the doorway he saw the
man
He reeled and would have fallen, but
that some one held him, his cheeks were
white his eyes were staring The blow
he had so long droadod had fallen .l lasi.
His enemy was upon him
His enemy was upon him.
The figure in the doorway was that of
a gentleman, tall aud stately still in the
bloom and vigor of early manh -Hi. gal
lantly dressed in scarlet, with gold laced
hat laced ruffles diamond buckles, and
his sword in a crimson sash Alas for
Mathew' The girl had told no lie
The fugleman, being on duty content
plated things without emotion even so
surprising a thing as the return of the
wanderer But he saluted his superior
officer and then, grounding his pike,
looked st raight before him
This was the answer —this was the
reply to my letter Every woman in love
is a prophet l knew being in love, that
my sweetheart would make all well, I
knew not bow he would bring peace and
protection with him. for those 1 loved as
web as for myself
Great and marvelous are the ways of
Pro valence 1 knew not nor could I so
much as hope that the answer would be
such as it was —nothing short of my
lover s return, to go abroad no more.
CHAPTER XII.
“GO!> BEST YOU MEHIt Y GENTLEMEN.”
What remains to be told?
Ralph was home again What more
couid 1 have prayed tor?
While these things went on we were
sitting in the kitchen In mv mothers
eyes 1 seemed to read a reproach which
was not there. I believe, but in my owu
heart I had prophesied smooth things,
and promised health from some mysteri
ous quarter w hich had not come
“There are five guineas left.” said my
mother ' W hen these are gone, what
shall we do?”
1 tried to comfort her, but. alas! I could
find no words Oh. how helpless are
women since they cannot even earn bread
enough to live upon When the bread
winner can work no longer hapless is our
lot W hat were we to do when these five
guineas were gone? For. if 1 couid find
work to keep my fingers going from morn
till night. 1 could uot make enough to
keep even myself, without counting my
father and my mother What should we
do when this money was gone?- We must
live upon charity, or we must go upon the
parish At the moment of greatest need
my faith failed me I thought no more of
the letter 1 was to receive I ceased to
hope my paradise disappeared ! was
nothing In the world but a helpless wa
man a beggar, the daughter of poor, old,
broken down people, whose father was
dttle better than a helpless lunatic.
We heard from the parlor, where they
were holding the auction, a murmur of
voices some hiirli and some low Snd
del.there was a change from a murmur
of words there arose a roai of words—a
tumult *•! words Strange and wonder
ful I should Uave recognized the voice
which most | loved But 1 took little
heed lhe misery of the moment was
very great
■So now indeed 1 heard the voice of
his worship which whs full, deep and
sonorous voice- “so may all traitors and
vi.iains be confounded' Kidnaper,
where are now thy wiles?”
I heard afterward how Mathew would
have slunk away but they told him (it
was not true) that his wife was without
brandishing her cudgel So he stayed,
while Ins attorney ignorant of what all
this meant, congratulated his client upon
the sale of the cottage Five hundred
pounds he said would not only suffice to
pay his own bill of costs, which now. with
expense of traveling ami loss of time,
amounted to a considerable sum. but
also repay Mathews mortgage of £2OO
iu full % and still leave a small sum
for the unfortunate gentleman they
had sold up Mathew made no re
ply H 0 looked fearfully into his cousin’s
face, it was stern and cold There was
no hope to be gleaned from that face, but
the certainty of scrutiny and condemna
tion V\ hat had he done to merit leui
ency 7 Conscience—or remorse — told him
tliat he bad tried to kidnap his cousin a
sweetheart to drag her down to destilu
tion while as regards h;s own trust and
guardianship none knew better than
himself the state m which his accounts
would be found
The words of Mr Carnaby reached every
ear But yet I beard them not. as 1 sat
looking before me m mere despair For I
knew not what to hope for. what to ad
vise, or what to do
Then the door was thrown open, and
there was a trampling of feet which 1 re
garded not at ail. or as only part of this
misery The feet I supposed, belonged
to the man who was coming to turn us
out I buried my race m iny hands and
burst into violent weeping
“is this some fresh misfortune?” It
was my moibei who sprung to iiei feet and
spoke ‘Are you come, sir to say that
we owe another £2UO? What would you
have with us on such a day? We ha ve
nothing for you. sir. nothing at all. who
ever you are, we are stripped naked. ”
“Madam," this was his worships voice,
“you kiiow not who this gentleman is
Look not for more misfortunes, but for
joy and happiness ”
Joy and happiness' What joy? What
happiness?. I began to prick up my ears,
but without much hope aud with no
faith
“My lord” —this time it was my father,
who saw before him a splendid stranger,
and concluded in his madness that it was
some .great nobleman come to visit him—
“my lord. I thank you for the honor of
this visit My lady will call the men and
maids 1 fear you are fatigued with
travel. You shall take, my lord, a single
bowl of turtle soup, as a snack, or stay
stomach, the finest ever made for the lord
mayor, with a glass or two of imperial
tokay the rarest in any cellar before your
dinner Not a word, ray lord, not a word,
tril you are refreshed, not a word. 1 in
sist "
At these utterances I raised my head,
but before I had time to look around me a
hand was laid upon my shoulder, while a
voice whispered in my ear. “Drasy!"
Oh. we foolish women' For when the
thing we most long for is vouchsafed, in
stead of prayers and praise upon bended
knee, we fall to crying and laughing, both
together
Why. when 1 recovered a little, they
were all concerning themselves about me.
when they ought to have been doing houor
to Ralph The fugleman had a glass of
cold water in his hand my mother was
bathing my palms Sailor Nan was burn
ing a feather my sweetheart was holding
my head, and my father was assuring his
worship that nothing less than the king’s
own physician should attend his daugh
ter. unless she presently recovered He
also whispered with much gravity that he
had long since designed his Drusilla for
his lordship, just arrived, who though of
reduced fortunes, was a nobleman of ex
cellent. qualities, aud would make her
happy
We heard later that Ralph brought
with him an attorney from Newcastle, a
gentleman very learned m the law and
the terror of all the rogues on the banks
of the Tyne With this gentleman and a
clerk, beside his owu servants, he rode
first to the mill
He found Barbara engaged in her usual
work of knitting with the Bible before
her open at some chapter of prophetic
woe No change in her. except that she
looked thinner. au<> the crow's feet lay
about her eyes She recognized him. but
showed no emotion
“You an* come home again.” she said.
“1 have expected this Mathew said the
girl lied but he w<as afraid, and 1 knew
she did not Girls do not lie about such
things \on come ai a fine time, when
your sweet heart is begging her bread."
“What? asked Ralph
“I said she was begging her bread She
said you were prosperous If fine clothes
mean aught you mav be Ixird grant they
were honestly come by
“1 will now Col Embleton.” said the
attorney place my clerk in possession
and seal everything
“Where is Mathew?” asked Ralph.
“He is in the town. You will find hha
selling their cottage—Brasilia's cottage
By this tune your dainty girl will be in
the road, bag and baggage. ”
“What?” <
“Pride is humbled. The girl h&s be
gun to repent of her stubbornness. Of
course so fine a gentleman as you would
scorn a beggar wench."
With such words did this foolish and
spiteful woman inflame the heart of a
man whom she should have conciliated
with words of welcome.
He left her and rode into the town with
such speed as the suow, now two feet
deep would allow
An hour later Mathew, pale and trem
bling rushed breathless into the mill.
"Has be been here?”
Barbara nodded
Mathew weul hastily to his room. Here
he found the attorney with his cierk
"These are' my papers," he cried, now
in desperation ‘Everything is mine.
Ihe house is mine, the mill is mine, the
farm is mine "
tient tv gemiy." said the lawyer.
"Ijet us hear ’’
Mathew played his last card
“A second will was found,” he said; "it
is in the desk "
•‘We will wait." said the lawyer, “until
the return of Coi Euibletou
When Ralph came back, accompanied
by Mr Carnaby he found Mathew wait
ing for him
“Now said the lawyer, “let us see
this second will "
He opened the desk and drew forth the
paper winch Mathew pointed out When
he had unfolded and looked at it for a
moment, he looked curiously at Mathew
“This," he said 'is your second will?"
“It is.' Mathew replied. "Found five
years ago and"
“(juite enough." said the lawyer
“Friend " he had by this time compared
the signature with that of the first will,
"1 tuaße no charge 1 only inform you as a
fact mat this document is valueless, as
bearing neither date nor witnesses, and if
it did it would still be valueless because
the signature is a forgery plain and palp
able It will hang some one if it is put
forward
Mathew dropped his hands by his side
This was the fruit of his labors He had
forged the will be had made it of no use
by neglecting the witnesses he had
forged it so clumsily that he was at once
detected
“Any well wisher of yours, sir.” said
the lawyer “would recommend you to
put that paper in the tire "
Mathew did so without a word.
Sir said the lawyer “you have saved
your neck Have you any more to say
about the will?"
He had no more to say The plots and
designs of nine years* came to this lame
and impotent, conclusion
“Then. Mr Humble " the attorney con
tinned l have nothing more to say than
this Col Embieton expects an accurate
statement of accounts and payment to
himofall sums due to turn without delay. "
Mathew made no reply he was defeated
He left the room and presently one of
them looking through the open door, saw
him leave the house with his sister
Ralph spoke not one single word to him,
good oi bad By tins tune he had heard of
Mathew's attempted abduction and all his
iniquities There was no room in his
heart for pity
In the morning Sailor Nan came to draw
her pay She heard that her husband had
deserted her She lamented the fact, be
cause she had intended to be kept in pork,
rum and tobacco so long as he was alive
But she was easily consoled with a jorum
of steaming punch
Thus vanished from among us one who
had wrought so much evil toi which 1
hope that we have long since entirely for
given him (but he was a desperate vil
lain), and we never knew what became of
him
It was ten years later that Barbara
came back alone
We round her in the porch one summer
evening She was worn and thin, and
dressed in dreadful rags
“Oh." 1 cried, moved to pity by her
misery “come in and eat and let me find
some better clothes for you
She refused but she took a cup of milk
“I want to see the boy she replied in
her old manner of spt\;ck
When Ralph came home she said what
she had to say
“Mathew ought to have had the mill
If it had been bis. he would not have
taken to drink and evil courses You
were an interloper, and we both bated the
sight of you When you went awav I
used to pray that you might never come
back The waiting for you and the fear
of you made him wicked. That is all 1
have to say
“Where is Mathew?"
"Dead Ask me no more about him
He is dead
Ralph led her. unresisting, into the
house
“Wife." he said to me, “you have heard
Barbara s confession I. too, have had
hard thoughts about her Let us forgive,
as we hope for forgiveness
She stayed with us that night—an un
willing and ungracious guest —and the
uext day Ralph placed her in a cottage
and gave her an allowance of money,
which she took without thanks Perhaps
hei heart grew less bitter as years fell
upon her but 1 know not, for she died
aud made no sign
On t hut yea: Christmas day fell on a
Thursday Now Ralph, who though a
grave man and the colonel of his regi
ment. showed more than the customary
impatience of lovers, would be content
with nothing short of being married on
the very next day after his return It is
almost incredible that he should have had
the forethought to bring with him a
special license, so that we were not
obliged to have the bans read out (amid
1 refuse him anything? Therefore, on
IV cdirosdsv morning the very next day
after he came hack, we were married in
the presence of all the town, 1 believe—
We H*re married in the presence of aU
the to am.
maa, woman and child, while the bells
rang out. and our joyful hearts were
warm, despite the cold without I was so
poor in worldly goods that I must have
gone to the sac red ceremony with nothing
better than my plain stuff frock but for
the benevolence of good Mrs Carnaby,
who lent me a most beautiful brocaded
silk gown winch, with all kinds of for
eign gauds, such as necklaces bracelets
and jewels for the hair which my lover—
nay. tny bridegroom —bestowed upon me,
ma te me so tine that his worship was so
good as to say that never a more beautiful
bride had been married, or would here
after be married, in YVarkworth church
Thus do line feathers make fine birds.
When the next bride is married in bro
caded silk, with a hoop, her hair done by
the barber and her homely person decor
ated with jewels, people will be found to
say the same thing Vet. since my hus
band. who is the only person I must con
sider. was so good as to find his wife
beautiful, should 1 not rejoice and be
thankful for this strange power of one’s
outward figure —women cannot under
stand it —which bewitches men and robs
them of their natural sense until they be
come used to it
After the wedding we went home to the
mill, where tny husband spread a great
feast In the evening came the mummers
with Sailor Nan. who drank freely of
punch, and wished us joy in language
more nautical than polite His worship
slept at the mill because he was overcome
with the abundance and strength of the
punch Even the fugleman, for the first
time in mans memory, had to be ferried
to bed. preserving Ins stiffness of back
even in the sleep of intoxication And
the next day we had another royal feast,
to which all were invited who had known
my dear husband in his youth But to
me it was a continual feast to be in the
presence of my dear, to have my hand in
his and to rejoice in the warmth of his
steadfast eyes
We are all, I hope. Christian folk,
wherefore no one will be surprised to hear
that on the morning of the day after the
marriage, winch was Christmas day. after
the singing of the hymn. “When the
Shepherds Watch their Flocks by Night,”
my bus baud, giving me Ins hand, led
me forth before all the people, and
in their presence thanked God solemnly
for his safe return, and tor other
blessings (1 knew full well what these
meant) Then the fugleman leading, his
pike held at salute, he recited the Lord’s
prayer Thus in seemly and solemn
fashion was the long sorrow of nine years
turned into a joy which will endure, 1
doubt not, beyond this earthly pilgrimage.
THE END
YOUR EARS
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