Durham Chronicle (1867), 15 Apr 1897, p. 10

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“Thank ye kindiy. A mouthfu' wad drive the cauld aff mo. stamach blythely-" From his thoughtfulness Granny concluded that he had caught a. un‘l â€"-u- an onthoe'eof In BLU] edly :â€" No wonder Danny was puzzled. Gre nny was playing the lady bountiful for the first time in her life. She was, moreover, enjoying in her inner con- aciousness a delicxous little comedy wherein her neighbor played the part “Hoo’s the banes the day ?” he asked civilly, spreading his disengaged hand luxuriously to the warmth of the fire. "Fine, man. fine," nodded Granny. "Hoo’s yersel'?’ “Tch, a wee stiff in the hinges. but. no ready for the beddin' yet. You an' me tho‘les well, Granny." ”Huits, We’-re no' that auld. Dan’l. We aye hae our mouths yet. Wad ya like a drap tea to lay yer parritch ‘3‘" Danny was startled. It was" unlike Granny to give some-thing for nothing in this bvny. Could the shrewd old woman have gmessed that he had a chock full pipe in his ocket? He would be wary,. but the irst principle of his philosophy was never to refiuse a good offer. V-“ -_ _.â€"-... v... UL'WUO “Come ben, man'!” she called out: cheerily. Danny opened the door. which was never looked. and hirpled over to the fire. His eyes twinkled meaningly from the kettle to the teapot, but he plugged the bowl of his well-filled pipe with a resolute thumb and shoved it. deeper down in his pocket. He re- membered what had happened on the dayfibefore. never doubted her power to protect herself and all that belonged to her frog} the ppen attagk of man or beast. She. was still sitting thus when Danny knocked at the door. Her first impulse was to hide her treasure from his covetous eyes .; but it was chiefly in the matter of coal that she suspected him of moral laxity, and it seemed to her quite reasonable that one should have a lapse in this direotion and yet. be honest in all things else. So the purseâ€"proud old lady resolved to treat herself to the pleasure of telling Danny of the fortune which had come to her. and she anticipated ikeen enjoyment cry about. and was only conscious of the feeble flicker of appetite that waited upon her night’s abstinence. She set about getting breakfast, which consisted of bread soaked in milk and heated upon the hob inajelly can. and a flap of strong tea. So much heart- ened was she by this repast, that the black curtain of Woe dropped unno- ticed from the background of her mind. She forgot the fearsome white face she had see-n in the glass;and. re- membering only that she was now a. lady of fortune, sat down contentedly to enjoy the golden day-dream. fondly rubbing the talisman With her wrin- kled forefinger as it lay. a world of pow-er, in the hollow of her hand. But are she had finished crying. she had fargottem what she had begun to “Michty me!" she whimpered, “I dinna' ken masel'. That's no’ me! I ne'er had white chafts lik’ they. Gif it is me, I maun be deein’ on ma feet. It'll be the money for ma burral thae weans has broom; me." And. sitting down in her armchair she had atear- less cry over the scrap of looking-glass. which glimmered like a corpse-light in her lap. The first thing that Granny did on rising was to set in order for another day the mainspring of her feeble life by breaking up the gathering coal. She then examined her face anxiously in the bit of scratched looking-glass that stood on the chimney-piece. The old woman felt an unwanted :hilliness about her neck and face. At first she thought that she had left the :loor open when she went to bed, but gradually her senses awakened to the memory of the outrage which had been committed upon her. She pulled the blankets over her head, and lay still with a feeling of accomplished misfor- tune weighing upon her heart. But as she- meditated upon the cruelty of treating the living as it is see-mly to treat the dead, a. gleam- of comfort stole into her slow-working brain. She slipped her hand under her pillow and felt there the gold piece that had been her undoing. She reflected that. at least. she was no longer a pauper. Un- told comforts shimmered in her men- tal vision like a midnight sunrise in the far north of life. She fell to ? dreaming. in the boundless faith of sec- i and childhood. of the good things that it was now in her power to buy. and increased the purchasing power of her fortune enormously by making it buy in turn each long dreamed-of comfort. and then coming to the joyful conclu- sion that asit was in her power to get any one of them, all these blessings were already hers. On the morning after the washing Granny waked early in a panic. The night mists still lay heavy in the hol- low. and the signalman’s cock had not yet seen light enough to justify him in crowing over the birth of another day. A TEN SHILLING TRAGEDY. SCENE III. ments suspiciouslyv. way in which sh». v chair Provzdence pomtmg out the theft. She had never been much of a church goer. but neither was. she so entirely a heathen as not to give heed to such a manifest Sign. . It: was not so miraculously indicated to Danny that his neighbor tamoered with" his coal supply, but he had fairly good judicial mundane ground for be- smouldl so graciously as Danny had got his cup of tea. but y the satisfaction of her grurit she seemed to have a better di- the discomfiture of her old friend to make any effort to break down the barrier which her wealth had set-11.11 auditor. If Danny had not been so completely crestfallen, her disappoint- ment would have been bitter, and the sweets of arrogance would have been something wanting in their flavor. At length Danny, who was awaken- ing to the complacent speculations of the elated old woman! could stand it nn ‘A_...-r- ‘ _,_ â€" “â€"ouw 5w“ Luuv III-IO eyes of a snake. - . “God's truth, it’s gowd!" he _WhlS- pered huskily. when at length he-could believe his eyes. Then he sat down- stnnned. Such benefactions had been gmng when he was not in the way! He felt like a man who had lost his all upon the stock exchange. If the ' “H'D‘. “ i ‘ If the Kirk Session had done this. he {would see the minister that very day. fThey had no right to pass his door. gH‘ad somebody told them that he had ;80}3'§ pfesent of tobacco? 59 that he 39ml?éEEice‘i‘fhéfithg‘E‘fi"; He. starec‘ lq-to Granny's outspread palm -28“ bgrd mlght look into the Ann“ “Ye'll speir lang that wye atore .I'll answer ye," replied Granny haughtlly. “It wad be an ill deed to put you on their back that gied it to me.” f‘Gied ye What ?" whined Danny. With tears in his voice. “That!" cried Granny. opening her “Yé're awvce boastfu' the day.‘ Granny." “Maybe ay, an" maybe no. There's a Wheen boasts hasna’ sac muokle rea- son fm’t as I has.” Ont of his head with curiosity. “Wha’s been giein’ you' sirller? he squeaked 01_1t “angrily. T: L]. 'r’ “A bit quarter. maybe? The likes 0' usuganna' buyAtea." “Ay, it's rael guid,” he commentpd. Wiping his mouth appreciatively w1th‘ the back of his hand. “N00. I won'er whit that tea’il ‘th the pun’?” “I'LL... t--- _ Ll- “It's frae the big house. Fegs, they tell me Angus has three shillin’s a pun' for't. I'm thinkln‘ o' giein’ the body” an order for some o't masel’ The tea being masked, Granny rinsed out her cup at the sink and filled it generously to the brim. Danny took the tea from her hand in a gingerly way and looked at it so distrustfully that Granny cried briskly :â€" . “\Vhat ails ye at the tea, man? Sugar it for yersel’, an’ there's the milk‘ to yer haun'. The last cup's aye the best. Tak' it aff het." Danny pm; in milk and sugar, and comforted his inward man with a warm, sweet draught. “A... .‘Ll- _A__‘I ‘ . -. Thus the s irit of these two wily diplomatists enced in the air above their poor old bodies, which wee-ye seemingiy full of peace and good-W111 towards each other and all the world. used the poker he inferred that his heard of tobacco was no secret from her. and waited, with all his wits on the defensive. for her first move in the direction of getting a share of it. He feared the old woman's cunning, which he knew to be greater than his own." and flirtively shoved his pipe further. down 1n his pocket as he made ready to "drink't‘he tea and repel the attack_._ 9f the rich. Danny would us pride in time and come a as before. Meanwhile, the lifre.L wasfline-g then_she had his tobacco lasted. Danny days sulkily away, wan- e burnside in fine, or a‘ the fire in foul wegther; n ~c--;â€"‘â€"â€" All the inhabitants of the vour each other, and not one Lives on vegetation. “gauge. 1.08 yard seemed to have grown to twice its size. In another moment she saw What had happened. Danny's fence ‘lay rone upon the ground. The wind ad made match- wood of the rotten plank from the old pulpit, and had torn up the 'Whole crazy structure by the roots. new“ snaWI over her head and-shoulders. To her great joy she found the coal- shed uninjured. Holding the lantern up, she peered curiously round. The familiar place struck her as new and strange. The yard seemed to have grown to twice its size. In another moment she saw, what had happened Danny's fence :lay Erone upon the shawl over her To her (treat in its end. Is near at hand. The Wind seemed to have spent its fiury in the *last mischievous clap, and soon afterwards died down into a con- dition of moaning unrest. In the com- parative calm, Granny's indomitable spirit prompted her to venture out into the yard to see What damage had been don-e. She lit her old-fashioned, round- bellied lantern, and, taking it in hand, cautiously lifted the latch of the door. The rush of the Wind was not so strong. as to frighten her. and she stepped out into the damp, desolateâ€"looking yard. A gentle rain was falling. but the night _ “wag“, 5V¢‘UVVU\A U} a LUUJJ. crash. The old woman jumped to the terrifying conclusion that the Wind had carried off her coal-Shed bodily. She hurried to the window. but the dark- ness was too thick to be pierced by her aged. eyes. so she sat dovyn again wearlly, imagining strange disasters in the little world of her comforts, the little world that looms so large when its and is n'PflJ‘ at hnnfl up £111 they are ready to break at a. touch. ( . As she dazed over the fire. a prey to all sorts of indefinite apprehensmns, the storm seemed to grow in violence with every fresh gust. The walls of the cottage shook, and the Wind fought with the doors and windows as if nothing would content it but to make a clean sweep of the interior. At the height: of the turmoil Granny heard with dismay a great wrenching noise in the back yard. followed by a loud __--.., Mum vuv polo-Hahn wuluu she displayed at any time was nervous, and on such a night as this her nerves were like the almost worn~0ut strings of a violin which have been screwed up till they are ready to break at a. touch. ( -“v bnkutnx wnxu UL can" - 6 ing of the trees, and the flapping of every 1003:: thing in the hamlet kept Granny Wilde nodding over her fire to a much later hour than usual. The smoke blew_ into her face in angry. puffs and Sometimes the wind, like a. human hand, seemed to be lifting the latch of the door. It was the kind- of fearsome night when old folk are in dread that something will happen to. them, when, in fact, God is using the world so roughly that guttering can- dles are afraid of being blown out. Granny, as we know, was not a. timid woman, hunt the strength which fll‘l.n A:nni‘n-â€"â€" ~ I'lel‘. â€"v . vuv Ul- qu LULLUUC was his butiwar'k, his first line of de- fence, against witch or woman, and when he had driven the last nail in its goodly length, he rested from his la- bors: He had confidence in the work of 1118 bands. and chuckled when he; watched Granny searching, as he thought, for the weak spot in the bar- “I A“ vâ€"vvuâ€"uâ€"“vavu uiwuu more firmiy convinced that such an openlng ezglsted. Her suspicion con- centrated itself upon the pulpit plank. yet Danny had put more nails into it than In 3111‘ the rest of the fence. It v‘ w- was round the curve before he could stop it, but running back along the metals he found Granny \Vilde calmly filling her poke with the pieces of coal that. she had dislodged from the trucks with her fearful-looking pike. Neither lthe gruard's eloquence nor the com- ‘pany's threats had much effect upon Granny's intrepid soul, but she was brought to repentance by a letter from the parish doctor threatening the workhouse if she was again found medd ling with the coal trucks on the railway. Thenceforth, Granny pre- tended not to know that there was a railway in the neighborhood, and would not even glean upon the level crossing when the carts had jolted over it. This did not so much matter. for the shaking so loosened «the coal that some of it was sure to fall in the roadway just about the door of Granny’s cottage. Fate, or, as some; say, Granny's stick, had a way of in-* voking the force of gravitation at that particular spot. ‘ Danny felt that all his efforts to keep in repair the fence between his yard and Granny's were justified. ‘ During- !‘T 1 It' was kndwn to everybody that she had nearly put out \Vatty \Vilson's eye upon an occasion when her lust for coal got the better of her honesty. \Vatty is the guard of a mineral train, and his story is that when he was tak- ing a freight of coal through the Glen' one day, the skin of his face was out by a frightful iron-shod Sthk. protrud- ing likea baionet from the brlar hedge which at that point almost sweeps the Sides of the truck as they pass. \Vith the cold sweat running down his back, and a selection of choice oaths upon his lips, he peered savagely into the hedge, and saw looking out at him the wrinkled ‘face of a Witch. The train: lieving that Granny had at least the intent to rob him of his precious caloric. She could not keep her fingers from the farmers' coal carts when they passed her door. and would have been brought before a Justice of the Peace long ago for picking and stealing if it had not been obvious to the local po- liceman that she wanted to go, on the chance of getting a cart of coal out offhls worship. the deep d3- one of them a. you] capaclous drawer. as big as a small bed, almost. Nothing was in it except a few towels. “ What are you doing that for i" de- manded the wife. “I to dIOp your ashes all over the to Can't youâ€"Obâ€"h-h! Let me go I” For with one step her h caught her and gathered h arms. Three steps more t . the bureau. He coolly put ' her in th open drawer. tucked her 111. and closed the drawer. Then he resumed his seat, . . e la uiet, but tiring of this she began t y q . “ What Elie SrBiivIfiim manded the wife. “I a to drop your ashes all Cag't youâ€"Oh~h-h! Le small bed, almost. Nothing except a few towels.‘ u 1ITL _ L g painful thought. Belng Holland-born ‘he Here John recovered his voice and saved himself from apoplexy. “ You'd better jump." she said. “Take your dirty pipe out of here; filling the place all up with smoke." “ Inâ€"theâ€"bestâ€"room," continued his wife with severe pauses. She threw up the window with a bang. John jump- He didn't attempt to deny it, Even if he had wanted to, amazement at the tone of the accusation had deprived him of speech. “John Vanders'taadt, you've been smoking in this room." is more, she kept on sniffing. “I will have you to understand,” he began again. when he was unceremona iously interrupted. “ Lena," he said. pondero'usly ; “I have some things to say to you. Iâ€"" too, where the big bureau stood in sol- emn magnificence. He had never done that before. Meantime Lena had gone out with her nose uplifted. and an un- familiar look of indifference on her small face. On her return her husband called her into the best room. on which her husband smoked several pipes; smoked them in the best room in the new country, she actually had the temerity to develop a mind and will of her own. Now John approved of en- tire freedom for himself. but any such thing for his Wife was quite out of the reckoning. That is how the bureau. which has been in the Vanderstaadt family for three generations. came to play a part for which it was never in- tended, and how John Vanderstaadt came to find himself confronted by the “I shouldn't think it could happen; I shouldn't think it could happen." he said over and over, shaking his big head in sorrowful perplexity, and that is all that could be got out of him. was unimportant; the fact highly oth- erwise. That there could be any difâ€" ference of opinion, that Lena could have an opinion of her own. was a. matter up- In Holland Lena had always been sub- missive enough. She never questioned any of her husband's judgments or dis- puted with him, or so much as thought of talking back. But with the arrival a man to do just as he pleased with all his belongings, among which John classed his wife. mm: and longer than it is tall. When John settled in a little house at Hale- don. which is a sort of side-hill suburb, of Paterson, New J ersey, he installed the bureau in the best room. as it was his most impressive piece of furniture. He also brought from Holland, his wife, Lena, and an idea that in the New World there was absolute freedom for The Drawer, the [Bottom fine of Bureau That é‘am? from Hollandâ€"Husband Thought usckiug Up “is $ 'ife “'as Bel- ter Than Beating Her, and It Was a Kind of a Joke Too. One of the heirlooms which John Van- derstaadt brought. over from Holland with him is a very big- and handsome mahogany bureau, almost as tall as a PUNISHMENT ADMINISTERED BY JOHN VANDERSTAADT TO HIS WIFE. LOOKED HER IN A. DRAWER. 011' in front of him. “Don"; I’ll show you whether )r not." .” she remarked calm- long and you- Were those cough dIOps They worked llke a ch: baVB such a. horrible. man + have colu-r'tier, the children of the ] are well supplied with play thi Easter eve, he writes. the tuto Emperor's sons Collects all t which have been I ive-n the ¢ during the year. T ey consist most par-t of things of a milit ture, such as miniature cannons horns, drums, comets, and, of tin soldiers._ Then he 03111899 t KAISER'S SONS T5178 FOR CHARITY bread flowergpraetically insure them against detection. It is believed that for eorsage wear. for the garniture ‘ot “I think it's' a. kind of a joke. any- way." said the prisoner. “Your Wife doesn't think so. (103! first," admitted John, " but she like! 1t all right now. She has to do what her husband tells her." "I don't want my man to go to pri- son." put in him. Vanderstaedt. “I! he’ll promise not to put me in the draw- er it will be all right." “ I'll promise that, J udge,” agreed the Simple-minded John. “ If she don't do what I tell her now, I'll beat her." “ If you do, I’ll see that your sentoto Prison, for six moths." replied Justlce Levy, emphaficallyd “ RTAL I ""'J' "W ULIU UL 1161' urguulenLB. It so wocrked upon the mfe's fears that she finally decided to appeal to the law. Vastly amazed was John Van- dPIStaadt at being haled before Jus- tl‘.” Levy Of Paterson to answer his Wate's charge of cruelty. She's my Wife." he protested. “Can't I do What I want with my own wife 2" her up in a drawer repiied the Justice. “Don't you know better than that ?" “I think it's' a {Kind of a joke. any- WQ'V " (35:.1 .LI- â€"â€" v -â€"â€"v w WLLlLIGLl allJJl’DD out of her senses gt being accosted by the human as “John." The real John. appearing .explamed matters. Later the “I guess you had enough." said her husband, allowing her to climb out, if you do it again the drawer is there." But the matter of air troubled him, Suppose he should lock her up on a future occasion and then go outdoom and forget her. She might smother to death. He fixed that by boring holes gthroug‘h the back of the bureau to let. gm air. Thereafter the punlshment of :the bureau became a frequent one in the Vanderstaadt household ° for Lena'a \spirit was not crushed; so frequeflt that she put a pillow and blanket in the drawer and tool; naps to while away the hours of imprisonment. This sort of thmg might be going on 5'81; had not come in_one day recently “John!" the call came in muffle¢ choking accents that started the phleg. matic smoker. “\Vhat's the matter with you ?" “Johd!” the call came in muffled! Barely in time she got the wedded towel from her mouth as the drawer wasppened. Then he smoked for half an hour. Mrs. Vanderstaadt devised a bit. of strategy. It consisted in stuffing the wadded-up corner of a towel in her mouth. The man pulled the key out of The keyhole. “ Put your nose to that," h. sa_i_d_ obliginglyn nge results. ‘ o-o-o-o-ohn! Have you gone av . “No; What do You want 2” my? "I can't breathe. There’s no ai here!’ r tance, and her screams didn't di John. Presently she began to kick also This caused the big drawer to up” 8' crack. John steppe over, closedit a (1 locked it. More Sllenoe folloxwd.',l;henn “ J ohn." No answer. Sturb (C 3 the brgagl ‘gjgows .sigale the flow- real article whéfi"t§é§fi1§"$§ do, wohnl" lren of the Emperor with play things. On ites, the tutor of tho Jolleots all the toys I wen the children T e}; consiep for the [‘1- Lure cannons, sabres, lets, and, of course. he causes them to generally repaired. em among the poor f the ca ital. Last military: V of a German expensivé. . d- it have added IUUC e . ‘ tions by us tenuu, (n u I Uppr‘ have gained only failure to gra§p 3“»? 108 of success In bouth flirtation. These are 1 -Li..]:§“ 1 LL-â€"- :1 of the British colonial em [3 the political altualion outed and dangmxvus. and .0 by the. jealonsieq and two immigrant races, whi understand earn others aspirationS, oppose. [Hive thgm of their just; [11181106. and that in duing‘ “103119 rt Of the ius'un‘ia] ‘ v On their side (he 13,1111st Dutch of wanting . tnd to make the South A confederacy, and blame “ants with encouraging their failure to support the loyal British g: ‘ ‘ will dislike and 0W s valuable possesrsim him in a wmyiiaa ted 4 chm. the feeling 0‘ action. the 19‘9ng which [ID man 9‘“ with such securi't S rrimry. under the probably be Mu governinetnt and .0 wt in cancer ordm‘l)’ agglom-e: We k‘mwv “0' ‘ 0). rest am a l. but we do f T NO TE. approval 01 1h can N

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