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About Willamette farmer. (Salem, Or.) 1869-1887 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1884)
rif" ? f ! I j ., 1 . i," i a1 (,ai ' ( 'II 1 'I ! If u '! IK J I m WILLAMETTE FARMER; SALEM, OREGON, AUGUST 1, 1884. f nrmtf ilcralur THE LAND OF THE AFTERNOON. An old man sits la ln'g gardou chair, Watching tho sunlit western ky ; What sees he in the blue depths there, ' Where only the Isles of Memory lie ! There are princely toners and castle; high, There are garden? fairer than human ken. There are happy children thronging by, Kadient wonjen and stately men, Singing with voices of sweet attune The tongs of tho land of the Afternoon. The old man watches a form of 'cloud That iloats where the tzjro islands are, And ho sees a homestead gray and bowed, And a hand that beckons him afar. 0, cheek nf roses and hair of gold 1 O, tycs of Heaven's divinest blue ! Long have ye lain in tho eraveyird mold lilt life is infinite, love is true. He will find htr yes it must be soon; They will meet in the Land of the Afternoon. The sky has changed, and a wrack of cloud Is driving athwart h troubled face, The golden mist is a trailing shroud. It is cold and bleak in the garden place, The old man smiles and droops his head, The thin hair blows from his wrinkled brow, The eunjet radiance has spread O'er 'very wastul feature now; One sigh exhales like a breath of June. He has fouud the Land of the Afternoon. "And in the afternoon they came unto A land where it seemed always afternoon. The Lotus L'ater. "Yea," she said; "I think I have. I have always had a presentment that I should marry a minister or missionary." Admirable prophetic faith! "And Mr. Applebloom says ho knew the moment ho sot eyes upon mo that I was ordained to be his wife; bo you see it is no sur prise to either of us that it is likoly to be our friends." I knew that her mind was fully made up. I demurred no longer, but lent my self at onco to tho discussion of tho wed ding, which I plainly saw was what Miss Lyddy desired of mo. "You will be marriod in church, I sup pose?" Oh, no, said Miss Lyddy, with gen- alterations, when the dreadful event oc curred with which this narrative opens. "Glory," I said, "do you keep watch on Miss Lyddy when she returns. Say nothing what has happened unless she misses the gown from tho grass. In that case, tell her that I thought that it was bleached enough and took it up to dry, and you don't know where I put it. I am going out now, but if she asks where, toll her you don't know." Glory was faithful, and had besides the natural craft of her race, and I knew that she could bo trusted. As for me, I swiftly donned my bonnet and set out to find Major Hawthorne. It was a bright Juno evening, and my walk through the tic decision. "I am tho lust of the Lud- J meadow and trrove that skirted Haw kinscs. All the Ludkinscs have been ( thornedoan would have been a more de- marncd at homo. I will go out from jjjghtful one if I had borne a mind moro under my own roof-treo. If I must seem jat easo. Tho major was a gentleman Providential Pigs- Poniclin's done "Oh, mis-ms, missus happened." Illank honor and dismay were de picted upon the face of my small Afii cmi, as she stood upon my threshold with upr.iNcd hands and eyeballs that seemed starting from their soKpIs. Her panto w.is one of pieparati i, for with the innate1 consideration of her rare sho sought to break the nows gently to me, but tho burden was too great for her, .and with the next bicuth sho exclaimed : "Deni pigs dono chawed upMksLyd- iIv'r wnliliii' innvn!" "Glory," I exclaimed (she had been pioUbly chiistcncdGlorinnn),"Gloiy,how did it happen?" "Dimno know," said Glory. 'Tears to mo dem pigs has got Satan in 'em. Guess doy's 'bcended from do olo lot what run down a btcop placo into tho sen. I'll go mi' fetch yo a piece." Slio sped out and instantly returned with a shattered shred of Indian mull that had oueo been white, and still born some resoiubUnco to a gown. Poor Miss Lyddy! This w.h all that leinaincd of her dioani of wedding splendois. It wns too pitiful ! I felt at onco that the bonds of good neighborhood hail been irre trievably broken, mid that T-ijor Haw thorno iniixt bo mndo nwnri ot this last and worst depied.ition of his unseemly pig. "Hut who would bieak the news to Miss Lyddy?" '(llory," (.aid I, ''vUieio is sho?" "Gone ocr to do buiyin' placo ob her suiceslors," answered Glory. Poor, faithful houl ; even in thoo last days of lior maidenhood, with tho terrors of niatiimony and still more appalling responsibilities of unsaved hiMthen souls liuuging our her, she did not forget tho sincestors. l.oug lines of Ludkinscs lay buried in the sunken hillocks in (he family bury ing-pl.ieo, which lay just in ight of her sitting-iooni window. Sho herself was tho last of her race, and un til within tlueu weeks it had seemed ihnt tho only f.ito that awaited her was to liw out her little sp.ieo uniier tho an cestral roof-treo, and then take her placo in tho silent ranks of thoo who hud j;ouo befoie. Hut a ehango had eome. It eaino in tho nersou of a returned mis-) aionary from the Microneian Islands, who had buried tho first and second puttiers nf his joys and sorrows some where under (h palm trees of those tropical lauds and had couio back to tho nceiiiH of his jouth to reciuit his health, trvo his cause, and look up partner No. it. llo mot Miss Lyddy at a woman's missionary meeting. Hoe.illed tho not afternoon and was united to May to tea. Ho accepted tho invitation, and next morning Miss Lyddy c.imo into my room I, too, was domiciled under tho Lud kins roof tree, for a consideration- and with much hesitation and many faiut and delicate blushes, informed me that sho promised to share the future lot of tho Hev. Xohemuli Applebloom, to tako caro of his six children, and to sup port him in his arduous labors among tho heathen of the Microuosiau Islands. I was struck dumb with amazement. "Miss Lyddy," I said at length, "have you duly considered tho project?" Her thin figure quivered, and her white face, that had yet a delicate re membrance ot youth in it, grow tender with feeling. to forsake my ancestors" sho paused to regulate a little choking in her throat "I will at least not forsake their tradi tions. I shall leave a litilo money with tho parish clerk, that ho may see that the graves of my dead arc kept in proper order, as I always loved to keep them, and I hope they will forgive my depar ture ; but I will at least go as a Ludkins should. It is my desire to be married in my grandmother's wedding-gown." Miss Lyddy's voico trembled, and thcie was humidity in her eyes, at which I did not wonder, for it was much like a funeral, after all. "I thought, perhaps," went on Miss Lyddy, "if I brought tho venerated relic to you, you would tell mo if anything woro necessary to bo done to fit it tome. I don't care for the fashions, you know, and my grandmother, as I remember her, was about my height, but you know something some changes might be advisable." "Certainly," I said, "do bring it tome. I should so like to see it." "It is sprigged India (she called it Ingy) mull. My grandfather, Captain Simon Ludkins, brought it from ovor these is. I'll bring it." Like some p.do and gontlo ghost she roo then nud went to tho buroau drawer and unrolled from rolls of linen that smelt of lavender, the frail relic of Mrs. dipt Simon Ludkins' wedding state. It was fine, embroidered mull, tho un doubted product of Indian looms. "It is lovely," I said, "and so well kept that it will be just tho thing for you. Will you try it on? We can tell then just what it needs." Miss Lyddy proceeded to disrobe her self and put on tho spider-net gown. As .sho did so the changes in fashion's man dates becamo only too evident. It had no waist to speak of, and just a little lace-trimmcd puff for sleeves. Miss Lyddy was evidently surprised. She had not thought of this. I knew woll what the troubled look on her face meant, and pitied her mnidon sensibilities. Could it bo possible that her grandmother, Mrs. Capt. Ludkins, had ever worn such a gown as this? She said not a woid that could indicate tho depth of her mortifi cation but her face was a study for an artist. "Thoro must bo blecves," sho mur mured, after a few moments of silent and embarrased contemplation. "Yes," I replied, cheerfully as un constrained gravity would allow. "And you might have a fichu and a flounce on the bottom." Sho looked down. Sho had not be fore lealizcd that tho skirt of tho venera ted relic lacked fully a quarter of a yard of touching tho Moor. "However could they!" sho ejaculated in an undertone. Hut she quickly re covered herself and looked up to me cheerfully over her spectacle. "How ingenious you are!" sho said with mi air of sweet relief. "J know you would help mo out" "Wo wont together and bought the requisite mull that day, but when wo came to put it Iwsido the "venerated relic" of Mrs. Captain Ludkins it was evident that time had so ciuiehed the color of tho latter that they were most unfoitunately unliko. "Wo can lay it out on the grass," I s-iid ; "the-o Juno days are just tho thing for it, and as it will bo evening, nobody will in the least notice." Again Miss Lyddy smiled gratefully, and declared that my suggestion should bo carried out in tho most faithful man ner. Tho Hev. Nehcmiah Applebloom "A lovely mime, don't you think so?" said Miss Lyddy, and she blushed and smiled like a school-girl in her teens had but a short furlough, and tho marriage must transpire the next week, so tho relio was put out to bleach forthwith. It had al ready been put upon the grass three days and nights, and had been religiously watered by Miss Lyddy t morn and noon and dewy eve, and the next day it was to be taken up early and put in the dross-maker's hands for the neooasary by birth, but he lived out his fifty bach' clor yoars in a gay and careless way that seemed to set the gentler part of creation at defiance. In the lifetime of hi parents Hawthorncdcan had been a beautiful estate. It still retained many marks of wealthy and cultivated owner ship, but it was sadly run down, as tho home of a bachelor is apt to be. Tho grove, which had been the pride of the place, was grown up with brush now, and tho sere leaves of many summers' growth rustled under my feet as I walked through it. At one point, com ing suddenly around a thick clump of undergrowth, I heard a chorus or tiny snorts and the scampering of number less hoofs, and I knew I had invaded a haunt of the major's last agricultural freak, tho very brood of Berkshire pigs that were the source of my borrowed woes. Away they scampered, their snouts in the air, and each, with a curl in his tail that seemed too ornamental to bo wholly the product of nature and to justify the village rumor that tho major's own man put those tails in curl papcra every night. They had the air of spoiled children, every one, and were, evidently, the major's pets. Hut that didn't matter; they had ruined Miss Lyddy's wedding gown, to say nothing of other aggravating exploits which do not bolong to this story, and'I was de termined to have satisfaction out of their owner. I found the major sitting on his pi' azza with an after-dinner look upon his handsome, good-humored face. He rose to greot mo with an air of old-school po liteness, dashed with a faint wonder that I, a woman, should have tho hardi hood to approach a place so littlo fre quented by women. Good cvoning, Miss Grace. I am happy to seo you. In what can I have the honor to servo you?" Ho had read my faco and knew that I had come on a mission. "Major Hawthorne," I said, paying no attention to his offer of a chair, "I have come on a very painful errand." "Sit down, madam," said the major, politely. "I cannot possibly permit a lady to stand on my piazza. I ought, perhaps, to ask you to walk in, but it is rather study insido this evening." "Xo," said I, "I will sit hero, if you please." To toll you tho truth, indoors, as seen through tho windows, had not tho most inviting look, and I was glad to conipromiso. "You have no doubt hoard that Miss Lyddy Ludkins isalwut to bo married." "Married! MisaLydia! Not Hadn't heard a word of it, said tho major, in genuino amazement. Who is tho fortu nato man, pray?" "Tho Hev. Xehemiali Appleblossom, a missionary to tho Micronesiau Islands, who has come home to recruit his health and find a wife." "I know him," said the major. "Saw him get down at tho station long, lean, lank individual just for his vocation ; no temptation whatever for tho Canni bals I Hut what in the duce is ho going to do with Miss Lydia What will Halaaiu's Corners do without her?" "Balaam's Corners must do tho best they can," I said I fear a littlo sharply for my mind was still in a most ag gressive stato townrd tho major. "They aro to bo married next week, and "What will Woino of tho 'ancestors?' " interpolated tho major, in whom sur prise seemed to have gotten the better of his habitual politeness. "Oh, she has made arrangements with Mr. Crow about that." "Just liko her. Pear, faithful girl." The major had all his life loved all tho sex, not one, and I was not to be be guiled by this show of feeling. "Sho had set her heart upon being married in her grandmother's wedding gown." "Uld .Mrs. Uaptain Mmon: I remem ber her well A mighty fine woman. She would never have gone to the ends of tho earth with a missionary. It's the craiiost scheme I ever heard of." I began to fear I should never get to my errand, "It was put on tho grass to bleach, Dc iner a little yellow with age. It was a Iovelv embroidered India muslin that the old captain brought home from India himself. "How woll I remember him, in my boyhoodl A jolly old soull A grand daughter of his go off to the Canibal Islands to be eaten up by savages! I wont have it." ' "Her heart is set upon going," I con tinued. "The wedding gown was put out to bleach, and this very afternoon those Berkshire pigs of yours they aro a nuisance to thn whole neighborhood, Major trampled and rooted it pieces, so that it is utterly ruined. "Little black rascals!" said the major, with a chuckle behind his neckcloth. "And I have come without her knowl edge, to tell you of it, because I was sure that, under the circumstances, a gentle man of your breeding would feel in honor bound to make some reparation to Miss Lyddy." The mnjor muted and looked at his boot for a moment in silence. "Misb Giace,"he said at length, "I am under obligations to you for tho service you have rendered in this matter. Will you have the goodness to say to Miss Ludkins, with my compliments, that I skall do myself the honor to wait upon her to morrow at 10 o'clock to adjust this unfortunate matter? I beg in the meantime that she will give herself no little solicitude, for, though I cannot re store the ancient and venerated dry goods, I will do the best that is possible under the circumstances to make the loss good." He bowed over my hand and the audience was evidently concluded. Was I satisfied? No, indeed! What woman would not have felt wronged to be left at the end of a mission of disinterested benevolence in such a state of doubt and uncertainty as this? But I was obliged to go home, nevertheless, and wait as patiently as I could for tho stroke of 10 next morning., ulory hail been in hearing wnen tue message had been delivered to jiiss Lyddy, and she, too, was on the watch. At last she scudded in from the hedge, her ivories all aglisten, and her eyes wide open and full of a rather incom prehensible mirth. "He s a-conuu ," she said, and such a sight." At that moment the gate clicked, and up the walk stiode, indeed, a most aston ishing ngure. Tho major had gotten himself up into a continental suit, which' he must have fished out of the unknown depths of the anciont attics of Haw thorndean ; black velvet coat with lace ruffles at the wrist, knee-breeches, white satin waistcoat, slippers, with shoe buckles, powdered wig and cocked hat. He was six feet tall, portly and well formed, and he looked every inch a signer of the declaration at the very least He was followed by bis colored man, who carried a largo brown paper parcel. "He's come a courtin' missus," said Glory ; "ye can seo it in his face." I had not the instinct of Glory, and doubted it. But what his errand was I was dying to know. But he disappeared into Miss Lydia's parlor and I was left outside to temper my impatience as best I could. Pres ently Glory entered tip-toe. "Missus, missus," sho whispered, "de do's swung open jes' de leas' crack, an' its jes' opposite do big murror; an' if ye come out hero in tin hall yo can see it all in do murror as plain as day, an' it's a heap better'an a play." It was a temptation, but believo me, dear reader, i resisted it. Unlv as Glory ran back to her jieeping I followed to pull her away and send her out of doors that was simply my duty and there lie was lull on nis Knees before her, and she with that rapt, seraphic look upon her face which no woman ever wears except en the most vitally interesting occasions. Jiut, ulory disposed of. I went back to my sowing and waited as best I could the conclusion of tho mo mentous interview. The maior came out at length, as smiling as a Mav morn ing, leaving the brown paper parcel behind him. It was very still in Miss Lyddy's room for a quarter of an hour, and thou she, too, emerged from her retreat Spread over her hands was a gown of cream colored brocade embelished with the loveliest roses in full bloom, with blue foiget-me-nots trailing hero and there among them. It had an ample waist, elbow sleoves, and a train a yaul and a half long. "My dear Grace," said she, "tho major has brought me his mother's wedding gown to be married in." "It is beautiful," I said; "but who is to lie tho bridegroom?" She suiilod as angels do, and looked afar; a delicate fluttor of pink hung out in her cheek to deprecato her recreancy, as she whispered in a tone of gentlo but consumate triumph "The major him self I Pidn't he look grand in those knee breeches ?" "And Mr. Applebloom?" "Major Hawthorne will adjust that matter." "That matter, Indeed!" Sho spoke as though it were already as remote from from her as the pyramids. "I congratulate you, Miss Lvdia," I said, growing formal, for she had be haved shamefully. " Don't blame me," she murmured. "Major Hawthorne declares he has loved me since l was a child, but nrer thought himself worthy of me, the gay deceiver; and Mr..pplellooni you know, is only tho acquaintance of a day." I wanted to ask her how she had dis posed of her presentment, but I did not dare. Major Hawthorne subscribed 50 to the Mieroncsian mission, and sent Mr. Applebloom elsewhere to look for a wife, and the verdict of Balaam's Corners was that ho had done the handsome " 'Fore goodness!" said Glory, "ef dar weren't a clar relation between dem pigs an' Providence, den I don't know nothm . Miss Lydia took the same pious view of the eituation.and made the major the most dainty and dignified of wives. BEE HIVES! We would be pleased to call all persons Interested In Bees, to the many good qualities ot the MONARCH HIVE! The DEST now In use. It (rained highest diploma at laat two State Fain. We have plenty on hand to an all orders on demand. Correapnndenre Solicited. Address or apply to A. F. M I1XER, Scllwood, Or., or MILLER BROS., Seed Store, 2C9 Eecond Street, - Fortland, Oregou 2?feb3mo THE WELL KNOWN MITCHELL WAGON, ALSO m II E SAME MAKE X SPRING WAGONS. BUCK BOARDS. PHAETONS and BUGGIES. Lewis & Co., MANUFACTURERS. Pacific Coat nranch lOJnnil 194 Front St.. 1'orlland. 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