No More Learning

"Your grandfather's all right," he told the frightened girl quickly. "He
sent me for you. Just hurry and get your things. "

She was with him again in a moment, and seizing the old man's arm,
hurried him down the steps and toward the street almost at a run.

"You're not telling me the truth," she said. "You're not telling me the
truth! "

"Nothing has happened to Roger Tabor," panted Mr. Arp. "We're going this
way, not that. " They had come to the gate, and as she turned to the
right he pulled her sharply to the left.

"Where are we going? " she demanded.

"To your Uncle Jonas's. "

"Why? " she cried, in supreme astonishment. "What do you want to take me
there for? Don't you know that he doesn't like me--that he has stopped
speaking to me? "

"Yes," said the old man, grimly; "he has stopped speaking to everybody. "

These startling words told Ariel that her uncle was dead. They did not
tell her what she was soon to learn--that he had died rich, and that,
failing other heirs, she and her grandfather had inherited his fortune.


II

It was Sunday in Canaan--Sunday some years later. Joe Louden was sitting
in the shade of Main Street bridge, smoking a cigar. He was alone; he
was always alone, for he had been away a long time, and had made few
friends since his return.

A breeze wandered up the river and touched the leaves and grass to life.
The young corn, deep green in the bottom-land, moved with a [v]staccato
flurry; the stirring air brought a smell of blossoms; the distance took
on faint lavender hazes which blended the outlines of the fields, lying
like square coverlets on the long slope of rising ground beyond the
bottom-land, and empurpled the blue woodland shadows of the groves.

For the first time it struck Joe that it was a beautiful day. He opened
his eyes and looked about him whimsically. Then he shook his head again.
A lady had just emerged from the bridge and was coming toward him.

It would be hard to get at Joe's first impressions of her. We can find
conveyance for only the broadest and heaviest. At first sight of her,
there was preëminently the shock of seeing anything so exquisite in his
accustomed world. For she was exquisite; she was that, and much more,
from the ivory [v]ferrule of the parasol she carried, to the light and
slender foot-print she left in the dust of the road. Joe knew at once
that nothing like her had ever before been seen in Canaan.

He had little knowledge of the millinery arts, and he needed none to see
the harmony of the things she wore. Her dress and hat and gloves and
parasol showed a pale lavender overtint like that which he had seen
overspreading the western slope. Under the summer hat her very dark hair
swept back over the temples with something near trimness in the extent
to which it was withheld from being fluffy. It may be that this approach
to trimness, after all, was the true key to the mystery of the lady who
appeared to Joe.

She was to pass him--so he thought--and as she drew nearer, his breath
came faster. And then he realized that something wonderful was happening
to him.

She had stopped directly in front of him; stopped and stood looking at
him with her clear eyes. He did not lift his own to her; a great and
unaccountable shyness beset him. He had risen and removed his hat,
trying not to clear his throat--his everyday sense urging upon him that
she was a stranger in Canaan who had lost her way.

"Can I--can I--" he stammered, blushing, meaning to finish with "direct
you," or "show you the way. "

Then he looked at her again and saw what seemed to him the strangest
sight of life. The lady's eyes had filled with tears--filled and
overfilled.

"I'll sit here on the log with you," she said. "You don't need to dust
it! " she went on, tremulously. And even then he did not know who she
was.

There was a silence, for if the dazzled young man could have spoken at
all, he could have found nothing to say; and, perhaps, the lady would
not trust her own voice just then. His eyes had fallen again; he was
too dazed, and, in truth, too panic-stricken now, to look at her. She
was seated beside him and had handed him her parasol in a little way
which seemed to imply that, of course, he had reached for it, so that it
was to be seen how used she was to have all such things done for her. He
saw that he was expected to furl the dainty thing; he pressed the catch
and let down the top timidly, as if fearing to break or tear it; and, as
it closed, held near his face, he caught a very faint, sweet, spicy
[v]emanation from it like wild roses and cinnamon.

"Do you know me? " asked the lady at last.

For answer he could only stare at her, dumfounded; he lifted an unsteady
hand toward her appealingly. Her manner underwent an April change. She
drew back lightly; he was favored with the most delicious low laugh he
had ever heard.

"I'm glad you're the same, Joe! " she said. "I'm glad you're the same,
and I'm glad I've changed, though that isn't why you have forgotten me. "

He arose uncertainly and took three or four backward steps from her. She
sat before him, radiant with laughter, the loveliest creature he had
ever seen; but between him and this charming vision there swept, through
the warm, scented June air, the dim picture of a veranda all in darkness
and the faint music of violins.

_"Ariel Tabor! "_

"Isn't it about time you were recognizing me? " she said.

* * * * *

Sensations were rare in staid, dull, commonplace Canaan, but this fine
Sunday morning the town was treated to one of the most memorable
sensations in its history. The town, all except Joe Louden, had known
for weeks that Ariel Tabor was coming home from abroad, but it had not
seen her. And when she walked along the street with Joe, past the Sunday
church-returning crowds, it is not quite truth to say that all except
the children came to a dead halt, but it is not very far from it. The
air was thick with subdued exclamations and whisperings.

Joe had not known her. The women recognized her, [v]infallibly, at first
sight; even those who had quite forgotten her. And the women told their
men. Hence the un-Sunday-like demeanor of the procession, for few towns
held it more unseemly to stand and stare at passers-by, especially on
the Sabbath. But Ariel Tabor had returned.

A low but increasing murmur followed the two as they proceeded. It ran
up the street ahead of them; people turned to look back and paused, so
that Ariel and Joe had to walk round one or two groups. They had, also,
to walk round Norbert Flitcroft, which was very like walking round a
group. Mr. Flitcroft was one of the few (he was waddling home alone)
who did not identify Miss Tabor, and her effect upon him was
extraordinary. His mouth opened and he gazed [v]stodgily, his widening
eyes like sun-dogs coming out of a fog. Mr. Flitcroft experienced a few
moments of trance; came out of it stricken through and through; felt
nervously of his tie; resolutely fell in behind, and followed, at a
distance of some forty paces, determined to learn what household this
heavenly visitor honored, and thrilling with the intention to please
that same household with his own presence as soon and as often as
possible.

Ariel flushed a little when she perceived the extent of their
conspicuousness; but it was not the blush that Joe remembered had
reddened the tanned skin of old; for her brownness had gone long ago,
though it had not left her merely pink and white. There was a delicate
rosiness rising from her cheeks to her temples, as the earliest dawn
rises.

Joe kept trying to realize that this lady of wonder was Ariel Tabor, but
he could not; he could not connect the shabby Ariel, whom he had treated
as one boy treats another, with this young woman of the world. Although
he had only a dim perception of the staring and whispering which greeted
and followed them, Ariel, of course, was thoroughly aware of it, though
the only sign she gave was the slight blush, which very soon
disappeared.

Ariel paused before the impressive front of Judge Pike's large mansion.
Joe's face expressed surprise.

"Don't you know? " she said. "I'm staying here. Judge Pike has charge of
all my property. Come to see me this afternoon. "

With a last charming smile, Ariel turned and left the dazed young man on
the sidewalk.

That walk was but the beginning of her triumph. Judge Pike's of a summer
afternoon was the swirling social center of Canaan, but on that
particular Sunday afternoon every unattached male in the town who
possessed the privilege of calling at the big house appeared. They
filled the chairs in the wide old-fashioned hall where Ariel received
them, and overpoured on the broad steps of the old-fashioned spiral
staircase, where Mr. Flitcroft, on account of his size, occupied two
steps and a portion of a third. And Ariel was the center of it all!
BOOTH TARKINGTON.


=HELPS TO STUDY=

I. Describe Ariel's pitiful attempts at beautifying herself when
dressing for the dance. When did she realize her failure? How were
her anticipations of the dance realized? What kind of girl was
Mamie Pike? Give reasons for your answer. At what point were you
most sorry for Ariel? With what startling news did the evening end?

II. Give an account of the meeting between the old playmates.
Describe the scenes as they walked along the street. What do you
think was the greatest part of Ariel's "triumph? " Was she spoiled
by her wealth? How do you know?


SUPPLEMENTARY READING

Little Women--Louisa M. Alcott.
Pride and Prejudice--Jane Austen.


FOOTNOTE:

[141-*] Copyright by Harper & Brothers.




THE CLOUD


I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,
From the seas and the streams;
I bear light shade for the leaves when laid
In their noonday dreams.
From my wings are shaken the dews that waken
The sweet buds every one,
When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,
As she dances about the sun.
I wield the flail of the lashing hail,
And whiten the green plains under;
And then again I dissolve it in rain;
And laugh as I pass in thunder.

I sift the snow on the mountains below,
And their great pines groan aghast;
And all the night 'tis my pillow white,
While I sleep in the arms of the blast.
Sublime on the towers of my skyey bowers
Lightning, my pilot, sits;
In a cavern under is fettered the thunder;
It struggles and howls at fits.
Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion,
This pilot is guiding me,
Lured by the love of the [v]genii that move
In the depths of the purple sea;
Over the rills and the crags and the hills,
Over the lakes and the plains,
Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream.
The spirit he loves remains;
And I all the while bask in heaven's blue smile,
Whilst he is dissolving in rains.

I am the daughter of the earth and water,
And the nursling of the sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain, when, with never a stain,
The pavilion of heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams, with their convex gleams,
Build up the blue dome of air,--
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
And out of the caverns of rain,
I rise and unbuild it again.

PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY.


=HELPS TO STUDY=

Make a list of the things the cloud does. Read aloud the lines in
which the poet tells of each of these. Why is lightning spoken of
as the pilot of the cloud? Where does it sit? Where is the thunder?
How is the cloud "the daughter of the earth and water"? How "a
nursling of the sky"? Explain "I change, but I cannot die. " A
cenotaph is a memorial built to one who is buried elsewhere. Why
should the clear sky be the cloud's cenotaph? How does the
reappearing of the cloud unbuild it?




NEW ENGLAND WEATHER


There is a [v]sumptuous variety about the New England weather that
compels the stranger's admiration--and regret. The weather is always
doing something there; always attending strictly to business; always
getting up new designs and trying them on the people to see how they
will go. But it gets through more business in spring than in any other
season. In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six
different kinds of weather within four and twenty hours. It was I who
made the fame and fortune of the man who had that marvelous collection
of weather on exhibition at the Centennial, which so astounded the
foreigners. He was going to travel around the world and get specimens
from all climes. I said, "Don't do it; just come to New England on a
favorable spring day. " I told him what we could do in the way of style,
variety, and quantity. Well, he came, and he made his collection in four
days. As to variety, he confessed that he got hundreds of kinds of
weather that he had never heard of before. And as to quantity, after he
had picked out and discarded all that was blemished in any way, he not
only had weather enough, but weather to spare, weather to hire out,
weather to sell, weather to deposit, weather to invest, and weather to
give to the poor.

Old Probabilities has a mighty reputation for accurate prophecy and
thoroughly deserves it. You take up the paper and observe how crisply
and confidently he checks off what to-day's weather is going to be on
the Pacific, down South, in the Middle States, in the Wisconsin region.
See him sail along in the joy and pride of his power till he gets to New
England, and then see his tail drop. _He_ doesn't know what the weather
is going to be in New England. Well, he mulls over it, and by and by he
gets out something like this: "Probable northeast to southwest winds,
varying to the southward and westward and eastward and points between;
high and low barometer, swapping around from place to place; probable
areas of rain, snow, hail, and drought, succeeded or preceded by
earthquakes with thunder and lightning. " Then he jots down this
postscript from his wandering mind, to cover accidents: "But it is
possible that the program may be wholly changed in the meantime. " Yes,
one of the brightest gems in the New England weather is the dazzling
uncertainty of it. There is certain to be plenty of weather, but you
never can tell which end of the procession is going to move first.

But, after all, there are at least two or three things about that
weather (or, if you please, the effects produced by it) which we
residents would not like to part with. If we hadn't our bewitching
autumn foliage, we should still have to credit the weather with one
feature which compensates for all its bullying vagaries--the ice storm.
Every bough and twig is strung with ice beads, frozen dewdrops, and the
whole tree sparkles cold and white like the [v]Shah of Persia's diamond
plume. Then the wind waves the branches, and the sun comes out and turns
all those myriads of beads and drops to prisms that glow and burn and
flash with all manner of colored fires; which change and change again,
with inconceivable rapidity, from blue to red, from red to green, and
green to gold. The tree becomes a spraying fountain, a very explosion of
dazzling jewels, and it stands there the [v]acme, the climax, the
supremest possibility in art or nature, of bewildering, intoxicating,
intolerable magnificence. One cannot make the words too strong. Month
after month I lay up hate and grudge against the New England weather;
but when the ice storm comes at last I say: "There, I forgive you now;
you are the most enchanting weather in the world. "

MARK TWAIN.



=HELPS TO STUDY=

Mark Twain's humor was noted for exaggeration. Find examples of
exaggeration in this selection. Old Probabilities was the name
signed by a weather prophet of the period. How was he affected by
New England weather? At what point did Twain drop his fun and begin
a beautiful tribute to a New England landscape? How does the
tribute close?


SUPPLEMENTARY READING

Three Men in a Boat--Jerome K. Jerome.
The House Boat on the Styx--John Kendrick Bangs.

[Illustration: Silence Deep and White]




THE FIRST SNOWFALL


The snow had begun in the gloaming,
And busily all the night
Had been heaping fields and highway
With a silence deep and white.

Every pine and fir and hemlock
Wore ermine too dear for an earl,
And the poorest twig on the elm tree
Was ridged inch deep with pearl.

From sheds new roofed with Carrara
Came chanticleer's muffled crow,
The stiff rails were softened to swan's-down
And still fluttered down the snow.

I stood and watched by the window
That noiseless work of the sky,
And the sudden flurries of snowbirds,
Like brown leaves whirling by.

I thought of a mound in sweet Auburn
Where a little headstone stood;
How the flakes were folding it gently,
As did robins the babes in the wood.

Up spoke our own little Mabel,
Saying, "Father, who makes it snow? "
And I told of the good All-Father
Who cares for us here below.

Again I looked at the snowfall,
And thought of the leaden sky
That arched o'er our first great sorrow,
When that mound was heaped so high.

I remembered the gradual patience
That fell from that cloud like snow,
Flake by flake, healing and hiding
The scar on our deep-plunged woe.

And again to the child I whispered,
"The snow that husheth all,
Darling, the merciful Father
Alone can make it fall. "

Then, with eyes that saw not, I kissed her;
And she, kissing back, could not know
That _my_ kiss was given to her sister,
Folded close under deepening snow.

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.


=HELPS TO STUDY=

When did the snow begin? How do you know? What time is it now? Is
snow still falling? Read the lines that show this. Of what sorrow
does the snow remind the poet? Read the lines which show that peace
had come to the parents. Make a list of the comparisons (or
similes) used by the poet. Read the lines which show that the storm
was a quiet one. Which lines do you like best?




OLD EPHRAIM


For some days after our arrival on the Bighorn range we did not come
across any grizzly.
There were plenty of black-tail deer in the woods,
and we encountered a number of bands of cow and calf elk, or of young
bulls; but after several days' hunting, we were still without any game
worth taking home, and we had seen no sign of grizzly, which was the
game we were especially anxious to kill, for neither Merrifield nor I
had ever seen a bear alive.

Sometimes we hunted in company; sometimes each of us went out alone. One
day we had separated; I reached camp early in the afternoon, and waited
a couple of hours before Merrifield put in an appearance.

At last I heard a shout, and he came in sight galloping at speed down an
open glade, and waving his hat, evidently having had good luck; and when
he reined in his small, wiry cow-pony, we saw that he had packed behind
his saddle the fine, glossy pelt of a black bear. Better still, he
announced that he had been off about ten miles to a perfect tangle of
ravines and valleys where bear sign was very thick; and not of black
bear either, but of grizzly. The black bear (the only one we got on the
mountains) he had run across by accident.

Merrifield's tale made me decide to shift camp at once, and go over to
the spot where the bear-tracks were plentiful. Next morning we were off,
and by noon pitched camp by a clear brook, in a valley with steep,
wooded sides.

That afternoon we again went out, and I shot a fine bull elk. I came
home alone toward nightfall, walking through a reach of burnt forest,
where there was nothing but charred tree-trunks and black mold. When
nearly through it I came across the huge, half-human footprints of a
great grizzly, which must have passed by within a few minutes. It gave
me rather an eery feeling in the silent, lonely woods, to see for the
first time the unmistakable proofs that I was in the home of the mighty
lord of the wilderness.

That evening we almost had a visit from one of the animals we were
after. Several times we had heard at night the musical calling of the
bull elk--a sound to which no writer has as yet done justice. This
particular night, when we were in bed and the fire was smoldering, we
were roused by a ruder noise--a kind of grunting or roaring whine,
answered by the frightened snorts of the ponies. It was a bear which had
evidently not seen the fire, as it came from behind the bank, and had
probably been attracted by the smell of the horses. After it made out
what we were, it stayed round a short while, again uttered its peculiar
roaring grunt, and went off; we had seized our rifles and had run out
into the woods, but in the darkness could see nothing; indeed it was
rather lucky we did not stumble across the bear, as he could have made
short work of us when we were at such a disadvantage.

Next day we went off on a long tramp through the woods and along the
sides of the canyons. There were plenty of berry bushes growing in
clusters; and all around these there were fresh tracks of bear. But the
grizzly is also a flesh-eater, and has a great liking for [v]carrion. On
visiting the place where Merrifield had killed the black bear, we found
that the grizzlies had been there before us, and had utterly devoured
the carcass, with cannibal relish. Hardly a scrap was left, and we
turned our steps toward where lay the bull elk I had killed. It was
quite late in the afternoon when we reached the place.

A grizzly had evidently been at the carcass during the preceding night,
for his great footprints were in the ground all around it, and the
carcass itself was gnawed and torn, and partially covered with earth and
leaves--the grizzly has a curious habit of burying all of his prey that
he does not at the moment need.

The forest was composed mainly of what are called ridge-pole pines,
which grow close together, and do not branch out until the stems are
thirty or forty feet from the ground. Beneath these trees we walked over
a carpet of pine needles, upon which our moccasined feet made no sound.
The woods seemed vast and lonely, and their silence was broken now and
then by the strange noises always to be heard in the great pine
forests.

We climbed up along the trunk of a dead tree that had toppled over until
its upper branches struck in the limb crotch of another, which thus
supported it at an angle half-way in its fall. When above the ground far
enough to prevent the bear's smelling us, we sat still to wait for his
approach; until, in the gathering gloom, we could no longer see the
sights of our rifles. It was useless to wait longer; and we clambered
down and stole out to the edge of the woods. The forest here covered one
side of a steep, almost canyon-like ravine, whose other side was bare
except for rock and sage-brush. Once out from under the trees there was
still plenty of light, although the sun had set, and we crossed over
some fifty yards to the opposite hillside, and crouched down under a
bush to see if perchance some animal might not also leave the cover.

Again we waited quietly in the growing dusk until the pine trees in our
front blended into one dark, frowning mass. At last, as we were rising
to leave, we heard the sound of the breaking of a dead stick, from the
spot where we knew the carcass lay. "Old Ephraim" had come back to the
carcass. A minute afterward, listening with strained ears, we heard him
brush by some dry twigs. It was entirely too dark to go in after him;
but we made up our minds that on the morrow he should be ours.

Early next morning we were over at the elk carcass, and, as we expected,
found that the bear had eaten his fill of it during the night. His
tracks showed him to be an immense fellow, and were so fresh that we
doubted if he had left long before we arrived; and we made up our minds
to follow him up and try to find his lair. The bears that lived on these
mountains had evidently been little disturbed; indeed, the Indians and
most of the white hunters are rather chary of meddling with "Old
Ephraim," as the mountain men style the grizzly. The bears thus seemed
to have very little fear of harm, and we thought it likely that the bed
of the one who had fed on the elk would not be far away.

My companion was a skillful tracker, and we took up the trail at once.
For some distance it led over the soft, yielding carpet of moss and pine
needles, and the footprints were quite easily made out, although we
could follow them but slowly; for we had, of course, to keep a sharp
look-out ahead and around us as we walked noiselessly on in the somber
half-light always prevailing under the great pine trees.

After going a few hundred yards the tracks turned off on a well-beaten
path made by the elk; the woods were in many places cut up by these game
trails, which had often become as distinct as ordinary footpaths. The
beast's footprints were perfectly plain in the dust, and he had lumbered
along up the path until near the middle of the hillside, where the
ground broke away and there were hollows and boulders. Here there had
been a windfall, and the dead trees lay among the living, piled across
one another in all directions; while between and around them sprouted up
a thick growth of young spruces and other evergreens. The trail turned
off into the tangled thicket, within which it was almost certain we
should find our quarry. We could still follow the tracks, by the slight
scrapes of the claws on the bark, or by the bent and broken twigs; and
we advanced with noiseless caution.

When in the middle of the thicket we crossed what was almost a
breastwork of fallen logs, and Merrifield, who was leading, passed by
the upright stem of a great pine. As soon as he was by it, he sank
suddenly on one knee, turning half round, his face fairly aflame with
excitement; and as I strode past him, with my rifle at the ready, there,
not ten steps off, was the great bear, slowly rising from his bed among
the young spruces. He had heard us, but apparently hardly knew exactly
where or what we were, for he reared up on his haunches sideways to us.

Then he saw us and dropped down again on all-fours, the shaggy hair on
his neck and shoulders seeming to bristle as he turned toward us. As he
sank down on his fore feet, I had raised the rifle; his head was bent
slightly down, and when I saw the top of the white bead fairly between
his small, glittering, evil eyes, I pulled trigger. Half-rising up, the
huge beast fell over on his side in the death throes, the ball having
gone into his brain, striking as fairly between the eyes as if the
distance had been measured.

The whole thing was over in twenty seconds from the time I caught sight
of the game; indeed, it was over so quickly that the grizzly did not
have time to show fight. He was a monstrous fellow, much larger than any
I have seen since. As near as we could estimate, he must have weighed
above twelve hundred pounds.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.


=HELPS TO STUDY=

Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States from 1901 to
1909, was one of the greatest hunters of the present generation. As
he was in weak health as a young man, he went West and lived for
some time the life of a ranchman and hunter, killing much wild
game. In later years he went on a great hunting trip to Africa, and
finally explored the wilds of the Amazon river, in South America,
in search of game and adventure. "Old Ephraim" narrates one of his
earlier hunting experiences, and is taken from the book, _The
Hunting Trips of a Ranchman_.

Give an account of the capture of the grizzly bear. Why did not
Merrifield fire? Compare the weight of the bear with that of the
average cow or horse. Tell of any bear hunt of which you know.


SUPPLEMENTARY READING

Watchers of the Trail--Charles C. D. Roberts.
Monarch, the Bear--Ernest Thompson Seton.
Wild Animals I Have Known--Ernest Thompson Seton.
African Game Trails--Theodore Roosevelt.




MIDWINTER


The speckled sky is dim with snow,
The light flakes falter and fall slow;
Athwart the hill-top, rapt and pale,
Silently drops a silvery veil;
And all the valley is shut in
By flickering curtains gray and thin.

But cheerily the chickadee
Singeth to me on fence and tree;
The snow sails round him as he sings,
White as the down of angels' wings.

I watch the slow flakes as they fall
On bank and briar and broken wall;
Over the orchard, waste and brown,
All noiselessly they settle down,
Tipping the apple-boughs, and each
Light quivering twig of plum and peach.

On turf and curb and bower-roof
The snow-storm spreads its ivory woof;
It paves with pearl the garden-walk;
And lovingly round tattered stalk
And shivering stem its magic weaves
A mantle fair as lily-leaves.

All day it snows: the sheeted post
Gleams in the dimness like a ghost;
All day the blasted oak has stood
A muffled wizard of the wood;
Garland and airy cap adorn
The sumach and the wayside thorn,
And clustering spangles lodge and shine
In the dark tresses of the pine.

The ragged bramble, dwarfed and old,
Shrinks like a beggar in the cold;
In [v]surplice white the cedar stands,
And blesses him with priestly hands.

Still cheerily the chickadee
Singeth to me on fence and tree:
But in my inmost ear is heard
The music of a holier bird;
And heavenly thoughts as soft and white
As snow-flakes on my soul alight,
Clothing with love my lonely heart,
Healing with peace each bruised part,
Till all my being seems to be
Transfigured by their purity.

JOHN TOWNSEND TROWBRIDGE.


=HELPS TO STUDY=

When did this storm begin? Read lines which show this. Give reasons
for your answer. What comparisons are used by the poet in
describing the snowfall? Which comparison do you like best? What
healing thought does the storm bring to the poet? Compare it with
the same thought in _The First Snowfall_.




A GEORGIA FOX HUNT[177-*]


I

In the season of 1863, the Rockville Hunting Club, which had been newly
organized, was at the height of its success. It was composed of men too
old to go in the army, and of young men who were not old enough, or who,
from one cause and another, were exempted from military service.
Ostensibly, its object was to encourage the noble sport of fox-hunting
and to bind by closer ties the congenial souls whose love for horse and
hound and horn bordered on enthusiasm. This, I say, was its
[v]ostensible object, for it seems to me, looking back upon that
terrible time, that the main purpose of the association was to devise
new methods of forgetting the sickening [v]portents of disaster that
were even then thick in the air. Any suggestion or plan calculated to
relieve the mind from the weight of the horror of those desperate days
was eagerly seized upon and utilized. With the old men and the fledgling
boys in the neighborhood of Rockville, the desire to escape momentarily
the realities of the present took the shape of fox-hunting and other
congenial amusements. With the women--ah well! Heaven only knows how
they sat dumb and silent over their great anguish and grief, cheering
the helpless and comforting and succoring the sick and wounded. It was
a mystery to me then, and it is a mystery to me now.

About the first of November the writer hereof received a long-expected
letter from Tom Tunison, the secretary of the club, who was on a visit
to Monticello. It was brief and breezy.

"Young man," he wrote, "they are coming. They are going to give us a
[v]ruffle. Their dogs are good, but they lack form and finish as well as
discipline--plenty of bottom but no confidence. I haven't hesitated to
put up our horn as the prize. Get the boys together and tell them about
it, and see that our own eleven are in fighting trim. You won't believe
it, but Sue, Herndon, Kate, and Walthall are coming with the party; and
the fair de Compton, who set all the Monticello boys wild last year when
she got back from Macon, vows and declares she is coming, too. Remember
the 15th. Be prepared. "

I took in the situation at a glance. Tom, in his reckless style, had
bantered a party of Jasper county men as to the superiority of their
dogs, and had even offered to give them an opportunity to gain the
silver-mounted horn won by the Rockville club in Hancock county the year
before. The Jasper county men, who were really breeding some excellent
dogs, accepted the challenge, and Tom had invited them to share the
hospitality of the plantation home called "Bachelors' Hall. "

If the truth must be confessed, I was not at all grieved at the
announcement in Tom's letter, apart from the agreeable change in the
social atmosphere that would result from the presence of ladies in
"Bachelors' Hall. " I was eagerly anxious to test the mettle of a
favorite hound--Flora--whose care and training had cost me a great deal
of time and trouble. Although it was her first season in the field, she
had already become the pet and pride of the Rockville club, the members
of which were not slow to sound her praises. Flora was an experiment.
She was the result of a cross between the Henry hound (called in Georgia
the "Birdsong dog," in honor of the most successful breeder) and a
Maryland hound. She was a grand-daughter of the famous Hodo and in
everything except her color (she was white with yellow ears) was the
exact reproduction of that magnificent fox-hound. I was anxious to see
her put to the test.

It was with no small degree of satisfaction, therefore, that I informed
Aunt Patience, the cook, of Tom's programme. Aunt Patience was a
privileged character, whose comments upon people and things were free
and frequent; when she heard that a party of hunters, accompanied by
ladies, proposed to make the hall their temporary headquarters, her
remarks were ludicrously indignant.

"Well, ef dat Marse Tom ain't de beatinest white man dat I ever sot eyes
on--'way off yander givin' way his vittles fo' he buy um at de sto'!
How I know what Marse Tom want, an' tel I know, whar I gwineter git um?
He better be home yer lookin' atter deze lazy niggers, stidder
high-flyin' wid dem Jasper county folks. Ef dez enny vittles on dis
plan'ash'n, hits more'n I knows un. En he'll go runnin' roun' wid dem
harum-skarum gals twell I boun' he don't fetch dat pipe an' dat 'backer
what he said he would. Can't fool me 'bout de gals what grows up deze
days. Dey duz like dey wanter stan' up an' cuss dersef' case dey wuzent
borned men. "

"Why, Aunt Patience, your Marse Tom says Miss de Compton is as pretty as
a pink and as fine as a fiddle. "

"Law, chile! you needn't talk 'bout de gals to dis ole 'omen. I done
know um fo' you wuz borned. W'en you see Miss Compton you see all de
balance un um. Deze is new times. Marse Tom's mammy useter spin her
fifteen cents o' wool a day--w'en you see Miss Compton wid a hank er
yarn in 'er han', you jes' sen' me word. "

Whereupon, Aunt Patience gave her head handkerchief a vigorous wrench,
and went her way--the good old soul--even then considering how she
should best set about preparing a genuine surprise for her young master
in the shape of daily feasts for a dozen guests. I will not stop here to
detail the character of this preparation or to dwell upon its success.
It is enough to say that Tom Tunison praised Aunt Patience to the
skies; and, as if this were not sufficient to make her happy, he
produced a big clay pipe, three plugs of real "manufac terbacker," which
was hard to get in those times, a red shawl, and twelve yards of calico.

The fortnight that followed the arrival of Tom's guests was one long to
be remembered, not only in the [v]annals of the Rockville Hunting Club
but in the annals of Rockville itself. The fair de Compton literally
turned the heads of old men and young boys, and even succeeded in
conquering the critics of her own sex. She was marvelously beautiful,
and her beauty was of a kind to haunt one in one's dreams. It was easy
to perceive that she had made a conquest of Tom, and I know that every
suggestion he made and every project he planned had for its sole end and
aim the enjoyment of Miss Carrie de Compton.

It was several days before the minor details of the contest, which was
at once the excuse for and the object of the visit of Tom's guests,
could be arranged, but finally everything was "[v]amicably adjusted,"
and the day appointed. The night before the hunt, the club and the
Jasper county visitors assembled in Tom Tunison's parlor for a final
discussion of the event.

"In order," said Tom, "to give our friends and guests an opportunity
fully to test the speed and bottom of their kennels, it has been decided
to pay our respects to 'Old Sandy'. "

"And pray, Mr. Tunison, who is 'Old Sandy'? " queried Miss de Compton.

"He is a fox, Miss de Compton, and a tough one. He is a trained fox. He
has been hunted so often by the inferior packs in his neighborhood that
he is well-nigh [v]invincible. He is so well known that he has not been
hunted, except by accident, for two seasons. He is not as suspicious as
he was two years ago, but we must be careful if we want to get within
hearing distance of him to-morrow morning. "

"Do any of the ladies go with us? " asked Jack Herndon.

"I go, for one," responded Miss de Compton, and in a few minutes all the
ladies had decided to go along, even if they found it inconvenient to
participate actively in the hunt.

"Then," said Tom, rising, "we must say good night. Uncle Plato will
sound 'Boots and Saddle' at four o'clock to-morrow morning. "

"Four o'clock! " exclaimed the ladies in dismay.

"At four precisely," answered Tom, and the ladies with pretty little
gestures of mock despair swept upstairs while Tom brought out cigars for
the boys.

My friend little knew how delighted I was that "Old Sandy" was to be put
through his paces. He little knew how carefully I had studied the
peculiarities of this famous fox--how often when training Flora I had
taken her out and followed "Old Sandy" through all his ranges, how I
had "felt of" both his speed and bottom and knew all his weak points.


II

Morning came, and with it Uncle Plato's bugle call. Aunt Patience was
ready with a smoking hot breakfast, and everybody was in fine spirits.
As the eager, happy crowd filed down the broad avenue that led to the
hall, the fair de Compton, who had been delayed in mounting, rode by my
side.

"You choose your escort well," I ventured to say.

"I have a weakness for children," she replied; "particularly for
children who know what they are about. Plato has told me that if I
desired to see all of the hunt without much trouble, to follow you. I am
selfish, you perceive. "

We rode over the red hills and under the russet trees until we came to
"Old Sandy's" favorite haunt. Here a council of war was held, and it was
decided that Tom and a portion of the hunters should skirt the fields,
while another portion led by Miss de Compton and myself should enter and
bid the fox good morning. Uncle Plato, who had been given the cue,
followed me with the dogs, and in a few moments we were very near the
particular spot where I hoped to find the venerable deceiver of dogs and
men. The hounds were already sallying hither and thither, anxious and
evidently expectant.

Five minutes went by without a whimper from the pack. There was not a
sound save the eager rustling of the dogs through the sedge and
undergrowth. The ground was familiar to Flora, and I watched her with
pride as with powerful strides she circled around. Suddenly she paused
and flung her head in the air, making a beautiful picture where she
stood poised, as if listening. My heart gave a great thump. It was a
trick of hers, and I knew that "Old Sandy" had been around within the
past twenty-four hours! With a rush, a bound, and an eager cry, my
favorite came toward us, and the next moment "Old Sandy," who had been
lying almost at our horses' feet, was up and away with Flora right at
his heels. A wild hope seized me that my favorite would run into the shy
veteran before he could get out of the field. But no! One of the Jasper
county hunters, rendered momentarily insane by excitement, endeavored to
ride the fox down with his horse, and in another moment Sir Reynard was
over the fence and into the woodland beyond, followed by the hounds.
They made a splendid but [v]ineffectual burst of speed, for when "Old
Sandy" found himself upon the blackjack hills he was foot-loose. The
morning, however, was fine--just damp enough to leave the scent of the
fox hanging breast high in the air, whether he shaped his course over
lowlands or highlands.

[Illustration: The Beginning of the Fox Hunt]

In the midst of all the confusion that had ensued, Miss de Compton
remained cool, serene, and apparently indifferent, but I observed a
glow upon her face and a sparkle in her eyes, as Tom Tunison, riding his
gallant gray and heading the hunters, easily and gracefully took a
couple of fences when the hounds veered to the left.

"Our Jasper county friend has saved 'Old Sandy,' Miss de Compton," I
said, "but he has given us an opportunity of witnessing some very fine
sport. The fox is so badly frightened that he may endeavor in the
beginning to outfoot the dogs, but in the end he will return to his
range, and then I hope to show you what a cunning old customer he is. If
Flora doesn't fail us at the critical moment, you will have the honor of
wearing his brush on your saddle. "

"Youth is always confident," replied Miss de Compton.

"In this instance, however, I have the advantage of knowing both hound
and fox. Flora has a few weaknesses, but I think she understands what is
expected of her to-day. "

Thus bantering and chaffing each other, we turned our horses' heads in a
direction [v]oblique to that taken by the other hunters, who, with the
exception of Tom Tunison and Jack Herndon, now well up with the dogs,
were struggling along as best they could. For a half mile or more we
cantered down a lane, then turned into a stubble field, and made for a
hill crowned and skirted by a growth of blackjack, through which an
occasional pine had broken, as it seemed, in a vain but noble effort to
touch the sky. Once upon the summit of the hills, we had a majestic view
upon all sides. The fresh morning breezes blew crisp and cool and
bracing, but were not uncomfortable after the exercise we had taken; and
as the clouds that had muffled up the east dispersed themselves or were
dissolved, the generous sun spread layer upon layer of golden light upon
hill and valley and forest and stream.

Away to the left we could hear the hounds, and the music of their
voices, toyed with by the playful wind, rolled itself into melodious
little echoes that broke pleasantly upon the ear, now loud, now faint,
now far and now near. The first burst of speed, which had been terrific,
had settled down into a steady run, but I knew by the sound that the
pace was still tremendous, and I imagined I could hear the silvery
tongue of Flora as she led the eager pack. The cries of the hounds,
however, grew fainter and fainter, until presently they were lost in the
distance.

"He is making a straight shoot for the Turner [v]old fields, two miles
away," I remarked, by way of explanation.

"And pray, why are we here? " Miss de Compton asked.

"To be in at the death.