LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2300, 17 August 1881, Page 4

LITERATURE.

A STRANGE STORY OP A TIN" MINE: DUST TO DUST. [“Chambers’ Journal.”] 4 1 do wish Willi m were come ; surely he orghttobe here before this. hat is the time, aunt Betsy ?’ ‘Never mind the time, dear; your husband will bo here soon ; yon may depend upon it, he will not stay away a minute longer than he can help; but they are always bnsy when putting »n a new mine ; you can never tell wnat may turn up to keep the men overtime ’ ‘ Yes ; I know that; but ho o ght to have been home at s'x o’clock, and I am sure it is a lot past that; I do wish be were come; end I am bo weak ;’• and, as she spoke thus, Mrs PolUirack could nut restrain the tears which soou filled her eyes ‘Now, don't give way so,’ there’s a dear,' said aunt Betsy; 'think of your child; what a mercy it is that the little thing is sound and strong, and that joa hare got through your trouble so nicely; how proud William will bo when he comes home, to find himself the father of a fine bov !’ A glow of motherly pride lighted up the ycnng mother’s face as she thought of the pleasure her husband would feel on taking his first-brrn in his arms, and she looked •vn on the babe that lay safe by her side "''am and Mary Bollarrack were a Win. -tied couple ; he, a strong active young mn. 'nty-four, skilful about pitminer of tw«- 'armer's daughter barely work ; she, a*- 'drl as could be seen in twenty, as pretty » & Though they had the wo t of Cornwall. "ur years, they been engaged for three or i>- - marriage; did not cease to be lovers afte. 0 f some their wedded life, whch was now -ontitwelve 'months’ duration, had been ac. a nuation of their coartship- Theirs was. true union—a union of kindred spirits, ine arrival of their first baby had been looked forward to with soma anxiety by William ; but in the morning of the day in which the event took place, he had gone to his work at a tin mine called Wheal Splendour, satisfied that his wife would be taken care of by his father’s sister, aunt Betsy, who came to them the night before, to stay a few days. Wheal -Splendour had recently been restarted, or rather a company had been formed to re-work it. It was an old mine, near C , that had lain idle for thirty years. Tho engine* shaft waa down eighty fathoms below the adit, which was forty fathoms from the surface. A band o! men, of whom William Pollarrack was one, were engaged clearing and securing this ‘haft; and at this time they were about half-way down to the adit. . . But to return to the young mother. Annt Betsy’s advice waa acted upon with good effect. Mary did think of her child. William had always said if they had a son ho should like it to be called John, after his father; whilst Mary herself thought there was no name like William for a boy ; and then she remembered one occasion, when the subject waa up between them, how her husband had laughingly said, ‘ All Williams are not alike ; you must.not think if we had a son called William he would grow up as fine a man as his father;” and how she had answered,, * I don't know that; I suppose there are men as fine as you in the world—ah i and a deal finer too, for that part of it, fndeed.’

'They had had other quiet jokes and word play; and Mary went through many of them over again as she lay still in bed, and thus a good half-hour went by without a sound escaping her; while Auut Betsy, dear old soul, of great exnerience In cases of this description, wisely forbore to disturb her, and sat by the bedside without speaking a word, putting in practise her oftrepeated injunction to ‘let well be.’ It was a beautiful evening, early in August; the sun had.set, but the crimson clouds in the west reflected his glory through the window of the room. The old-fashioned clock down stairs struck eight in measured tones The sound roused Mary from her reverie ; she turned and looked at aunt Betsy, and was just going to speak, when they heard some one outside the front-door. ‘ Thera ; he baa come at last!’ aunt Betsy exclaimed. ' No; it’s someone knocking at the door. I trust nothing is the matter. Bun down and see who it is,’ said Mary. And Hetsy did as she was bid, prudently shutting the b droom door after her. On opening the front door, she saw, to her surprise, not one, hut four man, waiting admittance, the foremost of whom, a respectablydressed man, inquired if Mrs Foliar rack was at home. ‘Yes, sir; but she cannot see yon just now. Will yon come inside and sit down a minute ? The fact is, sir, Mrs Pollarrack has got a baby ; and a fine boy it is, ’ said aunt Betsy, as she dusted a chair with her apron, ‘ Heaven help her, poor thing !’ exclaimed the stranger. ‘Good gracious, whatever is the matter?’ asked annt Betsy. But for a few momenta no one answered her ; and she felt a giddy sensation creep over hei as the three men men glanced significantly r.t one another. At length the one who first aldre'sed her began again, with an evident effort to keep calm—“My name Is Oaptaln Woodly ; I am agent at Wheal Splendour. Mrs Pollarraok’s husband woiked there.” * Go on,’ said auut Betsy, leaning against the table for support; ‘ I know what is coming.’ ‘ Poor William ? resumed the captain ; * I would not have had it happened for a hundred pounds. The men were just leaving work ; his comrades had already c.imbed by the chain to the sollar or npper gallery, where the ladder road commenced, when they heard a noise below; it was a run In the shaft. The planks on which they had been standing had fallen away with Eollarraoki They shouted down ; but there was no response ; and as the ground was constantly breaking away from the sides, they saw the necessity of getting up as quickly as they could. It was fortunate they started when they did, for before they reached the surface the run became general, and the bottom sollar and were carried away.’ ‘Whatever shall we do,’ cried aunt Betsy; • is there any chance that William is not killed ?’ ‘Nine, I’m afraid,’ the captain replied ; ‘ when the run had stopped, and we thought It safe for a man to descend, we let one down In a kibble, but he could not go far. The shaft is choked for several fathoms ; some t’mber must have lodged across the shaft, and the stuff accumulated over it. Now, the chances are a hundred to one against the poor fellows having falien into the adit plat, and that too without being killed ; he is more likely to have fallen into the water in the shaft. I fear it will take weeks to clear the shaft and get down to him.’ Just then they heard Mrs Pollarrack knocking with a chair against the floor in the room above. ‘The poor darling.’ sobbed aunt Betsy; ‘I must go to her. And what can I eay to her ?' ‘ Is anything the matter, annt Betsy ? Who are those people down stairs, and why isn’t William come ?’ ‘ Bush, dear, dou’t be disappointed ; William is not coming home to night. 1 ‘ Oh ! why did be go away at this time ?’ said Maiy reproachfully. ‘ He did not know you were so soon to have baby ; and besides, he was obliged to go where his master sent him. But come now; try and sleep a bit, there’s a dear,’ was the reply. Mary answered with a sigh. The thought of seeing her husband in the morning brought comfort, and she fell into a pleasant sleep. The next morning, a great number of visitors came to the house. Aunt Betsy, however, was up early, and thoughtfully engaged a neighbor to intercept them in the garden, that the noise might not a-ouse unpleasant surmises in Maiy’a mind. Captain Woodly called again at the same time as the doctor and the clergyman. Aunt Betsy consulted with them as to what she should tell the patient. The doctor said that if the sad intelligence ware conveyed to her in her present oondiaion the consequences would probably be fatal, adding, ‘She will know it soon enough. ’ The captain informed the party that he hod received orders from London that morning to stop the mine ; that as it was the funeral opinion that William must have been filed by the fall or drowned in the shaft, he did not think the adventurers would attempt to recover the body, especially as weeks must elapse before they could get down to the adit, The only thing he could think of was to recommend the company to

offer a substantial sum by way of compensation to the widow. ‘ I will try to keep her quiet; but it will be a hard job,’ said annt Betsy; ‘she will be asking all sorts of questions ; and how to conceal the truth, I don’t know. I cculd rot think of telling her a downright lie about it. Annt Betsy was right in her conjecture It was no easy task to Induce Mrs Pollarrackto rest satisfied. Every few minutes she would restlessly inquire if William had returned jet; and she would want to know where he was sent, and on what business. (To he Continued.)