Select Literature.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 23, 24 June 1867, Page 145

Select Literature.

HRS BROWN’S CHRISTMAS STORY. - . . (From London Society.) "We was a "bit of a family party the Sunday arter Christmas-day, for our Liza had come up to town with her husban’ and his,mother, through the old woman a wantin’ advice; not as there’s anything much the : matter with her, but always must be on the fidget about something, and,a faneyin’ as! she were consumptive, so I says, ‘ Rubbish at your! time- of life; it’s only the indigestion,’' as the doctor proved my words true through ’avin’ suffered that way myself with a pain between'my shoulders like a carvin’knife. >„• ' So k aa-they whs jup Brawn.agreed as we should *ave emto dinner. omthe Sunday. - Jane she come and her buskin’, and Mr and Mrs Barnes,, as is Brown’s own sister, and we got on very pleasant through everything bein’ done to a, turn , and 1 nothing forgot. • . So in the twilight arter dinner we was a sittin’ over flier fire; with' a jug of punch as Brown had brewedbeautiful,- with some roasted chesnuts and oranges, with almonds and .raisins, and we was a chattin’- agreeable; and our Jaiie’says, ‘Ohmother,l do tell us a story! ’ ■, | ; I says, "Me tell you a' story, my dear! why I ain’t-done such;a thing .since our Joe Was in the measles, and'nothing else wouldn’t keep him - . ‘ ‘‘.'C ••'! .. .Eliza she .says, * Oh, tell, .us about your fiist place, mother,’'and they all says, ‘Do,’, except Brown, as was a noddin’, and- Barnes he’s one as will listen for ever over his pipes; bat I didn’t hardly like, through it hem’.a long tale, but they all , would ’ave. it,, Barnes included, gnd Brown even he said * Do.’ And so I did; not as I can bear to think on it myself without a turn,’ for I’m. sure if ! was te live to.a thousand, I should never forget it, though p’ra’ps it’s'‘as well” to let them things, drop ; j but, law, bless , you, ’ it ain’t; in tmtur for to forget, as wUI keep'a bringin’. things! back.tothe recollections[constant. j So T makes up the fire, and begins. It seems only like a few nton hs ago as it all ’appened, and it must be ’ard on forty years—for it was my first place—and me only just turned fifteen, and a nice lady, she were, in the name of Mts Cfowley, biit very j-onng to be married, and him one of. them, as seems' to'live bythei'f wits, as the bayin'fsj andfin my . opinion only another: word for cadging, as ’ad run away with .her from boardin’ school; and I heard say; by the lady of the-house where tliey lodged, as when they fust come she hadn’t ’ardly. aPchange of anything to' stand upright in;' and ■when 1 went to-her through a aunt of mine as did their washin’, her baby was only three weeks old, and nothin’ comfortable about her, a lodging in . what they called Montpelier, down. Brampton-way j as is French for mild air I’ve heer’d say, as is just what, she wanted, .as.'was thin’ as : a lath, with a cough enough to shake the soul out of her body, asthe-'sayingis.: * ‘■ think as; he was ahad sort, .that young man/as fer as I can recollect, if he ’ad money, but thought adealtoo much’about dress;'and cigars, as Was just a coming into fashion then, and would bring her home a gowhdWwasn’t no sort of use, andmsute her. go tc^tbe, play, when.more;fit to be in- her bed,' ■ and ‘that, infant a shrieking, and me »bt^gb.letoa>acife4t.>no.bow;.and’hiiii asfiyin* in’* ■ • ragjt Jf .she saiu she’d, rather 6top., at’-hoine; and . the-'landlady -give ' warning the very next a talking.as grand as: bull beef, Bajih’ iB, and taknig of aeottage'down Old Ejomptoh, ; as wasA dismal hdlm-aod' as-dahip >as a washuts. v .. ■ '-j.- .... _ ■- . -He’d gdt ;’ old of a bitr oftnoiney soniehow, for he flling newand asfine as .% horse’s head hisself; but X: could see as she wasn’t easy in her nyndij and would ,?often sayto him - .‘Now, Alfrled; -we don’t want them, things,’as he’d bring,’ome.; no more she diilh’t, for a quieter Jady Theveiwould Sit in the twilight’ playihg cf’the miuic ;\ and adelugeof tears often and often. . .. . ' iecnße^‘&it-toT|2iriv^nl , through* bdn Hiuß' oif- the 1 the' sna -. V S3saiai©ouldy : ssnelL/ j ! ' Whatever teeth is givpn usfor f can’t think, for ■ -ml

Aral/ as ropka.-ae.,waicli.m on>MMifel^A|B»yg.Pm sure that. Godfrey's[ cordial f toiHat’child'*ad eonstitbtdid’ht do itnogboif,' to-thyi dear mother giveit.a'arop oneday'M-shocame to,«e« ( Naumpre'‘JVneverUiough liard work'-to'keepVit .quijetiagndifiefVou^-ifdr.hours. Not through^beri owniwjshes,tbttfc dom’, as was most ai eier f l met,''a makin* her "go out with; him'orta minute's i notice, asshe’ddoxofthesakebfpeace. v"!£>i 1 ■ Fm pretty certain as she used to dose ihat child of a.night with Godfrey,/to- keep it; quiet on account of her, husband, for ther-way, he'd goonif it disturbedhim was dreadful 1 ;' and often'Fve Had to £o and fetch itaway in the. dead of,'the higfit, throufeV tnm a ravin’ and a swearih* in rage when wokebyifc /' '*' ‘; Not m l didn't like: him, - for he wasn't a bad heart neither. and when that child diedin convulsions in ray 'arms, with its' eye-teeth; he went, on like a mad manj through cornin' ’ome just afore ,it lappehed rather the. wuss for what held took,.as was bis 'abita. Not .as, I expected the child to die, through 'aving no experience,- as could tell in a minnit mow .by the look of-the face, and that poor young, thing a. sayitf to me not-five minnits afore as it was -Eetter. and all the fault of that ’umbugin’ doctor as'waa .called in and-said there wasn’t no danger, and quite short in bein' brought out of his bed, as I went for him myself jest on the stroke of twelve,.and whenhe came.be .didn’t stop two seconds, and the child a corpse afore one.

I'm sure I near broke my *eart oyer that child’s funeral as I follered to the grave in. New’. Chelsea Churchyard, where it lays now, pretty dear and to see her was enough to cat you to the quick, as the sayia* is, as would ,go and sit by the grave, and bring ’ome bits of grassland not the money to bury it decent, nor yet get a bit of mournin’, as is a comfort in sorrers; and Fm sure if it hadn’t' been for my mother a bringin’ me a old black skirt, I never could ’ave fullered it decent myself. I don’t think that poor thing Was/ever right arter that, and as fo him, he come ’ome intoxicated constant, and then not to stop. And he took to goin’out of a evening, and .layin’ abed nearly :all day, as well, he might, through never- getting there till daylight. It .was doleful work a stoppin* with her, as I couldn’t bear to leave, though wages I never got after the first month or so, in that; cottage; and ’adn’t a bit of boot or shoe to my feet. As to livin’, we didn’t get. much more than tea; and sometimes I'd *ave half a pint of porter at night with a bit of bread, and cheese. .

She never took nothing to keep her up, hut would sit and. wring her ’ands. I never shall forget the weather, for it was a wet September, and what with that, and the days a drawin’ in,jl don’t think as ever I was so dull in.my life. As* to her, it made my heart bleed for to see her. a gettin’ thinner and thinner every day, and him only cornin’ ’ome of a Sunday; and the last time as lie did so there was a feller with him as give me a turn to look at, with a face as was flamin’'iire through drink, and bushy red whiskers, hs. begun a talking his nonsense to .me, but I pretty well soon settled his ’ash, through .bein’ brought up for to know my place, and see as others kep’Jtheirn; and I could see my dear missus .shudder at liis nasty.free'ways, as kep’ on a talking'aiid' ! Bfighing like a torpedo a blowin’.'.. It- was the “Tuesday arter that Sunday as she went out early, and hadn’t been, gone not ten minutes, when two fellers rung at the ball, as I peeped at through a little gratin’; ;as was in the gate,and says, ‘What’s your business? ’ One oa ’em bays, ‘ Open the gate, and Til tell you.’ 4 No,’ I' says, * vou won’t, for I shan’t open it; ’ and £ slaps to the little trap as shuts up that gratin’, for I somehow did’nt .like the looks ol them parties, and I did long for missus to come in, for themfellars rung like mad at the bell ever so long, and would no doubt ’ave been, over the wall but for the broken glass bottles as was along tlie top, and iron spikes over the. gate, through the ’ouse ’aving once been adoctor’s askep’ a madhousej as was ,always-a-tryin’ to escape, as they will, even with your eye on them constant. : ' It was pretty near six, and A soakin’ rain, when slie : curie in', poor thing.;, and as I opens the gate for her as' rlie ordered me to, though I’d told her about them men thrOugh the gratin’, but she with a sigh,-.* They must come in; it’s no use,’ and so they did, along with-her, a" scowlin’ at me and a sayin* as they-was" come to take possession, and so they did, and'kep’ it too, least ways if he didn’t want me to go out for pipes and baccy fsr him; and. half and;hiilf, and to find the money into the bargain. As I says, ‘No never.’ We’ had to get his meals though, aud ’and work it was, I can tell you, td keep that fellow, as was a savage Jew—and always a creepin’ about; and give me i such a fright a'ketchin’ hold on me -goin’ out of the gate a takin’ a few ; things to the washerwoman, as he would insist on lookin’ into, as made me up and give .him a bit’of my mind. . ; I says, ain’t" nothing in that hag hut things fori the; wash, andif yondareslo touch ’em I’ll leave my marks on you, as made him give in. I -waw young, in. them days, and didn’t know as he was right aud I was wrong. , I’m sure;that-poor dearlady wasn’t one as would: take a rag out of the place and sent me to pLedge a little gold locket and other things, for to get .the money to buy that fellow’s dinner, and so things Went on .for’ near : tHree weeks, and then they come'and -put' things up in lots; and had a , ®d e > i ■ : J:, -- ’■' ; . .1' ; It was the night afore-thati sale. as I. was .sittih’ with that puqrAear soul, as kep’ a startin’ at the sqnhd of titem'broker’A men, as" was pullin’ the tilings about:: we was in a little breakfast-room, ; with a bit of fire,;just the last of the coals, andT ; know’d| she’d ; luidinothin’since the morhiii’, .as was only bit of toast! " ‘ " -

; She says,.‘Martha,,'ave yon had any dinner?’ I says, ‘Oh; Fve done very well, thankee; mutit; u as' z* bit of bread and cheese and a drop of beer was quite enongh' for me, v aa she'cbuldh’t touch. And as to that broker’s man; he was half starved bitterly; I’m sure, for there wasn’t nothin’ for hint many.- a. day but broadband cheese. • 'He was’ntithe first-one : as coihe,' ‘but another; as tamed ont better than might have been expected, gad T .idjot- ton, or he’d -heyer, ’ave took to I this way oflue as jbe said .was harrering up to the feelm’B v . it/1 .. Y ,„ ; \- > it, was a Friday evenin’; abont eight, w® .was- a sittin’, missus' and me) - I’d coaxcd ner tb ’ave a feup ’of tea and got her a eer, as.she coiddtt’fr eati’arid sh'ewas; a toyin’.,. ' .to',y®M; ;^tbw‘,inii tlie mornin,’j Martha;’.,..., _■ v inurn’.; , bnt if 'X may be so -bold and. jdst oaniet a loud ring at the ! hell; : be