The Story of an African Farm

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st mourning, the black crepe round his tall hat totally concealing the black felt, and nothing but a dazzling shirt-front relieving the funereal tone of his attire. He rode much forward in his saddle, with his chin resting on the uppermost of his shirt-studs, and there was an air of meek subjection to the will of

she cried-"a widower;

h; but the men know where sheep and good looks and money in the ban

white hair, little rou

Walt, whose wife died last month-two farms, twelve thousand sheep. I've not seen

fied silence, extended the tips of her fingers, and motioned solemnly to a chair. The youn

r Walt, and my father i

said solem

an, starting up spasmodi

es

d disappeared with a

I dreamed of a great beast like a sheep, with red eyes, and I killed it? Wasn't the white wool his hair, and the red eyes his weak

e ate little, and when he raised a morsel to his lips glanced guiltily round to see if he were not observed. He had put three rings on his little finger, with the intention of sticking it out stiffly when he raised a coffee-cup; now the little finger was curled miserably among its fellows. It was small relief when the meal w

Tant Sannie. "My mother's stepbrother's child was m

he young man, "I kn

o had the cancer cut out of her breast by the other doctor, who wa

," said th

or that they say died on Christmas-day, but I don't know if that's true. People do

y?" said the y

e the toothache?"

, a

bad they got better directly. You could see it was good stuff," said Tant Sannie; "it tasted horrid. That was a real doctor! He used to give a bottle so high," said the Boer-woman, raising her hand a foot from the table, "you could drin

ng to gain courage to stick out his legs and

t she thought it showed a nice manly spirit,

lsions when you were a b

aid the

had convulsions too. Wonderful t

g man explosively, "c

at her little wiles were thrown away, the young man staring fixedl

ry sat close beside her, his great blue eyes turned to

the cupboard and held them up triu

d for them

rse's rubbed back?" asked Gre

"we're going to sit up!" and she wa

ttle was filled, when she sat in the elbow-chair, with her lover on a chair close beside her, and when the vig

r feet on my stove

aid the young man, and

pped a strong cup of coffee for herself and hande

re you marri

onths,

was you

ays when

give our husbands and wives t

oung man; "but it'

Tant Sannie,

her break a churn-stick over a maid's head

ealousy. She had never broken

fe made a good

id up a psalm and two hymns

ny messages?" as

t before she died I was lying at the fo

,' she

my heart,

erday has been here, and it sto

d it say?

I died you must

I went to sleep again

and it says you must marry a woman ov

that for a long time, aunt

it says you mustn't marry a woman with a mole.'

from the Redeemer

s not fat, and who had a mole, and of whom his wife had always been jealous, and he wished th

why you came to me

shearing-time. It is bad if there's no one to see afte

u want to g

ng man in a tone of hopeless res

g kiss. "Come, draw your chair a little closer," she said,

t Sannie's bedroom, she found the Boer-woman pulli

Piet Van

ead sleepy," she added; "the stupid thing doesn't know how to talk love-talk at all," a

ad vanished; then, finding the stones hot, he slipped down and walked into the house. He kicked the little pail that lay in the doorway, and sent it into one corner; that did him good. Then he sat down on the box, and began cutting letters out of a piece of newspaper. Finding that the snippings littere

ved S

morning I have been at home since I don't know when. Em always expects me to go down to

much new

, but her cousin is going to ride in the buggy with that German. I don't think I've written to you since she came back from school. I don't think you would like her at all, Jemima; there's

till the shearing was over, and I took her down to see you. I suppose she will have to live with us (Em's cousin, I mean), as she has not anything in the world but a poor fifty pounds. I don't like her at all, Jemima, and I don't think you would. She's got such queer ways; she's always driving about in a gig with that low German; and I don't think it's at all the thing for a woman to be going about with a man she's not en

way from which she was coming, and that little beast-they call him Doss-began to bark when he saw me-he always does, the little wretch-and the horses began to spring, and kicked the splashboard all to pieces. It was a sight to see Jemima! She has got the littlest hands I ever saw-I could hold them both in one of mine, and n

it is; I'm not well. If I go into town on Saturday I will let the doctor examine me; but perhaps she'll go in herself. It's a very strange thing, Jemima, but she never will send her letters to post by me. If I ask her she has none, and the very next day she g

ing. If I had a wife with pride I'd make her give it up, sharp. I don't believe in a man who can't make a woman obey him. Now Em-I'm very fond of her, as you know-but if I tell her to put on a certain dress, that dress s

looking pretty good, and the sheep are better since we wa

me some woollen shirts; but they don't

te s

ng brother

tting on the kraal wall right before he