The Project Gutenberg EBook of Town Versus Country, by Mary Russell Mitford

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Title: Town Versus Country

Author: Mary Russell Mitford

Release Date: October 2, 2007 [EBook #22836]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOWN VERSUS COUNTRY ***

Produced by David Widger

TOWN VERSUS COUNTRY.

By Mary Russell Mitford

"I'm desperately afear'd, Sue, that that brother of thine will turn out
a jackanapes," was the apostrophe of the good yeoman Michael Howe, to
his pretty daughter Susan, as they were walking one fine afternoon in
harvest through some narrow and richly wooded lanes, which wound
between the crofts of his farm of Rutherford West, situate in that
out-of-the-way part of Berkshire which is emphatically called "the Low
Country," for no better reason that I can discover than that it is the
very hilliest part of the royal county. "I'm sadly afear'd, Sue, that
he'll turn out a jackanapes!"--and the stout farmer brandished the tall
paddle which served him at once as a walking stick and a weeding-hook,
and began vigorously eradicating the huge thistles which grew by the
roadside, as a mere vent for his vexation. "You'll see that he'll come
back an arrant puppy," quoth Michael Howe.

"Oh, father! don't say so," rejoined Susan, "why should you think so
hardly of poor William--our own dear William, whom we have not seen
these three years? What earthly harm has he done?"

"Harm, girl! Look at his letters! You know you're ashamed yourself to
take 'em of the postman. Pink paper, forsooth, and blue ink, and a seal
with bits of make-believe gold speckled about in it like a ladybird's
wings--I hate all make-believes, all shams; they're worse than
poison;--and stinking of some outlandish scent, so that I'm forced to
smoke a couple of pipes extra to get rid of the smell; and latterly, as
if this folly was not enough, he has crammed these precious scrawls into
a sort of paper-bag, pasted together just as if o' purpose to make us
pay double postage. Jackanapes did I call him? He's a worse mollycot
than a woman."

"Dear father, all young men will be foolish one way or another; and you
know my uncle say