Hope On! Hope Ever!

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1845 Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XII. Katie's Adventure. "th' red cow's badly; she winna eat, and she looks down i' th' eyes," said Christie, one morning, as he came in from milking. "Poor cretur!" said Alice, "I 'll mae her a warm mash o' meal: it 'll, mappen, do her good." The warm mash o' meal did her a little good at first, but she got worse and worse towards night; and the next morning Felix, who was ever the ready messenger, was sent off by Christie to Dent-town, to fetch the cow-leech; "and tell him to mae a' th' haste he can," said he, "for her's varra badly." Away ran Felix, anxious about the red cow, for she was a favorite with all the family. When he reached the stepping-stone crossing of the beck, he was greatly amazed to see Katie, with her little bonnet on, who had just passed the water, and was then trudging up the road, as if fearful of being pursued. Felix, who was terrified at the idea of the child crossing the beck by herself, ran after her. "Where are ye boun', Katie, dear?" said he; but the child only laughed, and began to run too. "Ye sall nae scape me, Katie," said he, catching hold of her. "Let me gae!" said the child, pettishly; "I winna gae hame!" "But where are ye gaeing?" asked Felix. "I's gaeing to Nelly o' Rivelin, for some snaps " (small gingerbread cakes.) And here we ought to remark, that Nelly o' Rivelin, tired of the coolness which had grown up between the families, since the days of the broken shandry, had, of late, made advances towards a reconciliation. "Bring the pricks wi' thee, and then thou can stop a bit," said she to Alice, a Sunday or two before; and Alice had accordingly done so, taking little Katie with her. Nelly knew not how to make enough of her friend; and, while she put a "drap o' rum " in the mother's tea, to "make it mair nouris...