The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, and Other TalesMore, Hannah
General
The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, and Other Tales
More, Hannah
Christian life -- Fiction; Conduct of life -- Fiction; Short stories
on a Friday, which she thought so unlucky a day that she often said
what a pity it was that there were any Friday in the week. Sally had
twenty pounds left her by her grandmother. She had long been courted
by Jacob, a sober lad, with whom she lived fellow servant at a
creditable farmer's. Honest Jacob, like his namesake of old, thought
it little to wait seven years to get this damsel to wife, because of
the love he bore her, for Sally had promised to marry him when he
could match her twenty pounds with another of his own.
Now there was one Robert, a rambling idle young gardener, who
instead of sitting down steadily in one place, used to roam about
the country, and do odd jobs where he could get them. No one
understood any thing about him, except that he was a down-looking
fellow, who came nobody knew whence, and got his bread nobody knew
how, and never had a penny in his pocket. Robert, who was now in the
neighborhood, happened to hear of Sally Evans and her twenty pounds.
He immediately conceived a longing desire for the latter. So he went
to his old friend Rachel the fortune teller, told her all he had
heard of Sally, and promised if she could bring about a marriage
between them, she should go shares in the money.
Rachel undertook the business. She set off to the farmhouse, and
fell to singing one of her most enticing songs just under the dairy
window. Sally was so struck with the pretty tune, which was
unhappily used, as is too often the case, to set off some very
loose words, that she jumped up, dropped the skimming dish into the
cream and ran out to buy the song. While she stooped down to rummage
the basket for those songs which had the most tragical pictures (for
Sally had a tender heart, and delighted in whatever was mournful)
Rachel looked stedfastly in her face, and told her she knew by art
that she was born to good fortune, but advised her not to throw
herself away. "These two moles on your cheek," added she, "show you
are in some danger." "Do they denote husbands or children?" cried
Sally, starting up, and letting fall the song of the Children in the
Wood. "Husbands," muttered Rachel. "Alas! poor Jacob!" said Sally,
mournfully, "then he will die first, won't he?" "Mum for that,"
quoth the fortune teller, "I will say no more." Sally was impatient,
but the more curiosity she discovered, the more mystery Rachel
affected. At last, she said, "If you will cross my hand with a piece
of silver, I will tell your fortune. By the power of my art I can do
this three ways; first by cards, next by the lines on your hand, or
by turning a cup of tea grounds; which will you have?" "O, all!
all!" cried Sally, looking up with reverence to this sun-burnt
oracle of wisdom, who was possessed of no less than three different
ways of diving into the secrets of futurity. Alas! persons of better
sense than Sally have been so taken in; the more is the pity. The
poor girl said she would run up stairs to her little box where she
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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