Milford

“ The hired man was out among the women, poverty once bitten, looking for another bite. Milford stretched himself out upon the grass under the walnut tree. Grimly, he compared himself with a man thrown from a horse, not knowing yet whether or not he was hurt. He had the plainsman's sense of humor, and he laughed at himself. ”

“ Blakemore. My station entitled me to respect, and you gave it. But you did not feel that my love for the young woman entitled me to something closer than respect. You are no common man, Mr. Milford. Your face is a Vandyke conception of a spirit of adventure. You are a strength repenting a weakness; there are flaws in you, and yet I could wish that I were the mother of such a son."
"Don't," said Milford, touching her hand; "please don't. I honor you; I could get down on my knees to you. You're not a shadow. There is nothing in a shadow that makes a man bow his head in reverence. ”

“ He listened, as if straining his ears to catch the babble of the cider. "I sat about the house, with a dry book, to feel the contrast of the rain; I sniffed the dust of an Elizabethan's pedantry—and then my wife and my daughter began on me. I beggared myself and got them a sofa, and now they want a set of chairs. I made with them a treaty of peace, and, barbarians, they violated it. What a reproach it is to woman to see a man think! She must stir him up, scatter his faculties."
"Not all women," said Milford. ”

“ Another amazing fact about Milford is its reflective powers. In calm and brilliant weather mountains are outlined in its waters almost as clearly as they appear above the surface. It is as if one were looking into a slightly defective mirror. ”

“ Milford turned away. The old woman followed him. "Do you believe he can come back?" she asked.
His sharp eyes cut round at her, like the swing of a scythe. "An old log may learn to float up-stream," he said. She stepped in front of him. "You've done somethin' that you don't want known," she declared. "As smart a man as you wouldn't come out here and work on a farm for nothin'."
"I don't expect to work for nothing."
"Come into the house, Bill. Those women want to get acquainted with you." ”

“ But while we celebrate New Milford, past and present, what shall we say of the New Milford to come? Shall not the civic pride, and energy, the patriotism, that have inspired this Celebration, continue to be moving forces toward a better New Milford? Shall not some of the thousands who visit us, impressed with the attractions of our town, remain and help us to make a greater New Milford? ”

“ Thanks," he added, taking the cigar before Milford had said a word. "How do these pants set?" [Pg 155]
"They strike me as being a trifle short," said Milford, surveying him.
"That's what I was afraid of, but they dragged the ground till the peddler left, and then they began to draw up. A man's sure to get the worst of it when he buys out of a pack. I'd like to have a suit of clothes made to order, but I can't afford it now. Did you ever have a suit put up to your own notion?"
"Yes, a few."
"Well, I said all the time that you wan't no common man." ”

“ And about that time I decided that I wouldn't go to town to-day."
"I'll go over there," said Milford.
"No, don't do anything of the sort, not while you're mad. It's all right now."
"No, it's not all right, but I want to tell you that I'll make it all right". [Pg 86]
"Now, don't go on getting hot. The thing was a joke, and is all smoothed over. It arose out of pity for the other young woman."
"Confound it! there isn't any other woman."
"That's all right; that's what I told them. No other woman, of course not. There never is. Well, I'll be off. I go at twelve forty-five." ”

“ Do we, who know this lovely valley so well, wonder that he built his simple home here, and that his descendants have remained here ever since? His house was for some time the last house this side of Albany.
“After a short time, a company from Milford, on Long Island Sound, took up much of the land here, and naturally gave the name New Milford to the new settlement. These men were of a sturdy race, strong in body, courageous, believers in God and His righteousness. ”

“ George trudged off over the clods, and Milford stood looking after him, a dark scowl on his face. Those miserable women, not half so innocent as blanketed squaws drooling about a camp-fire. And that slim Mrs. Blakemore, lithe as a viper, had inspired it all. How could a refined woman be so full of the devil's poisonous juice? In his humble way, he had tried to help her out of a trouble. ”

“ It is from their lives, indeed, that history gains its color and its inspiration.
“It was the good fortune of New Milford to be the home of such a man in the middle of her first century of existence.
“It was a hundred and sixty-four years ago, this very month that a tall and well-set young fellow of two and twenty ended in this town a toilsome journey, taken on foot from the neighborhood of Boston. He had come to make New Milford his home, bringing on his back the tools of his trade—that of a shoemaker—and with their aid he here gained for a year or two an honest livelihood. ”

“ Milford knew that this was a pretense, not from any psychological reasoning, but because she was so unlike the Norwegian girl. To him there was more of conviction in silent opposites than in noisy arguments.
"I heard of you the other night over at the honey sociable," she said.
"Honey sociable?"
"Yes, honey and biscuit for the benefit of the church. Quite a unique affair, and wholly new to me, I assure you. A Mrs. Blakemore was present and spoke of you; she said it was a pity that you hadn't come to tell stories of the West. A very intelligent woman, don't you think?" ”

“ We know the word before we reach it, but reaching it, we find it full of a new meaning. But the hours are long when the heart is restless. Out in the woods the mist hung in the tree-tops as if vapor were the world's slow-moving time, balking among the dripping leaves. From a longing Milford's desire to go over to Mrs. Stuvic's became a feverish throb. But the old woman's grin and the red lantern waved in his face constantly arose before him. ”

“ The low place where Milford hoed the young corn was not far from Mrs. Stuvic's, and more than once during the forenoon he went to the top of the rise and looked toward the house. He saw George out in the road, teaching his wife to ride a wheel, saw the Dutch girl driving the turkeys out of the garden, heard the old woman shout for the pony-cart to take her to the town of Waukegan, but saw nothing of the young woman who had filled his sleep with dreams. He returned to his work, chopping the stubborn clods, the heat growing fiercer with the approach of noon, the wet land steaming. ”

“ How soft is the voice of woman when she speaks of one who sweats for her sex! They sat upon the veranda, watching Milford as he delved in the blaze of the sun. It was a romance. Afar off there must be a sighing woman, waiting for him. Mrs. Blakemore could see her, and she sighed with her, watching the hero dealing the hard licks of love. With her scampering son, she crossed the field, going toward the lake, the morning after the expected visit from Lewson. She was determined to speak to Milford. Mrs. Stuvic had just said, "That man is killin' himself for a woman." ”

“ There is a good natural centre to the village, with four cross roads and an inn, but no doubt Milford's future is to belong to Godalming. A few half-timbered and weather-tiled cottages, which have served as models for newer neighbours, some pollarded elms, a broad smooth road and dusty jasmine—Milford is the first village on the highway running south from Godalming, and on a summer Saturday is less a village than a road. ”

“ But I guess I could get her again."
"And he's just about fool enough to take her," Milford spoke up. "Why, she'd run away again." [Pg 218]
"I don't think that, Bill. I guess she's got more sense now."
"At any rate, she's got more sense than you," said the old woman. "She had sense enough to run away and you didn't. But I hear that somebody else run away, Bill. I heard that you left a wife out West."
"You heard a lie, madam," Milford replied. "But that's not hard to hear. A man may be ever so deaf, and sometimes might hear a lie."
"That's gospel, Mrs. Stuvic," said the hired man. ”

“ While New Milford has had many trials and sore experiences, the old town shows no wrinkles, or scars, but is fresh and blooming and ready to enter upon the third century of its career with a courageous heart and unfaltering purpose to maintain in the future, as in the past, the splendid character of our New England civilization. ”

“ All glory, then, to these Pilgrims from New Milford! They, like one of old, ‘went out not knowing whither they went.’ They dared and suffered and died, but always achieved. Well may this village, a beautiful gem set in the midst of these rolling hills, rejoice in its own noble development and progress and prosperity. Your life here is almost ideal. The conditions are as fine as the world affords. But, as you rejoice in this Bi-Centennial of your own founding, forget not, O brave and true men and women of this generation ”

“ I am no blind believer in chance, Milford. I do not regard this meeting with the stranger as something only fortuitous. There is a Providence in all the events of life, and I am now firmly assured that these encounters with the seamstress are not merely accidental, as the world regards accidents, but events in a chain of circumstances that, when complete, will result in positive good. ”

“ I repeated to Billy the whole of Milford's story, as nearly as I could remember it. With his numerous questions and interruptions it took a long time—indeed, before I had finished we had already reached the straggling estuary of the Crouch, and the grey tower of Burnham Church was plainly visible in the distance. I shall never forget the fever of anger and impatience that seemed to scorch my heart as the driver turned to point it out.
Every minute of that last three miles the torture of suspense became worse. I could see Billy felt the strain almost as much as I did. ”

“ Milford. Mrs. Stuvic was proud of him. [Pg 217]
"Oh, I knowed what I was doin'," she said one night, sitting near the hot stove in Milford's dining-room. "You can't fool me. I know lots, I tell you. Do you know the Bunker girl? Well, she was at my house yesterday, and she talked like she knowed you but wanted to know you better. Now put down that newspaper and talk to me. Do you know her?"
"I think I've met her," said Milford.
"You think you have. Well, a woman has taken mighty little hold of a man when he thinks he's met her. She'd make you a good wife; yes, you bet!" ”

“ It was the articulation of one life into another life, and of each life into the whole, that made the village of New Milford and every village in New England so strong and safe and efficient.
“But, little by little, these villagers in New Milford and other communities round about felt the need of the articulation of community interest into a larger whole. And so the community of associated responsibility and help took in Waterbury, Norwalk, Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven and other villages and towns scattered over this general region. ”

“ Those early days of New Milford produced some noted men, whose lives and example did much to mould the characters of the inhabitants. The names of Boardman, Taylor, Noble, Gaylord, Bostwick, Canfield, Baldwin, Griswold, Sherman, Sanford, Mygatt, Marsh, Hine, Turrill, and others of the same stamp will be recalled as those of leaders in the affairs of the town and the church. ”

“ I looked round for Milford, but he was already disappearing down the area steps. Closing the front door, I turned to the pretty housemaid, who had taken refuge behind the umbrella-stand.
"Ellen," I said, "Milford's coming in down below. You might send him straight up."
"Yes, sir," she gasped, and abandoning her hiding-place, she hurried off across the hall.
Billy took a deep breath. "I call this living," he remarked contentedly. "Fancy Milford turning up like that!"
"If ever a man had the dramatic instinct," I said, "Milford has." ”

“ Unfortunately the woman was the victim of evil counsel at Milford, and was deterred from her good purpose. There were many people in Milford who were bitter enemies to the truth.
I often said mass in our cabin. One day we made a cross and carried it in procession for nearly a mile: we sang psalms, and part of the way went barefoot, until we reached the spot where we planted the cross, which was our consolation and our safeguard, as there were in this desert a great number of rattlesnakes and other reptiles no less dangerous. ”

“ It would be impossible to give all the actions in which New Milford men were concerned during the Revolution without giving a history of the entire war. Some of the marked battles in which they were engaged were those about Philadelphia, the Mud Forts, Germantown and Monmouth. They participated in the crossing of the Delaware from Princeton and, later, were at the surrender of Germantown. New Milford men were with Morgan at Saratoga and tradition says that they were at the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, with Ethan Allen. ”

“ Goodwin was pleased. "You shall be my companion," she said, "Your society will more than repay me. You must not refuse. I set my heart upon it."
Milford was introduced, and the stately woman threw her searchlight upon him. Here might be another genius.
"They tell me, Mr. Milford, that you are a man of great industry."
"They might have told you, madam, that I am a great fool."
Ha! a gleam of true light. She warmed toward him. She thought of Burns plowing up a mouse. But she was skeptical of poets. They have a contempt for their patrons if their wares do not sell. ”