The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1846-02-28
Miscellaneous,
THE JUDGES CHARGE.
BY ANN s .sTEpUENs.


Twas late at night, between eleven and
Twelve, when the circuit Judge stepped from
the hackney coach, which had conveyed him
from the City Hall, and mounted the steps of
his dwelling. Though mufiled in fur and
encased in thiclSly quilted wrapper,he shud-
dered with the cold while striving to fit his
key in the night latch, for the sidewalks were
white with snow and hail. which the sharp
winds whrled into the air again, and left in
piles and ridges around the door steps and a.
rea ratings.
After some difficulty the Judge succeeded
in letting himselfinto the hall. He only
paused to shake the frost from the outer gar
ments, and deposite his umprela with others
that were dripping in the stand, amid Il little
pool ofhalf frozen water; for the lamp burn
ed dimly, and the hall fire was ont, making
the passage more than usually gloomy. 1t
was a cheering contrast when the Judge turn
ed the lock ot'the door 10 little snuggcry that
opened from one end of the cold dark hail.
The little crate of German silver was heuped
with anthracite coal all ina glow, rendering
the apartment warm and luminous enough,
without the aid oftwo wax candles that shed
their wilder light over II girandole of frosted
silver that stood on the mautcl-picce, and
gave pickering tinge of the rainbow to its
pendants of slender glass; which seemed like
icices melting in the atmosphere.
With n sigh of relief the Judge threw his
wrapper into corner, pulled Off his damp
bOots,and drawing forth Il embarrassing gown
& a pair offaded slippers from closet behind
the door, prepared to make himself comforta-
tile, after II day of unusual anxiety and ia
hgue.
Well he muttered, rubbing his hands soft
~ together, as he sunk into the crimson easy
chair, whose cushions closed around him
with soft and moss-lbe clasp thank Heav-
en-, am at home at last Poor fellow
poor fellow, ! am afraid it viii go hard with
himr
Here the Judge paused, and sunk into n
train of thought, which seemed both deep
and painful. He was yet scarcely Il middle
aged man, and scenes oftcrror and death Ind
not harde ned his naturally kind nature. As
his large brown eyes dwelt upon the fire, their
changing expression was that Of pity, min
gled now and then with sterner flush, as il
he were striving to master the gentler emo
tons that crowded upon him. At length, he
started upright in his chairthrust his foot into
the well todden slipper,which in his solioquy
had fallen to the hearth-iug, and heaving an
other deep breath, seemed TO cast off the pain
tul thoughts that had oppressed him. Stoop-
ing forward he softly raised the cover from a
little china tureen that stood within the fend-
or, and lifting the spoon, broke the golden
surface that had creamed over the oyster soup
which it contained. Then closing the cover
again, he drew nest-tabc closer TO his chair
cut the leaves ola new magazine which lay
upon it, pushed an old law book and pile of
papers, so far on one side that some of them
rolled over the carpet; and then lifting the
'tureen to the corner he had cleared, he began
to regalc himself with the rich soup, while he
read the magazine by snatches, now and then
pausing to knock aside a cracker which
would keep lodging up and down, here and
there, in the delicious compound, and was
sure to get over his spoon every time he at
tempted to fill it.
lie had just succeeded i'll crushing his tor
menter, and was smiling over the fragments
as they foated softly into his spoon,when the
door bell rung with n violence that made
him drop the spoon and start half from his
chair
Nonsense! it was accident. Something
has touched the bell, no one can be coming
here at this time ofnight;" he muttered, sink
ing back to his cushions but another peal
from the bell, hasty and sharp, as ifsome
agitatcd hand had pulled it with unconscious
violence, deprived him ofall doubt on the
subject He pushed back his chair, folded
his dressing gown around him, and taking Il
hight from the mante-pece, went out. but
though he walked fast,another loud peal from
n
wind blew out his candle as he opened the
door, but there was enough light to reveal the
form of female, who stood on the door step
muffled i'll a cloth cloak, and with crimson
lined hood drawn over her face. In the mist
darkness beyond, he could just discern the
outline ola carriage; one of the lamps was
out, but there was a faint light in the other,
and the Judge afterwards remembered that il
was ofcut glass too rich for hackney coach,
and without the number which should mark
these vehicles Besides there was u faint
geam of gold embroidery from that end of
the hammer-cloth text the light, but SC
faint that it might have been mistaken for a
handful ofilluminated sleet drifting by the
lamp.
Without speaking a word, the woman en-.
tered the hall and walked forward, for the
study door was open, and she had nearly
reached it before the judge could close the
street door against the storm,which was beat
ing full in his face.
'Are you alone, quite aIone?' said the
strange visitor, as he overlook her; the voice
sounded unnaturally calm, but it was cleal
and sweet
The judge was overwhelmed with astonish.
ment, but he answered that he was quite a.
lone, and entered his study followed by his
singular guest. If his surprise was great
While she was half concealed in darkness, il
was tenfold when she stood within the glow
ing light which filed the room. She was
Young, perhaps three or four and twenty,and
but for the marble-like paleness of her fea-
lures, and the glitter other large blue eyes
would have been transcendantly beautiful
one stood motionless, gazing in the fire, till
the hail upon her silk mantle melted, and
hung in quivering water-drops among the
black an glossy folds. Two or three heavy
drops running down from her hood & falling