Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1847-03-04

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He could talk about nothing but the nice
house, all full of good furniture, that he
should have, and now appealed to me to
take his part, and persuade Agnes to have
him that autumn. But it was not for me to
do any thing our Michael and the old man
was as resolute against London as ever and
her father had made Agnes promise him that
she would not marry till the two years were
out and by that time, at all events, the Lon
don scheme might have had fair trial. 1t
was not such very unreasonable thing, |
must say, and so Agnes thought, and that
made her more determined.
"There are times when light word breeds
mischief, and a mere Joke turns into sorrow
/ full earnest. So was it now. Agnes said
that if Christy would not wait her time, he
might marry somebody else, and welcome.
With this Christys blood was up. He was
unusually testy and short-tempered at this
time, so many men are when their wishes
are crossed; and so, from little it grew to
more, and they parted with cold words on
either side.
Christy left us and went to London, and
we heard nothing of him. He had been
gone two or three weeks, when one day
there comes to the house a dumb woman
who told fortunes, and Agnes said, quite in
a Joke, that she would have her fortune told
to see whether, after all, she would be mar
ried to Christy Benson. The dumb wife
looked at her with such queer look, and
then laughed, and then asked for tea-board,
as such folks always do that she might write
the name of the man she was to marry with
white chalk The tea-board was covered
with handkerchief, and under this the dumb
woman wrote, looking all the time at Agnes.
When she had done, and the handkerchief
was taken off, what name, think you, should
be written there but Thomas Kirkenshaw |!
As soon as Agnes said the name she turned
as white as a sheet, for Thomas Kirkenshaw
was a man twice her own age,-a proud,
hard-hearted man, the greatest tyrant in all
Bardale He had offered her marriage a
twelvemonth before. Poor thing when she
saw this name she said not word, but look
ing as if she was ready to drop, gave the
dumb wife sixpence, and opened the door
for her to go out of the house.
Nothing shall ever make me believe but
this was all Thomas Kirkenshaw's own do
ing ; for it soon got out among the neigh
bors that there had been words between Ag-
mes and Christy, and that maybe it was now
all over with them; and this Thomas Kirk
enshaw was man that would stick at moth
ing Lord have mercy on us folks said
that he was the death of his own mother,
but in such a way that the law could not
touch him and believe it, for sure enough
he was the death of our Agnes !"
Did she then marry him ~ exclaimed |.
She did, more was the pity" said Mrs.
Swailes, " but not till four years after then.
Well well This Mr.. Kirkenshaw, you
must know, was man OF substance; he
had two farms of his own, and right bonny
homestead that was where he lived people
called him respectable mana very re-
spectacle man-for he had always money
in the bank and though he gave nothing
away, he always paid his debts to penny.
He was a churchwarden and overseer of the
poor-but that is what money will do for a
man Thomas Kirkenshaw was hard man,
with heart like the neither milestone he
had proud, cold way of his own, that set
down poor body at once, as much as if he
had said, it's no manner of use for yOu to
talk to me" And then, what always vexed
me worst of all, was, that he was one Of
those men who always look down upon wo-
men as their slaves and tools He would
not have thought any woman too good to
black his shoes for him Wo's me that he
ever darkened our doors
"Well, Christy took it sadly to heart that
Agnes would not be married. We saw
nothing of him for twelvemonths, but we had
heard of him in the meantime. Whether il
was that he had grown reckless after the
words that had passed between him and Ag.
mes, or whether he had not strength to resist
the temptations of London, | know not
nor, Justly, how it was altogether-but this
is sure, thai he was not steady; and the man
he went into partnership in London with
and he quarrelled. He paid back the five
hundred pounds to his kind cousin in Ian
caster and sent word to him that he was
going to America,
"This news hurt us all very much, anC
+ hardly had we received it when one day We
were surprised by visit from Christy him.
self. 1t was now twelvemonths since We
had seen him. and he was very much chang
ed in that time He was very well dressed
and looked very handsome, but there was q
worldly, half-libertine look about him--sC
different to what he had been Never shall
| forget Agnes when she first set eyes or
him, for the first glance at his face showed
her what change there was in him, and
that they were now parted forever. His
cousin in Lancaster had borne testimony tc
his upright behavior in money Matters
There was nothing against him in that way
and when our Michael and father saw hin
at first, they thought he was now come back
to make all straight, and to consent to live
on the farm, and so they were civil enough
to him. But there was deal for them YET
to learn in Christy. Heaven knows what
justly was his motive in coming to us; if il
f were first and foremost to make all up with
, Agnes, he took a strange way of doing so
1t might be that he was piqued by her man
ner, for she seemed to avoid him. However
all might have been right, according to my
thinking, if he had only gone the right way
, about it. But instead of that, when he saw
that Agnes avoided him, what does he do
but takes no notice of her, no more than il
she had been nobody; and worse than that
he never let pass an opportunity of talking
) slightly of women, and boosted of the favor
he had been in with them in London. lie
had got free thinking notions, too, in reli.
gon, and had grown great radical in poll.