St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1867-11-08
still, so white / thought she would

couldn't get any farther she just caught
hold of little shawl she had on with
both her hands, as if she thought she could
hold herself up by it, and walked right
out of the room l knew she had gone
to bed, for heard her 90 up and shut
the door. stood there 4 few minutes
with my hands i'll my pockets, whistllng
Yankee Doodle. Your mother used TO
say men were queer folks, johnny they
always whistled up the gayest when they
felt the wust. Then went to the closet
and got another pipe, and didn't 60 up
stairs till it was smoked out
When was young man, Johnny, /
used to be that sort of fellow that
couldn't bear to give up beat. I'd acted
like brute, and knew it, but | was
too spunky to say so. So | say to my
self, 'lf she won't make up first, | won't
and that's The end on it" Very likely
she said the same thing, for your mother
was spirited sort of woman when her
temper ,raS up SO there we were, more
like enemies sworn against each other
than man and wife who had loved each
other true for fifteen years. whole
winter, and danger, and death perhaps,
coming between us, too.
1t may seem very queer TO you, John
ny-it did TO me when was your aye,
and didn't know any more than you do,
how folks can work themselves up into
great quarrels out of such little things :;
but they do, and into worse, if it's man
who likes his own way, and a woman
that knows how to talk. It's my opin-
ion, two thirds of all the divorce cases in
the law books just grow up out of things
no bigger than that lamp-wick.
But how people that ever loved each
other could come to hard words like that
You don't see ? Well, ha, ha Johnny,
that amuses me, that really does amuse
me, for never saw young man nor 4
young woman eithcr,-and young men
and young women in general are very
much like fresh hatched chickens, to my
mind, and know Just about IS much OF
} the world, Johnny-well, never saw
one yet who didn't say that very thing.
And what's more, | never saw one who
could get it into his head that folks knew
better
But | say l had loved your mother
true, Johnny, and she had loved me true
t for more than fifteen years and loved
2 her more the fifteenth year than | did tho
, first and we couldn't have got along with
: out each other, any more than you coulc
] get along if somebody cut your hear
: right out. We had laughed together an,
cried together we had been sick, an,
: we'd been well together we'd had ou
; hard times and our pleasant times rlgh
f alon-, side by side; we'd christened tn
i babies and we'd buried 'em, holding OF
1 to each others hand we'd had grow
: along year after year, through ups an
downs and downs and ups, just like on
l ptlSOll. anu llINiN sA~i Wv
1t ing OF us But for all that we'd bee
It put out and we'd had our two ways an
and we'd had spoken our sharp word
Il like any other two folks and this WASH
It our first quarrel by any means.
II l tell YOU, Johnny, young folks the
p start in litc with very pretty ideas,-ver
II pretty ideas,-very pretty. But take
a as a general thing, they don't know an
.e more what they're talking about tia
h they do about each other, and they don
know any more about each other tina
le they do about the man in the mool
J. They bcgin very nice, with their lie
ID carpets and teaspoons, and little men,
Ip ing to do, and coming home early ey,
nings to talk; but by and by tile shir
ne wears oft Then come the babies, al
" worry and wear and temper. Abol
ID that time they begin to be a little a
quainted. and to find out that there Il
:" two wills and two sets of habits 10
nj fitted somehow 1t takes them anywhe
d. along from one year TO three TO get JOst
v ed down together AZ for sOmethir
re off, there's more or less OF that TO
to done always.
to Well, | didn't sleep very well til
in night, dropping into maps and wakll
be mp. The baby was worrying over |
teeth every halt-hour, and Nancy gettil
ke up to walk him off to sleep in her arm
lid it was the only way you would
lid hushed up, and you'd lie and yell
1st somebody did it,
ne Now, it wasn't many times since VT
Ike been married that | had let her do til
thing all night long. l used to have
ice way of getting up TO take my turn, a
Mt sending her oil to sleep. 1t isn't MAJ
me business, some folks say. [ don't kne
l anything about that; maybe, if I'd be
If broiling my brain in book learning
om day till come night, and l was hard |
on to it to get my sleep anyhow, like t
zap parson there, it wouldn't; but all
- know is, what if / had been breaking I
A back in the potatoe patch since mornil
ike so she'd broken hers over the oven a
avs what if [ did need nine hours sou
ng. sleep? l could chop and saw without
mt next day, just as well as she could do
NO, ironing, to say nothing of my being
out great stout ttliow,-there wlsn't a ch
her for ten miles around with my muscle,
ood and she with those blue veins on
ver forehead. Howsomever that may b,
it, wasn't used to letting her do it by hers
les, and so | lay with my eyes shut, and 7
tended that l was asleep; Cor l did
ere. feel like giving in, and speaking up gen
ut not about that nor anything else.
for could see her though, between
ach eyelashcs, and l lay there, every tin
d | woke up, and watched her walking b
uck and forth, back and forth, up and do
with the heavy little fellow in her a
I'm all night long.
and was off very early in the morni
true l don't think it could have. been much
ter three o'clock when l woke up. \
Y if cy had my breakfast all laid out o
out. night, except the coffee, and we had Fl