St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1869-08-27

DR4U YOUR CONCLUSIONS.


Mr.. Belah Buiium was thirtv-fve.
portly, of n comfortable fortune, blue
eyed, in excellent health, Il bachelor. ar
gumentative to the last degree, and a
cidctrud lawyer. The third year after
his admission to the bar he left the pro-
tcs>lon i'll disgust, and on strictly logical
reasons. The judges had ridiculous
fashion OF stopping argument by some
thing called Il sentence" lust at the
moment when Belah Butfum, ESQ, was
most in the mood of pressing the qucs-
ton t. lis ultimate bearings. Just as
his antagunism waS developed to its ma
ture-t pitch, down came Il crusher on all
legitimate reasoning. or, that disregard
ed, punishment for contempt of court
SO, having argued several yauScs clear up
TO that jumping Oft place, that Montauk
Point OF legal loglc, the Court of APP
pealS-having offered Ieforc the whole
eight JUDGES TO submit the question which
they had decided against him 10 an en-
hghtencd public sentiment, and the
judges and public sentiment being both
perfectly willing, on the payment of the
costs, Mir. Butium di>daintulIv lcapcd
from the Montauk aforesaid. and made
his final plunge into the ocean of private
life. 1t may be thought that | should
confuse the metaphor and say The peace
full lake OF private life. But no, to Mr..
Buiium the domestic circle was dear only
aS a maclStrom of seething diSputation,
and home, sweet home, precious rs a
place where some one to argue with could
always be kept at hand.
In spite of this combatant disposition.
his natural goodness Of heart was such
that BeIah Buflum had friends by the
dUzcns-always ready to i.o him 10y
taking the other side in everything, be-
cause they knew he loved them the bet
ter for it-always ready to pitch into
him on amy subject whatever, from trans
cendental theology To the new breed OF
hens.
One of these friends had been Il gen
tleman OF the name Of Shearsworth, wEo
one day happening to die, pretaced his
departure by handing him his will, with
the information that he had left him
Buiium-cNecutor and guardian of his
only child, Ado plus, who, Oh certain
conditions, was the sole lcgatce.
At the time this history opens Adol-
phus Shearsworth was twenty years of
are, and had been under the tutelage, ;l>
we'll as at the country residence, Of Mr.
Butium for Il period OF eighteen months
Durin" part Of this time he had had "A
private tutor, and was supposed to be
preparing tor college. But the tutor be-
mo Il scotchman of the most inveteratclv
marked Calvinistic type, as "A matter of
course made Mr.. Buifum "a fiery Armin-
ian; - that after Il month of auOnv,
with burning ears and his wardrobe in Il
>ilk ucket-handkerchct, Mr.. M'Crackin
fled from what lie entitled 'Jo1t cm eenR-
del hoOSc."
After the departure of the tutor Mr.
Butfum resolved to take Master Adol-
phus's education into his own hands lie
read Virgil with his ward, managing to
pick quarrel with him on the construc-
ton of every line Even the subject of
aIeebraic roots and %enmetric angles, by
philosophers hitherto regarded the most
certain OF all themes, was not closed to
discussion for. although Mr.. Butfum
could not deny that the square upon the
hypotenu,e is equal to the sum Of the
squares on the other two sides. he could
still wage battle on the ground that there
was vastly better way Of proving it
than the one i'll the book
Now this to Mr.. Butfum was a mighty
pleasant way Of spending his time, but
to Adolphu> no stupidcr manner of life
could be imagined. Accordingly, one
morning, after having fought the simplest
Observation-Disclosures questions for an hour
and half, he took courage to tell Mr..
Butium that be had determined to intro
duce 4 change in their routine.
MIR Butium, I'm contoundedly bored
by all this argument, this perpetual jab
Der of discussion from morning till night,
| am going to abandon it. Hencetorth
throw logic to the dogs; | divert my
ScIl lloHi IL ~ S'S'J Po'SlolS way.
Among others, I'm about to fall in love"
"Pish. you talk like fool. Are you
crazy ?"
Not yet though should be if en-
dured your logic little longer. SO, on
purely emotional grounds, l am going to
tail in love as soon as possible
s'Who is the other goose -
.'Be kind enough 10 moderate your
language in speaking of my beautiful
Unknown. | should hate to have to
fiaht YOU before L have found her; and
after that l assure you that my time will
be too we'll occupied
''Do you know that you are talking
madness Are you not aware :hat there
is but one young woman IN the world
with whom you can commit that folly
and still retain possession of your es-
tate ~
''Do you know that you are talking
mystery ~
"Have you never read your fathers
will, Adolphus Shearsworth %
Don't you know his commands tc
In-+ ho Ill Al I