Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1870-12-08

with new tea urn ora rare book. ShC
was Il nice thing to show Other peo
pie have married on the strength o
such a feeling, and called it love. FoI
John really imagined that he was il
love. And during that week he tallleC
and walked and rode in the sleigh witt
Miss Dunton, and had made up his
mind that he would carry this brilliant
prize to New York. But, with lawyer
like caution, he thought he would put
off the committal as long as possible
If his heart had been in his attentions
the caution would not have been worth
much. Caution is good break-watel
against vanity; but it isn't worth much
against the spring tide Of love, as John
Harlow soon found.
For toward the end Of the week he
began to feel n warmer feeling i)r Miss
Janet. 1t was not in the nature OF
things that John should walk and talk
with pleasant girl a week, and not
feel something more than his first inter
ested desire to marry a snowy wife. His
heart began to be touched, and he re-
solved to bring things to acrisis as soon
as possible. He therefore sought an
opportunity to propose. But it was
hard to find. For though Mrs. Holmes
was tolerably ingenious, she could not
get the boys or the deacon to pay any
regard to her hints. Boys are totally
depraved on such questions, anyhow,
and always manage to stumble in where
any privacy is sought. And as for the
deacon, it really seemed as though he
had some design in intruding at the
critical moment.
| do not think that John was seriously
in love with Miss Dunton. If he had
been, he would have found some means
of communicating with her. \ thou
sand spies with sleepless eyes all around
their heads cannot keep a man from
telling his love somehow,if he really
has love to tell.
There is another fact which conylnccs
me that John Harlow was not yet very
deeply in love with Janet. He was
fond of talking with her of Byron and
Milton, of Lord Bacon and Emerson,
Z. e., as | have already said, he was fond
Of putting his own knowledge on dress
parade in the presence Of one who could
appreciate the display. But whenever
any little thing released him for the
time from conversation in the sitting
room, he was given to slipping out into
the old kitchen, where, sitting on a
chair that had no back, and leaning
against the chimney side, he delighted
to talk to Huldah She couldn't talk
much of books, but she could talk most
charmingly Of everything that related
10 the country lite and she could ask
John many questions about the great
city. In fact, John found that Huldah
had come into possession of only such
facts and truths as could be reached in
her narrow life, but she had assimilated
them, and thought about them, and that
it was more refreshing to hear her orig
inal and piquant remarks about the top
les she was acquainted with, than to
listen to the tireless stream Of Janet
Duntons ostentatious erudition. And
he found more delight in telling the
earnest and hungry-mlnded country girl
about the great world Of men and the
great world Of books, than in talking to
Janet, who was, in the matter Of knowl-
edge, little basee, if | may be allowed
the expression. And then to Huldah
he could talk of his mother, whom he
had often watched moving about that
same kitchen. When he had spoken
to Janet of the associations of the old
place with his mothers countenance,
she had answered with quotation from
some poet, given in u tone Of empty
sentimentality He instinctively shrank
from mentioning the subject to her
again; but to Huldah it was so easy to
talk of his mothers gentleness and
sweetness. Huldah was not unlike her
in these respects, and then she gave
him the sort of sympathy that finds its
utterance in tender silenco-sO much
more tender than any speech can be.
He observed often during the week
that Huldah was depressed. He could
not exactly account for it, until he no.
,iced something in his sisters behavior
toward her that awakened his suspicion
As soon as opportunity offered he in,
quired of Huldah, affecting at the same
time to know something about it.
IL don't want to complain of youl
sister to you Mr. Harlow-
"Pshaw call me John, and as for my
sister, | know her faults better than you
do. Go on, please"
"Well, it's only that she told me that
Miss Duntou wasn't used to citing al
the same table with SERVANTS, and when
one of the boys told your father, he was
mad and came to me, and said, HUI
dah, you must eat when the rest do. II
you stay away from the table on account
of these city snobs I'll make fuss on