Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1870-12-21

9N' UHuCISldHuS HIS ONu SItdbuSoo anu
admlres his wisdom.
In the old home they were looking for
the son. The family proper consisted OF
the father, good Deacon Harlow, Johns
two brothers, ten and twelve years old, and
ltuldah, the help This last was the
daughter Of a neighbOring farmer, who was
poor and hopelessly rheumatic, and most
OF the daughters hard earnings went to
exc out the scanty subsistence at home.
Aunt Judith, the sister of Johns mother,
looked after the household affairs of her
brother-in-law, by coming over once a
week and helping Huldah darn and mend
and make, and by giving Huldah such ad-
vice as her inexperience was supposed to
require. But now Deacon Harlow's daugh-
ter had left her husband to eat his turk ey
alone in Boston, and had brought her two
children home to receive the paternal
blessing. Not that Mrs. Amanda Holmes
had the paternal blessing chiefly IN view
" her trip. She had brought with her a
very dear friend, Miss Janet Dunton, the
accomplished teacher in the Mt. Paranas-
sus Female Seminary. Why Miss Janet
Dunton came to the country with her
friend, she could hardly have told. Not a
word had Mrs. Holmes spoken to her on
the subject of the matrimonial scheme.
She would have resented any allusion to
such a project She would have repealed
any insinuation that She had ever dreamed
that marriage was desirable under any
conceivable circumstances. 1t Is way
we have of teaching girls to lie. We ed
ucate them to catch husbands. Every
superadded accomplishment is put on with
the distinct understanding that its sole use
is to make the goods more marketable
We get up parties, We 60 to watering
places, we buy dresses, we refurnish cur
houses, to help our girls to a good match.
Ard then we teach them to abhor the
awful wick cdness of ever conlessing the
great desire that nature and education
have combined to make the chief longing
of their hearts. We train them to lie to
u, their trainers we train them to lie 20
themselves to be false with everybody on
this subject to say no when they mean
yes TO deny an engagement when they
are dying to boast Of it. 1t is one of the
refnements Of Christian civilization which
we pray the Women's Missionary Society
not to communicate to poor ignorant hea-
thens who know no better than to tell the
truth about these things.
But, before digressed into that line of
remark, l was saying that Miss Janet
Dunton would have resented the most re-
mote suggestion Of marriage. She often
declared, sentimentally, that she was we'd
ded to her books, and loved her leisure,
and was determined to be an old maid.
And all the time this sincere Christian
girl was dying to confer herself upon some
worthy man Of congenial tastes which
meant, in her case, just what II did in
John Harlow 's,-some one who could ad-
mire her attainments. But, sensitive as
size was TO any imputation OF desire to
marry, she and Mrs. Holmes understood
one another distinctly. There is q free
mas0nary of women, and these two had
made signs They had talked about in
this wise
Mrs. Holmes.-My dear Janet you'll
find my brother a bear in manners, | fear
| wish he would marry. | hope you won't
break his heart, for l know you wouldn't
have him.
Miss Dunton.-You know my views on
shall marry nobody. Besides, your broth
er's great legal and literary attainments
would frighteu such a poor little mouse as
am.
And in saying these words they had
managed to say that John Harlow was an
unsophiscated student and that they would
run him down between them.
Mrs. Holmes and her friend had arrived
,weuty-tour hours ahead of John, and the
daughter of the house had already INSTALL
ed herself as temporary mistress by
thoughtlessly upsetting, revising and turn
ing inside out all the good Huldah's most
cherished arrangements. All the plans for
the annual festival that wise and practical
Huldah had entertained were vetoed, with
cut thought that this young girl had
been for a year and half in actual au-
thority in the house, and might have some
feeling of wrong in having a guest of
week overturn her plans for the next
month. But Mrs. Holmes was not one of
the kind TO think of that. Huldah was
hired and paid, and she never dreamed
that hired people could have any interests
IN their work or their home other than
their pay and their food. But Huldah
was patient, though she confessed that she
had feeling that she had been rudely
';rampled all ever. l suspect she had a
good cry at the end of the first day. l
cannot affirm it, except from a general
knowledge Of women.
When John drove up in the buggy that
the boys had taken to the-depot for him,
h7z frst care was to shake hands with the
deacon, who was glad to see him, but could
not forbear expressing a hope that he
would shave that hair off his upper lip
Then John greeted his sister cordially,
and was presented to Miss Dunton. In
stead of sitting down, he pushed right on
into the kitchen, where Huldah, in cali
co trock and a clean white apron, was bak-
ing biscuits for tea. She had been a
schoolmate Of his, and he took her hand
cordially as she stood there, with the
bright western sun half clarifying her
head and face.
Why, Huldab, how you've grown >
was his first word of greeting. He meant
more than he said, for though she was not
handsome, she had grown exceedingly
comely as she developed into a woman.
Undignifed as ever said Amanda,
as he returned to the sitting-room.
How said John. He looked bewil
dered. What had he done that was un-
dlgnihed And Amanda Holmes saw
well enough that it would not do to tell
him that speaking to Huldah Manners was
not so consistent with dignity. She saw
that her remark had been a mistake, and
she got out of it as best she could by
turning the conversation. Several times
during the supper John addressed his con-
Versatlon to Huldah, who sat at the table
WIN the family, for in the country in those
Gays 1t would have been considered great
outrage to make help wait for the
second table. John would turn from the
IIerary conversation to inquire of Huldah