Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1870-12-08
WOODSTOCK, W.T., THURSDAY, DEC, s, 1920

brothers great legal and literary attain
mcnts would frightcn such poor littl
mouse as am.
And in saying those words they ha(
managed to say that Johu Harlow wa'
an unsophisticatcd student, and tha
they would run him down between them
Mrs. Holmes and her friend had ar
rived twenty-four hours ahead of John
and the daughter of the house had al
ready installed herself as temporary
mistress by thoughtlessly upsettng, re-
vcrsing, and turning inside out all the
good IIuidah's most cherished arrange
ments. All the plans for the annral
festival that wise and practical Huldah
had entertained were vetoed, without a
thought that this young girl had been
for n year and half in actual authority
in the house, and might have some feel
ing Of wrong in having guest of a
week overturn her plans for the next
month. But Mrs. Holmes was not one
Of the kind to think of that. IIuldah
was hired aud paid, and she never
dreamed that hired people could have
any interest iu their work or their home
other than pay and their food. But
Iluldah was patient, though she con-
fessed that she had feeling that she
had been rudely "trampled over"
suspect she had q good cry at the end Of
the first day. 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, his first care was to shake hands
with the deacon, who was glad to. see
him, but could not forbear expressing
a hope that he would "shavc that hair
off his upper lip" Then John greeted
his sister cordially, and was presented
to Miss Dunton. Instead of sitting
down, he pushed right on into the
kitchen, where IIuldah, ia a calico lrock
and clean white apron, was baking bis
cut for tc,,. She had been q school
mate of his, and he took her hand cor
daily as she stood there, with the bright
western sun halfglorifying her head and
face.
wig. HuIdah, 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 woman.
"Undignifed as cver!" said Amanda,
as she returned to the sitting-room.
"How?" said John. He looked be
wildered. What had he done that was
undignifed? And Amanda Holmes saw
well enough that it would not do to tell
him that speaking to Huldah Manners
was not consistent with dignity. She
saw that her remark had been Il mis-
take, and she got out out Of it as best
she could by turning the conversation.
Several times during the supper John
addressed his conversation to Huldah,
who sat at the table with the family,
for in the country in those days it would
have been considered Il great outrage to
make a "help" wait for the second
table. John would turn from the liter
ary conversation to inquire Of Huldah
about his old playmates, some of whom
had gone to the West, some of whom
had died, and some of whom were set
Ting into the same fixed adherence to
their native rocks that had character
lied their ancestors.
The next day the ladies could get no
good out of John Harlow. He got up
early and MIXED the COW. He cut
wood and carried it in for Huldah. He
rode old Bob to the brook for water
He did everything that he had been
accustomed to do when q boy, finding
as much pleasure in forgetting that he
was a man, as he had once found in
hoping to be man. The two boys
enjoyed his society greatly, and his
father was delighted to see that he had
retained his interest in the farm life,
though the deacon evidently felt an un-
conquerable hostility to what he called
"that scrub-brush on the upperlip."
think if John had known how strong
his fathers feeling was against this most
cherished product he would have moved
the crop and grazed the field closely
until he got back to the city.
John was not insensible to Janet
Dunton's charms. She could talk flu
emily about all the authors most in
vogue, and the effect of her luency was
really dazzling to man not yet cult
waited enough himself to see how super
fetal her culture was. For all her learn
ing foated on top. None Of it had in
fuenced her own culture. She was
brimming full of that which she had
acquired, but it had not been incorpo
rated into her own nature. John die
not see this, and he was infatuated witt
the idea of marrying wife with such
attainments. How she would dazzle
his friends How the Governor would
like to talk to her? How she would
shine in his parlors! How she would