St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1872-05-03
From Hearth and Home.
THE END OF THE WORLD.
Chapter III.
RY EDWARD EGGLESTDN.

julia that August was to leave. But
now that stormy scene had taken place.
she thought she could make good use
of it. She knew that her husband CO.
operated with her in her opposition to
''thr Dutchman." only because he WAS
afraid of his wife. In his heart. Sam
uel Anderson could not refuse anything
to his daughter. Denied any of the
happiness which most men find in 10y
ing their wives. he found consolation in
the love of his daughter. secretly. as
though his parental affection was IL
crime. he careSsed Julia, and his wife
WAS not long in discovering that the
father cared more for IL loving daughter
than for Il ShrewiSh wife. She watched
him ,jealOusly, and had come to regard
her daughter as one who had supplant-
ed her in her husbands affections, and
her husband aS rohbing her of the love of
herdaughter. In truth, Mrs. Samuel An
derSon had come to stand so perpetual
ly on guard against imaginary cncroach-
memts on her rights. that she S;lw enc
mics everywhere. She hated Wehlc
bccallSc he was Il Dutchmam: She would
have hated him on Il dozen other scores
if he had been an American. 1t was
ottenNe enough that Julia loved him.
50 nov she resolved to gain her huS-
band To her side 10y her version of the
story. and before dinner she had told
him how August had charged her with
being false and cruel to Andrew many
Years ago, and how julie had thrown it
up to her. and how near She had come
to dropping down with palpitation of
the heart. And Samuel Anderson red
dcned. and declared that he would pro
tcct his wife from such insults. The
notion that he protected his wife WIS Il
pleasant fiction of the little mars.
which received IL generous encourage
mcnt at the hands of his wife. 1t WAS
Il taNoritr trick others to throw herself.
in Il mctaphorical way. at his feet. Il
helpless woman. and in her tcchlcncSS.
implorr his protection. And Samuel
felt all the courage of knightlo"d in de
Tending his inotfcnSiVc wife. l'ndrr
cover of this fiction. 50 tiattcring to the
vanity of an oNcrawcd husband. she
had managed ut one time and another
to cmhrnil him with most all of the
ncighborS. and his refusal To join fences
had resulted i'll that crooked arrange
ment known ;l> Il ''d"NifS lane on three
sides of his farm.
Julia dared not STAY away from din
ncr. which waS miserable enough. She
did not venture 50 much as to look at
August, who sat opposite her. and who
WAS the most unhappy person at the
table. because he did not know what
| all the unhapplneS> wa> about. Mr..
] AndcISon> brow torchodcd IL storm.
/ Mrs. Anderson face wis full of an
earthquake. Cynthy Ann WAS sitting in
shadow. and Juli;i'S countcnancr per
picked him. Whether she WAS angry
/ with him or not. lac could not he sure.
/ OF one thing he was certain she W;S
suffering Il great deal, and that waS
enough to make him exceedingly un
happy.
Sitting through his hurried meal in
this atmosphere Surclargrd with domcS-
tie electricity, he got the notion he
could hardly tell how that all this
lowering of the sky had something to
do with him. What had he done
Nothing. His closest differentiation
told him he had done no wrong. But
his spirits were depressed. and his SELL
Sitivc conscience condemned him for
some unknown crime that had brought
about all this disturbance of the elc-
mentS The ham did not seem very
good. the cabbage he could not eat. the
corn -dodger chokcd him. he had no de
sire to wait for the pie. He abridged
his meal. and went out Ia the barn to
keep company with his horses and his
misery until il should he time to return
to his pillow.
Julia sal and sewcd in that tedious
afternoon. She would have liked one
more interview with August before he
left. Looking through the open hall.
she saw him leave the barn and ="
toward his blowing. Not that she look
ed up. Hawk never watched chicken
more closely than Mrs. Anderson watch
eel poor julie. But ont of the corners
of her eyes Julia SAW him drive his
horses before him from the stable. AZ
the field in which he worked was on
the other side of the house from where
she sat she could not 50 much aS catch
IL glimpse of him as he held his pillow on
its steady course. She wished she
might have helped Cynthy Ann in the
kitchen, for then she could have seen
him. but there WAS no chance for such IL
transfer.
Thus the tedious afternoon wore
away, and just as the sun was settling
down so that the shadow of the elm in
the front yard stretched across the road
WAS broken. Julia had been wishing
that somebody would speak. Her
mothers Sulky Spcechlc>SnesS was worse
than her Scolding. and Julia had even
wished her to resume her storming.-
But the silence WAS broken by Cynthy
Ann. who came into the hall and called.
julie, | wish you would 90 to the barn
and gather the eggs: want to make
some cake"
Every evening of her life Julia gath
cred the eggs, and there WAS nothing
uncommon i'll Cynthy AIMS making
cake. so that nothing could be more in
nocent than this request. Julia sat
opposite the front door. her mother sat
farther along. Julia could see the face
of Cynthy Ann. Her mother could only
hear the voice. which was dry and com
mOnplace enough. Julia thought she
detected something peculiar in Gym
thy's manner. She would as soon have
thought of the big oak gate-poStS with
their round ball-libe heads telegraphing
her in sly way, as to have suspected
any such craft on the part of Cynthy
Ann, who WAS IL good, pious, simple
hearted old maid, strict with herself.
and censorious toward Others. But
there stood Cynthy making some sort
of gesture, which Julia took to mean
that she was to 90 quick. She did not
dare to show any eagernesS. She laid
down her work and moved away list
Iesslv. And evidently she had been too
slow. For if August had been i'll sight
when Cynthy Ann called her, he had
now disappeared Oh the other side of