The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1872-07-25
uN rWrvArE SCHOOL.

beth when sbc addressed the fatal spo,
aa blf band; ths time, however. Il was
only fAe scissors, which lu falling stood
upright iu the aaor.
sea-. ISIS nothing uncommon s. IT,
DID sou ever know &c TO happen that a
stranger ditut come before thc day was
out
+ Ineyer noticed, somebody was always
coming t5r The matter OF that
tell you that sign don't never fail,
lmy grandmother always used double
negatives when she meant to be emphaiie)
most others win, bat that's true as a
book Aud another thing, there was a
stranger ia I1y Tea tonight, long one
gh8i shows lt's man that's coming Some
folks sci d great deal by that sign; but il
aiu't 70 be mentioned ia the same day
with the scissors standing up in the
floor,
hope De viii come soon, or the storm
will Dc here before him; and with the
words the wind went wailing round the
house, and the first big drops beat against
thc wiudow-panc.
Three score years and ten had not taken
the first bloom from the romance OF my
graudmother's character; ii was fresh
and green as in her girlhood, Beggars
heard Of her afar OF, aud ran to fall on
the neck of her charity.
She followed the advice OF Lamb with
ont ever having read Il, When poor
creature came before her, she stayed
not to inquire whether the seven small
children, in whose name he implorcd her
assistance, had a yeritable existence, but
cast her bread upon the waters and lived
in faith.
In faith, she had cast so much bread
upon the waters in the course of her life
and so small proportion had come back
TO her, that she had nothing left for her
self except the old farm and the gambrel.
rooted house.
( Within is walls my father had first
seen the light, and lived till he went ont
10 fight the world. lie fell early in the
strife, and my mother soon followed him !;
but not until she had marked out my way
in life, and so fixed me in the groove of
her ideas that / had no choice left.
went to O village academy till | was old
enough TO enter the Normal School, for
my destiny was to be a teacher. My lit
tie income had TO be cked out in some
way; and Of all work to which woman
may turn her hand, a school, perhaps,
divides the burden most equally between
body and mind.
When ! graduated my grandmother
left the old gawbral-roof to see me do it,
and carried me home with her hreathin'
spell Gas she said) before getting a place
to teach
As TO my future, | was neither happy
nor unhappy, but rather between. At
twenty, life runs on with very little fric-
ton; there is excitement enough In mere
youth to make living pleasure.
The evening drew on with ever incl cas-
ing gusts Of wind, and the old house
shook to its foundations, but il clung
gallantly to the great central chimney,
which, being nearly as broad as it was
high, could afford to be Indifferent, when
wind and weather came to blows and
made a night of it.
hope you don't mean to sit up for that
somebody who is coming. All signs fail
in wet weather.
The words were scarcely spoken when
we heard the tread of horse running at
/ full speed down the hill above the house
/ then a crash Of the fence, and all was
still.
I We held our breath and listened. Soon
a mans step sounded slow and heavy on
the walk, and my grandmother rushed to
open the door.
/ Don't be scared, said the familiar voice
of one of our neighbors, and he stumbled
in, carrying man, pale and lileless, in
his arms.
I Lay him right on the loungc-get the
camphor bottIe-hcre's somebody sure
enough--don't tell me again that sign
ever fails Who is il job
/ dunno his name; city fellow, reck-
on; said he'd pay me most any price to
1 get him to Meriden tonight, The mare
did we'll enough till we got to that ere
+ ItgU tlun N Nrgh .gaatso,l top aud el, ,,a,ror
stopped til she brought mp again your
fence. If he hadn't been fool and Jump
cd out he might "a been as spry as | am;
bat some folks don't know nothin.'
That's so that the rest can get livin'
out Of en-, said my grandmother. Mean
time she was vigorously chatting his hands
and feet, while dashed the camphor 10
BIZ face aud bathed the broad white fore
head, which certainly promised well for
tho brain behind il.
lie must be dead, said ]; he didn't
come TO at ali,
No be amt Folks can't be Killed so
easy. Hen give you trouble enough be-
fore you're done with him. Now I'm 20
after the doctor 'taiut noways likely
he'll know any more whats the matter
tilan We DO; bat he'l pretend to, and If
the man dies It's bis fanlt, and not our'n.
The doctor found no bones broken, but
the he'd was injured, and ho must he put
70 bead and kept as quiet a. possible,
Now was my grandmother in her ele-
mont
loa coaldut work any harder, said /,
if De were your own SON.
Hes somebody own son, We rnusnt
forget that, Y0n know.