Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1873-03-14

the GOODNESS between her aud her husband
actually parish talk2 or was his last act to
be considered q visitation on her incompat-
Utility aud general culpability, for which she
was to he solemnly commiserated, and which
was to be improved to her as a lesson IN do.
cility and patience
We had it before" continued the we'll.
meaning speaker; land no doubt il was for
our good" she added. rubbing her forehead
a little ruefully.
As neither the parish nor AL had been
tried and disciplined by any former wife of
his, Gena saw there was mistake.
What do you refer to, Mrs. Locock ?"
she asked with a sigh OF relief
Why, has not your husband told you
that the cholera has appeared in Bristol ?"
asked Mrs. Locock, surprised and put out in
her turn. 81 must say consider it ill
judged Of him to keep that a secret from a
grown woman, clergymans wife. You
have not dread Of infection, have you We
are all in excellent hands"
Gena muttered an iuaudible reply, and
shortly afterwards Mrs. Locock left, with
the distressing conviction that young Mrs.
Woodruff was coward. and fool about
illness as about anything else. :" What ever
would Mr. Woodruff do, when his labors
were likely to be sufficiently arduous without
this drag upon himT
Gena saw it all now how the great
scourge Of modern times, before which even
stout hearts quail, was impending, and Al
was to remain at his post, and die painful,
premature DEATH If need were, while she was
to be put out Of the reach of personal trial
and danger. The finishing touch was to be
gwen to her failure in such life as AL had
called worthy immortal beings-the higher
life of earth, TO which she had once aspired-
by her craven, precipitate retreat before
suffering aud harm, her abandonment of her
place aud her husband.
No, Gena could not sink so low. She had
girls vague horror of "the pestilence,"
but she had also the courage of her gallant
race to face death 10 any form. Might she
not redeem what she had lost? Might not
this last chance, this browning test, have been
vouchsaied to her as boon? And if she died,
Al would cancel all her folly and errors, and
would see her again as his pet, his sweet
heart, his young love while away at Cliff.
ford Farm she would be regarded as having
vindicated her patent of nobility by her vol.
uutary martyrdom, She had not deserved
such sentence, and yet might not her de.
spairing free-will offering be accepted for the
sake of another offering far more precious
Gena wont TO Al the moment he returned,
and addressed him with wistiul eyes and lips
quivering with eagerness; Il know now
why you send me away, Al and if you still
order it, | suppose | must submit to your
order" she said with a restless sigh "but |
appeal against this order-l claim my right to
be here also. | am young and healthy
why should cholera strike me down any more
than your aud | am sure my life is of much
less value Al, | protest il is hard to make
me deserter from the post which you would
cry shame on yourself for abandoning; |
shalltry not to be in anybody's way-not to be
trouble to you"
She had spoken so fast he had no opportu-
nifty OF interrupting her.
My dear child" he said, with his face
all softened and lit up, you would be in
nobody's way, Of course you would be the
greatest comfort. The truth is, 1 was oath
that you should run any risk but you re.
Duke me for my selfshness in keeping 1t all
to myself, so far as you were concerned, and
for my faithlcssness in not being willing to
commit the best that have to give, simply
to Gods keeping. If you ask to stay (but
remember, dear, it must be sad and painful
work.. cannot take it upon me to refuse
what you say truly is your right; and, for
my own part, | do not believe there is anv
peril that faith and courage, care and com.
mon sense, cannot meet aud, with Gods
blessing, overcome
Gena stayed, aud neither fatered nor
broke down, in what were without question
dark days when the cholera took fast hold
and made tremendous havoc among the
households Of the poorer warehousemen and
the hali-seafaring population of Bristol The
| silly, semi.usoiess little woman became a.,
| thank God, such silly semi-useless little wo-
men become now aud again discovering and
exertiug their latent powers in dire straits),
wonderfully wise, courageous and self-deny.
! ing. She was an able assistant to Al, who
was toiing to inauguratc reforms, administer
| relief to instruct, encourage and comfort. All
lethargy, all monotony, fed during these
busy, anxious days.
/
that she had been tempted in her grlsh
weakness and vanity, and had appeared on
the point Of yielding to temptation, at the
moment when she stood true to death, and
when death might be the earthly penalty re-
quired at any moment Of her or of Al
Woodruff ? AIS first cry on crossing his
threshold was Tor Gena to hear his report,
and to help him with fresh stores, material
and spiritual. Gena ran to meet his foot.
step, to ask what news to serve the weary
man with some new ingenious device against
the enemy.
One night when there was IA little hull in
the battle, while A lay on his study Sofa and
Gena stood at the window looking at the
moon-one of the few joys of nature which
cities spare-she turned round with her face
in white glory; " You were right, AL"
she said, breathlessly, L" this is the higher
ite-this losing Of the life to save it, it is
infinitely grander than anything which taste
aud intellect can make their own. | belev-
ed you when you told me first but had to
find it out in my own experience. know
now Cpoor little Geua she knew little
enough yet Tor all her capabllity for heroism,
but she certainly knew better than she
had knownl 81 have tried for myself.
When | was with the Paulets life was very
pleasant, if it had only kept pleasant; but
it wanted salt or something to preserve it
from getting tainted, and it was no. the
higher life. | think understand little, at
last, how God glorifed even his own dear
Son, by sending Him to work, and to suffer
when suffering was wanted, aud how it is by
the grave and gate of death that we pass to
joyful resurrection"
" believe you understand it better than
|, T." said Al, reverently, aud with great joy
At the same time whitening fear seized
him, Were Gena's words in way prophet
ic was she bearing an inadvertent testi-