St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1873-05-23
From the independent
DEACON TABLOCKS'S FAULT
" Thankful ana L."



however, conceal Il ruliouS glim whirl
played ahuut the coln,I, "f his large
go"d-natircd mouth.
Il hat mcaIIS Something" said ia,
Deacon. nctllcd. "Uut with it :" f"l
Inc had Il quick and impatient temper
"llavc you and Miss Simmcrtou had
any puarrcI~ =
No, try ing hard not to grin. Will,
he hr>icd himself with the rrius Tab
lock had handed him.
Me an Miss SimncItun. we got
along iilSt rate" Aud hastily turning
his back. Cobus actually giggled.
Tahlock locked surcly tempted tu
dull hrai: - Ith the but end Of his whip
stock. Bat hc conquered tIiut impulse
of the flesh: and, helping his small fam
/ lily tc"m>i~tngof MI- Tahlock ana fouI
oI five little Tahlocks) out of the wag
ON. he followed the interesting prorcs-
sion into the house.
/ They found Miss Simmcrtum house
! keeper pr" tcm. in the absence of the
family engaged IN hurridll putting
| the slttinG-ro"m I" rights 10y picking up
Il thread or Il pin from the carpet (lin-
! hudy could nave tuld whut) and chang
| inG thr position of Il chair which some
Int' wand accident had moved at least
/ halt an inrh ont of lis proper place.
/ Her full duty hcing done in these i'm
| poItalIt particulars. she returned. Iith-
rr priuily. MIS-. Iahiock's kindly .rcct-
/ lu@, and received with becoming diyui-
! ~ the hui>trous S;lutcs of the Young
| ones.
"Ain't H"u going t" speak t" me. Ms,
Simmrltun ," said the Deacon. after
/ waiting about Il minute for the lady to
notice him. Although generally count
cd Il gunu man and It useful churchmcm-
Der. some traits of the Old Adam re
manned quite strong in him (l> in the
n"~t of u.s.. among Whiyh >tu-itivcne>e
t" il slight was not the least
oh" said Miss Simncrjon. with 4
constrained air and Il precise how. with
ont ever locking at him. h"vcN"r. ''rx-
cIlSr me.
such conduct on the part of one
whom he regarded almost rs Il mcmheI
of the hnu>ch"ld. quite amazed the
worthy rahlock.
Miss Simmcrton, said he, il = re
scnttUl tome. in which there WAS Il ire
mon of agitation. will Nuu have the
( gnnduc>S To- tcll me what's the mat
ter -
Matter - echoed the lady. with an
excited and embarrassed look. which
she CmdcaNorcd to disguise hy stopping
over the little girls With Il pr,trncc "i
removing their things. "Ihcrc'> roth
ing the matter with me. assure y"u
and other peoples concerns and con
sciences are not my affairs. thankful am
T."
The Deacon stood toI another mo-
mcnt,trcmhling between. anger and ann
irty, then faltcrcd:
'Amyrtiug the matter with C"hu> ,"
"Cohus ?'' The ladN'S mdnmer ol
rchning his words WAS pcrulialy pro
loking. Not +" my hnowlcdg". Ca
b"S is Il good AND honest man" with =
~trc>, which implied that Sumrhody cl~c
Wasn't.
Miss >immcrtun :" hu-l forth the cN-
a>prrltcd Tahl"rk. ''N"t'ic thc m"sI
agGraNating rrcatulc | even SAW -
'Oh, imdcci Sorry am | But
you Won't hr troubled with the GJjs-u-
crto6 creature much loug,r. an only
waiting for MI>. Tl,ioch To come home
a,rd relieve. ur, aud now | ilaIlcI my
self ran titi welcome and do my
duty "mcu@ people Wiz will hg>r ia
"ccH>inn L. call mc ds.Td,,iiiitp. IlrHgli
I've nothing against Mrs. 'l"hl"ch. "i
tuhuS. uI ne children.
But what in the old thu.dcr"
roalch cut the g"ad"d aud mIdI"r"d
Tahl"rk. almost betrayed it;o mo-
family, 'What have YOU got against
mc?'
Il? Against >"u? oh, u"rhiug
Iou'Nc always U>rd ne well. Ere II,
charge tu bring"
''Wh" j. there hasn't used we'll
Come. ont with it,
II d"n't >a> there i> amy hod, e." rt-
piled Miss Simmcrtnn. with u toss
which implied that shc c"uld ,lN >"im,-
thing quitc /" the purpose. if She rnnsr.
ia ain't fnI M" tu bring accu>;;tinus
and make trouble. It's all can do I,
lock after nay OWE shortcomings. LET
alone Other peoples.
Miss $immcrtDn. | insist =" shouted
the Dcacou. ,iiidiug toward her. "Wh,
wi hat i this lhuut -
''Dom't insist upon me. lis nothing
HAY" any thing /" do with. said the
lady. carefully taking the littl" girls
NrHri~ aud hoods to put them away.
''Nou,d letter ask Mr. OGlnnthcl."
i'a"l"rk paused, surprised ard dis
concerted. Its th"t affair, is ii D.
And udh."thcr promised me, Every
trim- Was explained and settled salts
tl'tnlilN: ..ud NOW. il he hasn't been
blblir",'
''ifrt't SAY I say hc o. au5 body ha>
been h!ahhing: for don't" iutrlpn>cd
Miss Nimrncrtinu. II don't NEEDLE n"l
make III such matters. What little rN-
priirmcc i've had IN the world ha>
taught uc t" hold my tongue. whatr,-
cl ! may happen To know" Aud >h,
disappeared in the rlothc>-ro"in. WhitiI-
cI Mrs. Iahlurk had prrccd, her.
The Deacon hrSitatcd Il minute. qriv-
rliug il cNrrl nerve with excitement
Hnd irritation: then went ont tn the
stable and tound CohuS. He WIS calm
10y this time. nr At least fully determine
rd to hc 81.
$50. tuhu>. folks have been talking
have thry. while I've been away ;!
~ little" grinned Cobu>. hanging Il
piece of harness upon Il peg.
''Whn ," said Tahlock. You needn't
try to keep anything back. Who ha,
talked -
lit would bp hard to say who huin't.
replied Cobus Its in every hody'
mouth: its the town gossip. Folk
must have something to talk about
yuu know" he added. by way of coms".
lation.
The Deacon. remembering his rc>ulu
tiom to hc calm, chatrd and choked Z;
while. then asked "Wcll. just what l.
it they say. CohuS .
"Oh! Id'n' know" replied C"hu>
uneaSilv. Il didn't mind it much. l.