The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1874-03-05

Oar cottage was ,,ipHed iu ihe IijIg
valley hing 60 abe 8aulb-wea of wha1
was az tha, time thc village ot tauay, iH
Csuada. 4 hin Of considerable hrighl
stood between us sud lte village, au gar
side yerdurce0vnad euutts dsiHE
slope, ou rbe other more abrup descent
with rather c,naions road Winding
past little cottage, aad arm-b3usys at
more OF less prcteuslan,
Om present rrfaud Was tu iba shop. 60
which we carried our produce Us .J ae.
eumualcd irom tjmc lo lme, and reeslT.
ed Ia exchange grueafir-. ebolhes s.
Onr load consisted Do pat eta baEbot 81
eggs; consequently Wr were obliged la
drive rather more sloa ~ thm usu# {
lett, ns / h4d often doae before, tile
Younger children 20 the uafe of Trace,
who, though bot sight years Feaf. al3,
had mind tat va advance ol ber }rus,
aud who va, never more pleased ihsH
when entrusted with rame similar dHEf
or responsibility. charged hcrpul Go
take the bal,s irom lLerradir, hui to lueb
him gently 70 sleep it beg wabaued, ug, ii
he would NOT sleep, b. anHse hlm with
his playhiug. until oar return.
It was lovely dag Ia 'he latter part
ui seplembcr, c5pious showers ot uiu
bad altered with nith m,dsummer's saus
aud the ircshucs- OF The yerduro was still
uudunmed. II was scarcely yea time tpr
for the 'serc aud yellow leaf though the
maples had huug out their Golden barr
ucrs, as If to try the effect Of contrast
with living green OF the other forest trees,
The birds still sang chee,iIy as they ilut-
tered to aud fro ia tho nedgerows; and
numerous little ground squirrels skimmed
along the fcnee.ruils, dropped suddenly
and disappeared mystenously.
Old Whitney ambled along after bis
usual monotonous fashion; aud we soos
reached our destination. had number
OF articles 10 purchase and examine, os
well as the merits Of q new churn TO dis
cuss and, just as we had settled all to
our satisfaction, a ueighbor whom we bad
not seen for some time came In, which
detained us stll longer, so that when We
turned our horses head homeward,l i saw
with some surprise, as well rs a slight
feeling of alarm, that the sun had already
set, aud the soft gray Of twilight was
stealing up the valley, Oar load was q
pretty heavy one, my husband having
purchased several agriculturali mplimenls
Of no great weight individually, bat col
lecliyely making no small load for one
horse SO that though we were ncccssari'
ly anxious to get homo, we were obliged
still to drive moderately, patticaIarly as
the road was not only hiily, but very
rough
Chatting upon the various little items
OF gossip which we had heard, wc drove
on until we had nearly reached the top
of the hill, when, turning to make some
remark to my husband, | saw q change
come over his face, which struck me with
sudden terror. He was as pale as a
corpse.
Look he said, ia Il voice hoarse wth
emotion, pointing in the direction OF our
home,
My heart gave sudden bound, then
fell like a lump Of lead in my bosom. \
cloud Of thick, dense smoke, distinctly
defined against the clear sky tey0ud,r rose
above the tree,tops. ! tried 10 speak bul
could not utter a word. ~ last ]
said, steadying my voice, think il most
be Morrisous. Isn't it TO the lcit Of our
house?
No! he said, quickly, ii, he seized bis
whip, aud urged old Whitney TO his ut
most speed Don't You remember that
when we are at the top Of the hii fbe
smoke from oar chimney r,se, just over
the centre Of that little group Of eednrs;
Alas. ! yemem mber; aud as he spoke,
we reached the summit, aud saw enough
to change oar fear, to certainty. Meth
at spoke; but each turned and looked at
the other with qujyering lip. and d.ialiue
eyes.
My hcaycn.l ana had locked lAem
in' Wa, fairly be.ido myself, tmulio
with terror. felt as If must leap from
the vehicle, and fly to ibeif rescue
Old Whitney seemed to uuder.taud
that life or death depended npsn bis a.
forts, and he ezercd himself uobl}. On
we flew, down the bin, dasbiDg through
the stony lttIe br5ok that crossed lbe
road, over the lumble-dowu bridge
whose rotten boards ratified and started
up from their place-, past the hedge.rows
"a looked iiEt one continuous mass oi
flying green; past t5e iinIc eollagrs. .wirh
tbh startled children staring from lhr
doors, thinking Of nothing, caring for
nothing bat 10 re-cHe oar darjng. J.
buried my i4ce iu m} hands. aud rocked
10 and lrD iu my ssal alWysf bagsagua ~
reason, "a. ! thBIghi ~ fHe saaua which
might be awaiting u-. Imagination eeu-
jurei up aIl laa dreadful iales had heagd
of read, rp aad 300 u5s tafgaf Oaao only
rti-gd m. hetd. aal eaa, ID, ancied +
-aw, Slender ,"aane- uf hHas a.raFug
the ma. ST .m56r which bad by tai-
,jne increased faaally in go.mme sod
density.
~ last after What seemed an asa. bat
lt4 f.tFst, atsf.. l.,s. ,,.f..4ta t4.. t.s I.,t
.t.a bottom Of fire aue witaa .el 10 a4r
eotaze ihe angie was .a5p ore aaE
~ turned 1gifb .uai sased s- go ssud ...-
aitfd ab,e.. ~ tHe Oil p.waa splmHg
high H,lne air. Hos a9 out Hesar
kHsw I SIS suse / 3lI isgt wa.f lsf fHe