St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1875-04-16
Lost Benny.
\ WORD FOR CROWS.

lhe gun dropped from my shoulder
and angrily turned towards the i'll
trudcr who mad So startled me us wei
;s Spoiled my shot.
''Dun't shoot the crows - r,.pIied |
why not, pray They're dcstructiv,
fellows: the! pull up the corn and Kill
the Young grouse, hesidcS making sucl
an internal noise that one can scalceI,
think.
well, sir. I'd rather you wouldn't
shoot them on my farm"
The speaker was Il gentleman SAW
that at Il glance. He appeared to be
between toltN-live and fifty Years OF
age. although his dark gray hair and
beard gave Il somewhat older expires
sion to his face. which bore all the
marks That some arcat soIrow had left
for II WAS iuIroWcd deeply.
Regarding him attrntivclN Tor Il mo
ment. | said =
Il supposed every farmer WAS glad
1" have such troublesome ncighborS
made way with especially at Ibis time
of the year. just as the Young corn i
beginning to send forth its shoots"
"lHc crows are Welcomc sir, TO all
the corn they want on my farm I've
>.
and should l." very >orrN To thiuk that
one had been killed during that time ''
Its Il very singular fancy lum seem
To have for cInN> : there must bc some
Reason tnr il. cen ainll never heard
of such Il thing hct"rc.'
"Ihrlr Is It re:lSun." said the gentle
man. examining my face closely. as he
paused i"r Il moment; then. as if salts
tied with the scrutiny. he resumed.
land if You care to hear it. aud Mil
walk over t" the hou>c and take Il cup
of TEA with u>, I'll tell lou the STORY =
adding. ap"l"gcticalil. Eve s"mrtilne>
get rather lonesome ont here on the
prairic>. aud are glad To see Il gentle
mans face.
As the invitation had been protierc,l
III the spirit of genuine Western ho>pi-
tality. | accepted it as frankly us it had
been given, and. climbing over the
fence that had up to this time. separated
us. started To accompany the farmer
The conversation had taken place III
Il ewly-planted c"rn-tield. y short
walk brought us tn the house. which
proved To hr Il comfortable cottage.
r"manticall} situated upon the banks oi
Il miniature lake. As we were walking
towards it. | handed my companion my
card which he received with a bow. in
forming me that his name WIS MilImuIe
and that hr was pleased /" greet me.
As We approached the house, | could
but note the neat and comfortable ap-
appearance of the buildings. as we'll ;I>
the good Judgment which had been dis
played III their location. and the admir-
able taste Shown III the gcneral plau oI
h.,lf =, h.,t
cupicd i, portion of the Lawn bctwrcI
the h"ust. and the beautiful little lake
But. if surprised 10y the order aud neat
. ness evcryN here visible upon the out
side. WAS no longer So when wa:
presented to the presiding genius. the
mistress of the establishment : for
T. Was hardly prepared to find i'll ii West
rrn farm house 81 much refinement anc
exquisite taste ;IS WcIr displayed III til,
toHt ensemble of their charming home.
The lady herself was about forty
Years of age : not beautiful. but inter
-, r>tlng. Il Counoi>>rur of female beauty
would have decided. " ith il face. stil
fresh and fair. though. like her hus
bands. il wor. an cXpre>sion, that :,
far excited my curiosity that. at til,
inst glance, | became painfully con
of this couple that had evidently :,
+. heroically rclinquiShed the luXuries an,
; rrtlnemcnts of the East tor the har,
and lahoriouS duties of Il frontier life
Mis-. MilImore badr me welcome to he
iircSidc with an ease and grace tha
only served to confirm my impression
of her eduratinn and culture.
After an exquisite supper, daintIl,
l.. IL.
:, library, remarking that might maxi
myself comfortable, for | must remain
his guest for the night, at the sam,
time wheeling one of the large Turkisl
ii easy chairs before the blazing hickor,
fire. He then produced Il couple q
fragrant Havanas, and, lighting one,
prepared myself to hear the cause u
nv hosts singular desire to protec
those ill-oluened birds, the crows.
y, 1t is that story, told as nearly as
can recall it after all these years, in hi
own words. that propose to relate t
you.
IT, Il was born in Oneida county, Nev
., York, and was intended 10y my tathe
for Il lawyer but. after delving IL yea
in the office of an eminent rraclitioue
of that county. | became diSsatiStic,
renouHced the idea OF acquiring pro
fcssiou. and went To the city of Ne,
York. where | entered il mercantil
~ house, one of the wcalthiest firms i
the importing line in that city. Bu
y promotion in the counting room come
slow; particularly So when one has bu
q little capital to advance his interests.
While i'll the employ of this house,
=, met for the first time IL niece of one ,
II l.i of 10