Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-12-17

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other peoples prejudices; and secondly, be-
cause l think she is so entirely wrong, and |
will try to convince her of it, though | shall
probably be unsuccessful, for We have all
heard that aalL rl
-'A man convinced against his will,
Is Of his own opinion STILL" pa
and it may be even harder to convince a
woman than man. 30 +.a.t %
think from child have always been
free-hearted. l do not speak this boastfully
have no often been rebuked by my friends
for this trait that | almost fear it is nat
ural weakness that ought to guard against
oftener than do often receive presents
from friends, aud know just to what limit
receiving gives me pleasure,-it is Just so
far as it lies in my power Of making an
adequate return; and beyond that il becomes
q burden grievous TO be borne aud it even
vexss me that the giver should so hay me
under heavy obligation.
Bot the pleasure Of giving has no such
limit. o, if only had plenty of money,
how many beautiful presents would make
the coming Christmas! How many little
folks should dance for joy But such talk
as this proves nothing.
Sister Fanny seems 10 think it bad taste
Tor ministers to repeat at the close of their
donations, speaking to their parishioners, the
text, at is more blessed to give than to
receive" implying that their parishioners
had the best of it. On the contrary, il has
always seemed astonishing to me that a
high-spirited clergyman can so patiently
enact the role Of beggar 10 velvet gown
while his donations are being brought in.
What an amount Of grace it must take to
enable him to swallow the great Jumps Of
mortified pride and selt-respect that rise in
his throat, and at the very time when the
knightly old Adam is impeling him to get
up and kick the whole mass of trash into the
street, that he is able to rise calmly and
benignantly to thank them for their kind
ness, only using the words Of the above
named text as a gentle hint that their posi-
tion is more comfortable than his own, is
indeed wonderful convincing proof to me
that clergymen as class are a set of regen.
crate and sanctifed men. And now as
Sister Fanny has INDUCED in some of her
own experience in support of her theory,
will do so, too. "a.
Once upon a time, 10 the far southwest, a
family Of emigrants, coming from Nebraska,
obtained permission TO sojourn for short
time in a hove located on our premises.
They were very poor and destitute. Besides
the father, mother and six children, there
was an old lady, the mother Of the man s
wife and not one of the family, except the
man himself, had either shoes or stockings
The neighbors were indignant that we had
given them shelter, fearing they might be
thieves, aud said if they came to want on
our premises we should be responsible for
them; but my husband had promised them
a shelter and we could not drive them away.
While the man worked on the road, they
made pretonce of running in debt for their
necessities. Milk and butter, coffee and
eggs, salt and sugar, bacon and molasses,
peaches and garden vegetables were contin.
ually called for. Meanwhile never refused
them anything, and cannot say that at that
time ! realized any great delight in giving.
At the end Of two Of three weeks the man
was thrown out Of employment, and was
shortly after taken with terrible abscess on
bis shoulder, which prevented his doing any.
thing in the way Of labor for three weeks
At about the same time his wife was taken
sick with fever, and, as my husband was
absent at the time, the whole subsistence Of
the family depended entirely upon myself
1t was no use to ask the neighbors'for assist.
Anee. Though the best Of neighbors, aud al
other times kind and considerate, they would
do nothing for the strangers In the state
where we were then living, there Is no town.
ship provision for paupers. and il was utterly
impossible to think OF sending them of L
the county poor-houss. Every.mea that
cooked for my own family made provision
also, for the family over in the Geld and
twice every day l went over to do what
could for them, and nurse the babe, that wa
my own darling's age,
After all, it is not great affair to pro
vide for an extra family when you have
made up your mind that you must do it
although It seemed quite appalling to me, a
first 50 carried my proteges safely through
this dark passage in their histOry-Ohly one
of many, | presume, for it must be admitted