St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1876-08-18
Murray at Dinner.



THE Rev. Mr.. Murray to the Golden Rule
Here | am ut the halfway house, he
tween Reeseville and Martins. on Lake
Saranac, waiting for dinner. YOu can
imagine my feelings, for am all emp
tlneSS, and don't know what has become
of myself. Indeed, feel as if am on
ly the case in which once WAS. but am
no more,-l myself having slipped ont
Ike turtle from his shell, and been
left along the road in little bits at n
time for the last fifteen or twenty miles.
| am actually hollow. ! am like tin
canister with nothing in it, or a pepper
box from which the pepper has all been
suited. Outwardly look Just as did
after breakfast ut the Van Ness House,
IN Burlington. at Il o'clock this morn
ing; but mwardly am not the same.
| know that | should look as feel. but
| can't. If did-Dinner Hurrah
It's done. | have eaten. am full
| feel natural-like again. | am actual
! ly heavier on my legs, perceptibly so.
than was twenty minutes ago. | can
turn round and keep my balance like Il
top that isn't all point and shank.
can put my hands on either side of my
body and press myself without fear that
they will meet liz the middle of me.
What Il glorious thing corporosity is I,
| understand now what Hamlet had in
mind when he said to his fathers shade,
''P"or Ghost. He pitied it because il
hadn't any body. 1t was thin. unSmh-
>tantial, hollow. us Il man who has rid
den i'll Il stage coach twenty miles over
Il plank road before dinner. know
how Il ghost feels when he is floating
about, light is Il feather. and feel the
| fine discrimination shown in IIamlrt'S
remark.
But how glorious Is mans estate after
| he has eaten good dinner, What solid
dignity he has attained what IL salts
factory sense of SuhstantialneSS is his
how the blessed feeling of tulneS> adds
tn his Selt-reSpect and with what an
unrti"n> c"mplacency he can regard his
fellow men. \ full stomach is the very
mother of sweetest charity.
But the dinner let me tell Won about
that; for there Is Il gItat difference in
dinners. Some are thin. others are fat
Some are only tormcnting suggestions
of what Il meal should he. while nthrIS
are real. solid. satisfactory. Now. this
dinner WAS Il dinner that is Il dinner
Ii Was not Il prophetic affair but an
actual realization Il fruition of the ip-
petite "A heaven tn the stomach. The
bell rung, not with IL little. thin dNS-
pcptic tintillation. but with il hearty.
tull-t"ned sound, as if it appreciated
ynnr hunger and was gladly conscious of
the btntVolencc of lis summons. 1t was
not Il mere ring. 1t had language in
ITS call and said Come on and eat
your fill , come on and eat Nnur ill :"
III Il deep, jnVial tone. that made Won
feel that the house WAS full of food from
cellar To attic. such Il summons al
ways starts me. To me il sounds like
the voice of duty. which admits of no
refusal. | WAS at the table in an in
stant
slid int" my chair a> an otter slides
into Il creek. The serving girl was at
my elbow in Il wink. She said. Roast.
beef roast mutton ham-and- eggS-and-
trout :" looked at her with my face
all heaming. and said. lies" She star
ed at me. hramcd again and she
vanished toward the kitchen with a
strange look on her face But she un-
der>tood. that gll did. She felt the
emphasis of my expression. and began
I" bring on the food. The roast beef
was good, the roast mutton better. the
ham and eggs simply delicious The
trout looked Il little suspicious they
seemed rather thin and old. as il they
had been kept Il long time for company
like Mr.. Tilden'> reform principles but
took them i'll the trout mean. Then
she said: Coffee or tea ," said both"
Tw" cups were brought full OF some
thing. The color of the liquids WAS
identical. tasted one. 1t didn't taste
like coffee. tasted the other. 1t
didn't taste like tea or coffee either. i
did not like t" show my ignorance. but
| was compelled to do il. was for
once fairly cornered. and said looking
her mildly in the face .'MV dear gill,
can you tell me which i the tea and
which is the coffee ?' She looked at the
two cups. She lifted one to her nose
and Smclt of it. Then she lifted the,
other and smelt nt that. Then she lift
ed both and Inspected them critically.
Then she put them both down on the
table and started to call her mother.
She was evidently puzzled. She had
probably never had such Il question
pIopoundrd to her before. | felt as
looked at her that it was IL question be
N"nd her Years. | said "Nrver mind,
don't feel badly over 1t. When Won
gel older you will know more. orpeIhaps
H"u can have the cups marked. SO there
can he no mistake" She smiled Il
smile that began at the corner of her
mouth, crept round the curve of her
lips. clumb up Il stairway of laughing
lines into her eyes and finally broke in
light all over her face. She was happy
al,