St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1876-07-28

Nv "l|H hlllt oI Iht distance. Several
lakes lying IN the shadows cool and
deep. and many brooks da>hin" down lii
tIr ra\Inr> or under hcml"ck sheltered
hiIl>IdcN, give point and life to Il seen
cry a> soft and puIc as the atmosphere.
"i the Indian Summer.
over tins "lappl valley" the feet of
I"'hcn have never tr"d. Yet in this
troubled year of l111 there were few
nl"l" anxious PORTIONS of our country.
plunged IN di>c"uragcmcntS aS it all
Was, even I" the very ewes. We had
lost New York, Newport. Ticoud,ru"I.
and Philadelphia; had suffered wasting
defeats on Long Island and at Fort
a>hin@t"n: and been badly beaten at
brandy win, and at Germantown. To
offset these We're only the Victory of
rcnl"n and the partial success at
Prlnccton. The British controlled the
Lower Hudson and made destructive.
raids III Southern Connecticut. mark in"
their course 10y the ashes of umoifrnding
tow nS and the blood of the dctcuScleSS
ON the north the advance of Bur"oVnc
had been nearly unchecked. At the
west. III the State of New York. law the
VIGOROUSLY dISatfcctcd County of Ouch
c>>. Thus this part of Western Con
ncctIcut seemed to lie between three
fires. and unprotected as it WAS left hN
the absence of nearly cNcIN able bodied
man with the distant armies. il had
many and grave reasons tur apprchcu-
sion. especially in the not improbable
event of the defeat "t Gates. and
the consequent success of purpose.
Of >lr Henry Clinton and Burgoynr
I" gain the control OF the entire Ilud-
son River.
The drawn battle of Bchmu> Height,
nagmiticd at first into Il victory. rumur
had attcrward lc>>rnrd IN importance.
till. 10y contrast with the hyh hope
raised At first. it seemed t" hr iirtlr
better than II disastrous defeat. And
now. a> the old men aud boys. frequent
~ assisted 10y thr willing women. had
slowly and painfully gathered in their
fArNr>t>, there came II halling time he
tween >nmmcI and Winter Il time of
weary. trrmul"u> Waiting: of lnn"u.
and dlcldiug. h"pln" and tearing. oi
pray In% and looking Ton news from
GItc> ARMY.
Il Thought. Bct>cN. said her uncle
~ they came toI tuIu IN the road which
revealed the still distant >rcrplc of lh.
Sharon ''mcrtiug house" that i. NnuI
AUNT Miriam and me both Thought You
wouldn't hr none the wuI>,. oil ton
lraNin' Tory Hill Ton Il spell (N"u know
that's " hat folks calls il now. But
tell N"u II goes again the grain with me
t" think Z" my fathers son hciu' Il To-
IN.) To leave there. SAY. and come
down 1" Town Street and STAY awhile
al"n" with u>. We. ku"n in how
N"u feel about Joe an about urI rights
an all, Thought may hr you'd jest : li'N
l." here N"u could hear >"mrthiu' al
the >"It l"u liked. Eh -
/ he @iIl smiled up int" the kindly
gray eyes that met hci'> hN reason "t
their owners nearly twisting himself
"ti of the seat of his saddle Ia look he
hind him.
''lc>. indeed, l'uclc." She said "lt
it Wasn't for luu and Aunt Miriam. |
don't know how could stand il. l"u
hrNn'i heard any news. hey Nou. | 'uclcr"
NO. my gIl No. not yet. par>"u
| SAYS there must hr Il battle fore long ::
an then We must hear. one WAY nr
t'uthrI. NaN God the God of ri.hlcnu>-
ness and of battles. grant Us the Nirt"-
. ~ And. lcaNiu" he horse L" pick
his WAY uuaidcd. the old man cla>pcd
his hands and closed his upliitrd eyes
~ he proceeded. "lca, We look unit"
the hills whence c"mrtll "ur help. II
thou. . Lord art for u>. who >hHll he lie.
that shall stand against u> We are
hut Il feeble folk but thou tr.ich,>I
nur hands to war and our fingers /"
/ light
He would. douhtlc>>. have continued
/ tins strain tor some time lnuTcI. hut iul
/ ti" interruption nt Il hnI >cmam "allnp-
in" in them rear. and Il sudden ''lIclI"'"
! which caused the Dclc"n'> horse /"
/ >NrrNc aud his rider l." gather up the
/ birdie IrIu> hastily.
"IlrIlo. Deacon BIadlcN :" shouted u
! lad "i about fourteen lcaI~. mounted
nn Il h"I>r. covered with sweat and
foam. "IIcll", Comm up with l"u.
Ill. has saved me from lidIu clear dow u
tu sharon. | Nr been sent down from
! Salisbury ia tell l"uI folks that the.
/ W"Id l. that the tnutimcutal> l. lll
beat ia pieces. and the British i -
maIchiu' down ON Us from the north.
/ I've ""i tn ." IN Ellsworth East street
tu tell 'rm there.
As the boy WAS speaking. the bright
c"l"r t"r>n"k Hrt>cl'> check and hrI
lips moved in silent prayer: iut she
gave no other token nt emotion.
''lIuld on, cried the Deacon Ia thc
excited boy. "lI"ld on How did We
get Nrr new
"McS>cn"cr brought it express from
lIalttnrd to Pal>on Lee: an he sent
me down tn tell Par~on Smith. Had Il
biz battle, he said, and ever 81 man!
pri~'ncr> was took.
.'Oh !, thou God of grace" said the
Deacon a> lIr urged on his horse. ''Oh
can this hc true ! cannot. will not
believe it Vet. Thy Spirit wilmcs>rth
with my spirit that il is not true.
"I'nclc." said Bct>cN. her voice shak
inc slightly. iii this is tue. is there
nothing that can hc done ,"
Il don't know. my dear. don't
know. hope 50. If there is anythin'
Capt'n Williams II know. He WAS all
through the French an lmium war. an he
AN Par>on II liN it out, ii there's amy fix
tn il. The worst ont is there aint no
ammunition. >kcr>lN. The boys mostly
took it all when they went. We've got
some powder left. but there amt II"
bullets. an most every ole pewter plat
rcr'> ben melted up inter 'cm already
GurSS we'll hey tn send upa committee
an cit Yer fathers an Uncle Jakc'>.
THEY'VE got Il lot. Might help along
con>iTahlc An then thcrc'd hc tia"
satisfaction of maxim their dishes fight,
if they won't.
In the gray of the evening the riders
drew up in front of the parsonage.
there, to deliver PaISon Lees message,
before proceeding further. In the path
IL L ...l
the open door. but his face in shadow.
| ...,,,.. tL.. p.pSnu hII,h,.HIeI to I,.:Il