Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1876-02-23
VOL. 71.-3619. NO. 10.


more slowly than usual. left, as / had Of
ten done before the younger children 10 the
care Of Grace who, though but eight years
old, bad a mind far in advance Of her years,
and who was never more pleased than when
intrusted with some similar duty or respon-
sibility. / charged her not 70 take the baby
from the CRADLE but to rock him gently To
sleep II he wakened or, il he would not
sleep, to amuae him with his playthings un-
til our return.
II was a lovely day in the latter part Of
September copous showers Of rain had al
ternated with midsummer's suns, and the
freshness Of the verdurc was still undimmed
II was scarcely yet time for the sera and
yellow leaf" though the naples had hung
out their golden banners, as If to try the ef-
feet Of contrast with the living green Of the
other forest trees. The birds still sang
cheerily, as they iluttered 70 and fro in the
hcdgc-rows, and numerous little ground
squirrels skinned along the fence rails,
dropped suddenly and disappeared mys
teriously.
Old Whitley ambled along after his usual
monotonous fashion, and We soon reached
our destination had a number Of articles
10 purchase and examine. as well as the
merits Of new chum 10 discuss and just
as We had settled all TO our satisfaction,
neighbor, whom we had not seen for some
time, came IN, and that detained rs still
longer so that when we turned our horses
head homeWard ! saw, with some surprise,
as well as a slight feeling Of alarm, that the
sun had already set, and the soft gray Of twi-
I light was stealing up the valley. Our load
was q pretty heavy one, my husband having
| purchased several agricultural implements,
Of no great weight individually, but collec-
| lively making no small load for one horse;
so that. though we were necessarily anxious
30 get home we were obliged still 70 drive
moderately, particularly as the road was not
only hilly but rough
Chatting upon the various little items OF
gossip which we had heard, we drove on I'M
til we had nearly reached the top Of the hill,
when, turning TO make some remark to my
husband, | saw a change come over his face,
which struck me with q sudden terror lie
was pale as a corpse
Look !" he said, in voice hoarse with
emotion, pointing in the direction of our
home.
Nv heart gave a sudden bound then fell
like a lump Of lead in my bosom. a cloud
Of thick, dense smoke. distinctly defined
against the clear sky beyond, rose above the
trec-tops. | tried to speak, but could not
| utter word. At last | said, steadying my
| voice think it must be Nlorrison's. Isn't
| it to the left of our house p
No" he said, quickly, as he seized his
whip and urged old Whitley TO his utmost
speed. Don't You remember that when we
are at the top Of the hill the smoke from our
chimney rises lust over the center Of that
| little group of cedars 2"
Alas / did remember, and as he spoke we
reached the summit, aud saw enough to
| change our fears to certainty. Neither spoke,
{ but each turned and looked at the otherwith
| quiyering lips and dilating eyes. | was
| fairly beside myself, frantic with terror.
| felt as if must leap from the vehicle, and
| fly to their rescue.
| Old Whitley seemed to understand that
life or death depended upon his efforts and
he exerted himself nobly. On we flew, down
the hill, dashing through the little stony
/ brook that crossed the road, over the tum-
| ble-down bridge, whose rotten boards rat
tied and started up from their places, past
the hedgerows, that looked like one contin-
uous mass Of flying green past tho little
cottages, with the startled children staring
from the doors, thinking Of nothing, caring
for nothing, but to rescue our darlings.
buried my face in my hands, and rocked to
and fro IN my seat almost bereft Of reason,
as | thought of the scene which might be
awaiting us Imagination conjured up all
| the dreadful tales had heard or read, to add
to my horror. Once only raised my head,
and saw, or fancied | saw, slender tongues
OF flame cleaving the mass of smoke, which
had by this time increased fearfully in vol
ume and density.
At last, after what seemed an age, but was
in reality only few minutes, we reached
the bottom OF the lane which led to our cot
tage. The angle was sharp one, and We
turned with such speed as TO send the hind
wheels of the old phmton spinning high IN
| the air. How | got out / never knew. |
am sure did not wait for the horse TO stop.
/ Rushing to the door, | threw myself against
/ il with such force az to break it in. The
room was full of smoke but as the opening
| door dissipated it little, saw that it was
empty. Then, suiiocated by the smoke aud
overpowered by the excitement, | fell faint
! ing to the floor.
When Consciousness returned found my
| self in the house Of a neighbor, with the
children all about me, pretty well fright
cred, of course, but entirely nhurt. How
the fire originated was a mystery which we
never could unravel. Grace, sitting with
her back to the stove, and with her attention
entirely absorbed by the pictures in the fam
| lily Bible, did not see it until Rover, the
Newfoundland dog, who had been before
quietly doing by her side attracted her no
tice by his evident uneasiness, after which
he sprang through the window fortunately
taking the whole sash bodily with him, and,
running at full speed to the nearest house,
soon returned with some of its inmates.
Grace in the meantime, after letting down
the two elder children through the window,
which was only about four feet from the
ground, took the baby from the cradle, and
was preparing to follow, when the neighbors
arrived The house being old, and built
as such houses usually are-ot the most com
bustible materials, notwithstanding all ef-
forts, soon became blackened, smoking ruin.
One evening, about year afterwards, as
we sat in our new house, built on the site of
the old one, but more commodious and COM
Portable in every respect, remarked "that
the fire had benefited US in at least one way,
for unless the old house had been actually
consumed, we should never have had the
new one.
IL have felt the benefit of it in another
way" said my husband, grayely; "it has
taught me never 10 put oil doing anything
which should be done at once until a more
convenient season. If the harness had given
way on that day, where | mended 1t so
slightly before We started, though it would
not have interfered with the safety of the
children, it would have added tenfold to our
, anxiety, because il would have delayed our
reaching them, | made a VOW then that if
we were permitted to reach home without
accident, | would use my utmost endeavors
TO overcome the habit of procrastination, and
! think you will allow that have been pretty
successful, so that, In more than one respect,
we have reason to regard that as 'memor-
able ride"
A Coon SroRY.-The following anec-
lote is related Of Mr.. Sheaf grocer in
Portsmouth, n. H.; 1t appears that man
had purchased some wool of him, which had
, been weighed and paid for, and Mr., Shsaf
( had gone TO the desk 10 get change for a
J note. Happening to turn his head while
there. he saw in a glass which hung so as 70