St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-03-23

o me, 1t seems utterly cOntemptible.'
"'No; it is not she answered fimrly !;
society has made rules, and they are
useful, and we must abide by them. /
will take Dorothy back, if you please !;
and l am sure You understand'-h
voice faltered-'how much like, and
have always liked, her to be here. You
are second father to her.
"'YOu won't tell her?'
$50 no; there is no occasion. 1t is
simply true that am very much in
want of her help at home.'
"Then | reproached myself for hav-
ing been selfish in keeping her so long :;
and when she came in, radiant and
affectionate, | felt that a sort of void
was made in my life, which l knew not
how to fill. l drove slowly back, after
leaving them at Furzeham, and stop
ped to give an order at the saddler's
While l was there, these words caught
my ear: 'Will she take the old one or
the young one, think YEP
81 could not see the speaker; | did
not know the voice, but, at the moment,
the words seemed to have an unpleas-
ant significance, though probably they
had no reference to me-"
"Things do occur very Oddly" inter-
pOlated Jack. "They might have al
luded to something quite different
Circumstances seem sometimes to be
tinged by what is uppermost in the
mind. The man might have been talk
ing of horses or cows that he had to
sell. Had you any notion that your
son admired Miss Dalton ?"
"NOne whatever. He was at that
time very backward socially-devoted
to hard reading, and if he spoke of
women at all, it was to depreciate them
intellectually. Ishould have been hard
on him for it, but that he could not re-
member his mother and Anna, though
a dear creature, is not clever
"She is none the worse for that, in
my opinion" interrupted Jack. "As Il
rule, clever women do not add to home
happiness, which is the chief end for
which they are sent into this wOrld.n
1t was useless to answer this, though
it irritated me he had always taken a
low tone, or he could not have married
the insipid little woman whose twaddle
was quite up to the mark.
"But go on, James," he continued !;
81 want to get at the postage stamps.
| think, by the way, that Mrs. Dalton
was right to take her daughter home.
Unless people hereabouts are simpler
or more good natured than they are
elsewhere, they would infallibly say
that her parents were trying to catch
you or your son for her."
WINGED again, and said: "You may
be right but as have never troubled
myself about gOssip--possibly because
| had never been affected by it-I
thought it very hard at the time
There was |, deprived of the harmless,
fitting of girl about my quiet house
and she was removed from surroundings
that suited her, to very meagre
home"-
"Where she must have been very
much wanted by her MOTHER" inter
rupted Jack. 1.-The fact is, James, that
suspect you were, quite uncOnsciOusly
in love with the young lady"
"No !" replied |, s!outly /; ''Of that
am quite certain but | admit that af-
ter had thought over the matter some
weeks, asked myself why | should not
marry her, if her parents would give
her to me willingly, and if she thought
she could be happy with me. That, in
way, she loved me, l was as sure as
that l loved her-nOt with lovers
love-that was as impossible for me as
secOnd-sight, but with atfectionate APP
probation, cordial admiration, genuine
pleasure in her society. l could take
her from poverty to affiuence, and
when died, leave her Independent.
"What prospect has a poor parsons
daughter? He can leave her nothing
If, by some painful process, he contrive,
to educate her-what life is before
her! l declare l think girl had bet.
ter marry any kind, good man VIII,
loves her, than teach, teach, teach
conflict with the old Adam in children
day after day, year after year; having
no freedom of action, no home the while
till she is too old for it and, after help
ing her family, has perhaps saved wha
gives her twenty or thirty pounds pc
annum, on which to languish and die
Dorothy, moreover, could only be fl
for very inferior situation she hat
bright parts, but no systematic train
ing. What was to become of her, he
mother, and sisters, when Dalton died
She might-with her attractions, sh,
probably would, come across more thar
one man who would be fond of her, bu
could not marry without money. o
what use would that be d? After dis
cussing the matter with myself month
/ wrote her Il letter, of which | remem
Der every wOrd-ay, even the position
of the sentences. l told her that
though not with a young mans love
not with the sacred love | had give
my wife, loved her; that l would re
joice i'll her presence, would shield he
as far as / could from the ills of life
till my death, and after it, would ad
vance her brothers and sisters inter
ests, make her mothers life easier.
told her to take her own time to con
slider, and to consult her parents.
wrote late one night, and next mornin
the letter seemed to me too impOrtan
for my own post-bag. was not afrai
that the servants or pOst-Office peOpl
would think it odd that I wrote to hel
for had often done that; but l resolv
ed to take the letter myself, and post
at Crossford. The postmaster ther
had married a parishiOner of mine
she would be glad to see me the wal
was a pleasant one, and | was in
frame of mind which demanded quic
motion. 1 stepped out cheerily, tina
bright September morning, wondering
among other wonderings, whether DOI
othy and l should ever walk that wa
as man and wife,
"Now," interrupted Jack, 81 suppos
we are coming to the pOstage-stamps
eve are" said l, "but we must com
at them my own way. The postoffic
at Crossford was a grocer's shop. Th
!, mistress, my friend, Mrs, Sims, was, q
| expected, pleased with my visit.
q" iSuch a pleasure, to be sure, 81