The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1880-03-05
got hold Of i $50 farm is in good

acts OF self-denial NJ had cost her. III
never could know IL and therein lies tn
pathos OF many a~SGrifce.
The next morning Mrs. Graham wa
up betimes and busy with her household
cares, but her heart had lost it's lightness
and as she stood under the locust tree
which shaded the back door churning
1t seemed too, as ilNmuch of the bright
ness had gone outlof her life. Golden
dahdellons nestledin the grass that car.
peted the yard likastray strips of sun
shine; they were stu bright with the
dewey freshness Of early morning. To
the right there wasta low meadow land
the silver thread tl&tt traversed it showed
where brook nluenured along, its tiny
waves sparkling in lie sunlight. To the
left were fields Of Tain with ripened
heads bowf |i1Sup waiting for the sickle.
The air wasO(1 g nsppy sounds; the
t1nkle OF distant, cen. bells, the voice Of
domestic foWseg tie, song of wild
61s1sb.dgsta sirasj a% ksapPointmen5
She could think Of nothing but the
great barn-like' Louse painted glaring
red, with its arssshutterless windows,
like lidless eyes, staring out upon the
dusty highway. Inside it was equally as
barren of grace or beauty the walls
we're dingy and unadorned by pictures
of any kind the furniture was guiltless
of paint or varnish with no works of
literature worthy of mention beside the
weekly paper, thelbible and an almanac.
In this atmosphere she must live; here
she must henceforth work on, while
mind and soul starved here, too, she
must rear her~efilaren, to see worth and
beauty in nothing that cannot be repre-
| h, What wonder fhan if
her thoughts and eyes wandered over
the fields of waving grain. to where
stately stone house stood on an eminence. |
She knew that there was beauty there,
breezes stole into large, airy rooms,
through lace curtains there were rich
carpets and costly furniture, and libra
ry that was almost an intellectual feast
to look at outside there were pleasant
walks and drives, and flower garden
filled with the Fa7rse' floral treasures;
and then she si-hed softly as she thought
to herself-bnt love would not have been
there, and life would have been of very
! little worth without that.
Jennie Jennie Oh, here you re-
and Mr.. Graham anne out through the
back kitchen dor and seated himself
upon the edge u a huge log that had
been hewed out and did duty for caves
drop and cistern. II was not unusual for {
him to seek her he always did when he 1
came in and found her not in the house. t
1t was not bad habit in the man. His :
very life seemed bound up in her; and '
although he-had the reputation among i
his neighbds of being close in his busi :
meas Transactions, he was kind-hearted +
and generous, too, in his way. This t
morning be had something of importance Il
to communicate. d
| didntte you last evening, he said e
that had already had some talk with 4
Southwell about that land. He wouldn't n
listen to a cent under $4,000 then, and | b
wouldn't offer more than 81 300. He II
came over to see ne this morning, and Ii
offered to split the difference. Amt that r.
a bargain, though? 4 little better than
spending money for paint or paper Jen- "
ME! On, rising to 60, came neaf for h
getting to tell yoi. Powers is here. He
wants to hire N during harvest. | have h
hands enouFl. T. y. ! Gppposee the more b
help t1a aass ssttss lsht 3 ns M1rE ct along don
',is foiEs sAsss You @ night n s| 81 i i
out bit forhiNn to eat. Try and have d
the lunch readH for half-past nine; you tt
can blow the n1rn, and | will send one h
Of the men down for it.
Poor Jennie It was like the last straw
hat broke the camel's back. She strug- A
sled hard, but the tears would come. If
Mr.. Graham turned back and came in "a
'tantly to her side when he saw that he
was in trouble. n
"What is the matter, dear?' he asked i,
while his large kind
land glided down her hair with soft, b
touch. IF you are not feeling el
y ell, | will slip down and get Miranda IL
Powers to come out and help you. b
guess I'd better anyway, hadn't W
Mrs. Graham mastered her emotion n
with an effort. cl
"Oh, no." size said. There isn't any Sc
thing" s.
Mr.. Graham hesitated he was not sat tc
isfied with this explanation. Il
"There!" she said. Now do go along 90
to your work, or shall be foolish enough IL
to cry again and indeed, she looked fr
very much as if she might.
Hiram Graham had faint idea as to IL
what the matter was, and was very will lc
mo TO do as she bade him. He felt con- tc
siderably annoyed that his wife could d
not see the advantage of the proposed
purchase that would SO materially add to o.
their mutual property. Ar then ne be- n
yan to wonder what she was thinking so
silently about while she stood looking
off toward the distant hill. a little
iealousy crept in with the thought. The
owner of that fine mansion had once been u
a formidable rival of his. There could II
have been no reason for her choice but re
the one she SO shyly confessed to him IN IL
the soft twilight of a summer evening h
ten wears ago. How proud and happy :,
he had felt, He vowed she would never y
want for ANYTHING which he could pro- b
cure. But he had changed since. de W
had but little to commence with. Ihey il
had to practice such rigid economy, and :,
to watch every dollar SO closely, to be y
able to meet the payments on the farm, II
that he had learned to love money, not :, u
so much for the good it could purchase v
as for his own sake. q
When he came to dinner, followed oy = =
his troop of hands, he could not help .
noticing how flushed and tired she look :
ed. tut She was as cheerful as ever. The y
morning cloud passed; and with the =
sweet spirit OF self-sacrifice that charac- ,
terized her. she had buried her dead -
hopes and I}.en up the burden OF life - :,
again as bSst SneVc6uId. =
Hiram Graham was not ignorant OF +
This sacrifice and il ,ouched him keenly; u
the thought of it troubled him during n
the afternoon. He even forgot to esti- y
mate what the probable yield per acre 4
would be as the heavy sheaves were y,
showed off the resr platform and lay so "
near together on the shorn ground. lie 4
could not deny that his wife had worked Il
as hard as he during the years past, and a
the economy that he had practiced had y
been mostly in her domain. He began r,
to wish that he had treated her wishes y
IN ore respectfully at least. But then he
could not help looking over TO where n
that forty acres lay. What a choice piece 4,
of land ii was How long he had wanted a
it, And now, when it was almost within n
his rrasn, must lie let it go? And even n
were he 10 yield to Jennie's wishes now, h
would not she know that he had done o,
so reluctantly and against his better e
Judgment? And during the afternoon he T
thought the matter over and over. il
"Powers," be called out, as that indi- C
vidual was leaving the field at night, I'll p
tbe folks at home can spare Miranda. let 4
her come up in the morning and help :,
my wife" "
aAIl right, she will be glad to come o
was the answer. n
Harvest was over, and Mrs, Graham b
spoke Of dischsrging the girl. You had h
better keep her to help you, advised her b
husband. II
.'No," said Mrs Graham when there 7
=