St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-11-11

/ ''It was last weeks paper" said Mr..
Dean calmly. ave had both of us
read it, so Just took it to kindle the
fire.
"YOu burned it up 7"
"Yes," said Mr.. Dean 81 burned il
up. Why shouldn't 7"
For half an hour, Mrs. Dean sat 81
lent and never spoke word. And her
first utterance was:
'It's the Lords judgment upon me "
| Mrs. Dean was a resOlute woman,
full of character. She went to her
table drawer, took out sheet of paper,
and wrote to Doctor Bridgman, inclOs-
ing a dollar toward lame Dick BOdley's
cart and horse. She sent another dol
lar to Mrs. Graham for the poor little
O'Haras, and promised to donate "a bar
rel of russets, a bushel of potatoes, and
some of her husbands cast-Of' clothes
to cut over for the children. And she
sent for Helen Hurst to come and see
her.
~ can't lend you ten dollars, my
DEAR" said she, ''because haven't got
it. But I'll tell you what | tuiH do.
I'll let you make your home here as
long as you please. There's a nice
spare room, and it's an eighth of a mile
nearer than Mrs. Swipes' to the district
school.
'Oh, how very, very good you are y
said Helen, with her eyes swimming
with grateful tears.
"GOod !" cried Mrs. Dean. ''I'm Just
beginning to see what selfish, greedy
creature I've been all my life. But
you're welcome, my dear, and your
board shall not cost you a cent"
She opened her parlor, shook out the
curtains, and built a fire in the air
tight woOd-stOve.
''Dean likes the parlOr," said she
because it has such nice south windows
and | don't see why we shouldn't en-
joy it,"
She baked fresh batch of ginger
bread, and sent loaf to old Mrs
Nudge; she took out basket of hick-
Ory nuts for poor little Harry Jones
who was trying to crack dried-up pig
nuts on the stone by the road side she
rerewed her subscription to the churcl
charities.
~ can't be very LIBERAL" she said
but | am determined to do what | can
''That's right, my dear - that's
right !" said her husband. ave shall
be prosperous, never fear. Pm awful
ly sorry about burning up your fifty
dollar bill; but, if it's going to open
your heart like this, it's the best thing
that could have happened to u.s."
Mrs. Dean was sweeping out the
kitchen. She looked around with a
smile as she moved the wideleavet
table which always stood under the
wall-pocket, and took down the pocket
itself, rude structure of splints, lined
with red cambria, and tied with cord,
and tassels of red wOrsted, to dust i
out.
"Yes," she said, 81 am afraid | ,ca
getting to be a little miserly and
Why, what's this 2"
Mr.. Dean stopped and picked up {
slip of crumpled dark-green paper
which had fallen out from the wall
pocket as his wife turned it upsid,
down and tapped her finger against i
to remove all possible dust.
''It's the fifty-dollar bin ?" said he
with mouth and eyes opening in uni
son. SIT must have slipped down from
the folds of the newspaper, and lodged
here"
'The Lord has sent it back to us,
said Mrs. Dean, reverently; "and h'
has sent lesson, wise and merciful
with it,"
"Well," said Mr.. Dean, after mo
ment or two of silence, ''there's les
son in almost everything he does, i
we did but know it."
And all the theologians in the wOrlC
could not have improved upon the faitl
of this simple, unlettered old farmer