The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1881-05-11

homes made Nabby's little house par
ticularly gloomy and uninviting. Nabby
fumbled under the mat for the door
key, fumbled with stiff fingers for the
hey-hole, and finally succeeded in un-
locking the door, and felt her way
through the little entry.
There is always something ''uncanny"
about going alone at night into a dark
and shut-up house. Every person of
the best regulated minds experience a
vague suspicion of something behind
them, q sense of possible ghostly hands
about to clutch them in the darkness.
Nabby was woman like Mrs. Edmund
Sparkler, with "no nonsense about
her ;" but nevertheless a cheerful tale
she had read only yesterday about a
burglar and lone woman, kept coming
into her head, and she carefully avoided
the blackness of the corners and the
pantry door as she CROPPED around the
kitchen for q candle. OF course the
fire had gone out
"Two heads are better than one, if
one is a sleeps head" Nabby might
have been heard muttering out in the
woodhouse, as she stopped painfully
down, picking up chips; by which orac-
ular utterance suspect she was think
ing what a good supply of kindlings
! Josiah always kept on hand for her, and
| how much more comfortable it was in
the old times, coming home to house
bright with light and warmth, and Jo-
siah's welcome.
For Josiah cherished the most pro-
found admiration for Nabby-an admi-
ration not unmingled with awe. He
thought her most wonderful woman.
She was Just as beautiful to him now as
in the old courting-dayc, before the
| brightness and quickness of the black
eyes had degenerated into sharpness;
before the smiling mouth had acquired
its hard, frmly-set expression; before
| there were any wrinkles in the smooth
forehead. People thought Nabby had
{ done well in marrying Josiah Gould-a
pleasant, good-natured young fellow
that every one liked, a young mechanic,
not very rich yet, it is true; but with a
good trade and such wife as Nabby,
there seemed to be nothing to prevent
his figuring as cone of our first citi-
zens."
Anybody can be somebody in this
country if he is only determined. But
that was the difficulty with Josiah. He
| never was determined about anything.
| He fell into the habit of drinking be-
cause he lacked sufficient strength of
will to avoid it. Then Nabby's sharp
words and his own miserable sense of
meanness and self-contempt, of utter
discouragement and despair, drove him
lower and lower into the slough OF
| despond without effort or hope.
By beautiful dispensation of Prov
! idence, whenever poor, shiftless, good
| for-nothing man is sent out into our
world, some active, go-ahead little
woman is invariably fastened to him to
tow him along through and keep his
head above water. 1t is for the best,
of course What would become of the
poor fellow without her? At the same
time, she sometimes finds it little
hard.
Nabby was ambitious and proud.
spirited, willing to work hard to save
to do her part-anxious to get on in the
world and stand we'll among her neigh
bors. The fact gradually realized, thai
in her husband she had no support, only
drag and burden, and finally dis
grace, had been a disappointment EN-
bittering her whole nature. To have {
husband that no one respected, tina
even the boys around town called IS
Could" was dreadful to Nabby. Per
haps it was hardly strange that she grew
hard and bitter.
Meantime Nabby had succeeded il
starting the fire, and, having changed
her dress, sat down to dry her feet unit
the tea-kettle boiled. But even tn
ruddy light and warmth with which tn
, kitchen now glowed could not send Of
the dreariness of the night. The raj
tapped with ghostly finger tip upoi
} the window-pane," and the wind howle
, and walled around the house like tn
I spirits of the lost pleading to be one
| more taken back into human life an
, warmth. Such a wind stirs in even tn
happiest heart a vague sense of loss, c
= change of all that goes to make up th
3 unsatisfactorines of life. Dead sol
= rows creep forth from their graves o
3 such cold nights, and stalk up and dow
q the echoing chambers of the heart.
= Nabby could not help wonderin
g where Josiah was tonight. 1t was s
' lonely sitting there with no one to spea
1 to, listening to the moaning wind, th
creaking of the blinds, the loud tickin
i of the clock.
|. The wind walled and walled, an
j Nabby thought and thought The fac
: of having "freed her mind" to til
= Squire had relieved her long pent-u
k Indignation, and now she felt more sa
d than angry. Up before her seemed I
d rise picture of her life-the youthfI
II dreams and hopes, the changes and di
it appointments, the love turned int
wrangling. She even thought of Josia
h with pity. For the first time " she pl
n herself in his place." and realized no
IS impossible it was for one of his wea
II nature to resist, unaided, the temptatio
IS which would cost q stronger will q