St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-12-01
Mrs. Chalmers Thanksgiving
MRS. j. II. KINERSON.

''We must offer him home with us,
Ellen; it would be disgraceful to let
our uncle go to the alms-hOuse, and he
has no other alternative, if we refuse"
Mrs. Chalmers lifted her pretty brown
eyes to her husbands face: at is not
to be thought of, Edward. The aims
house, indeed How unkind of John
and his wife, SO well off as they are,
too. Poor old man! | wonder what he
has been doing all these years ?"
"That would he difficult to tell" Mr..
Chalmers replied. engaging in fool
ish speculations, making ducks and
brakes of his money, | fancy. Howev-
er, he is poor enough now, John says,
and must be taken care Of"
Making bad Use of his opportunities,
apparently. Now east, now west, any
where, everywhere his rowing fancy
led him,-that was William Delmar.
He must have used small fortune in
rambling about from one place to
duOilltlE vi y haih btNii
definitely known of his whereabouts.
He made his appearance i'll San Fran
cisco one day, looking terribly old,
worn and shabby. Going to the resi-
dence of his sisters eldest son, John
Chalmers, the lonely old man met Il
chilling welcome indeed.
"YOu must have been dreadfully inn
provident all these years." sneered
nephew John.
Mrs. John, too, was most lavish with
reproaches. She read him, daily, 4
long lecture on the sin of wasting one,
opportunities. All because he asked
the privilege of staying under thei1
roof until he could find employment o
some kind.
His stay was anything but pleasant
clothes, and were as impudent and ag
gravating as some children know wei
how to be. Mrs. John treated him will
undisguised contempt, and the yer.
servants looked down on the friendles
old man. "Why does he not go to til,
poorhouse 7" they asked among them
selves. "This is no place for him.
There is, however, limit to huma,
endurance and, when one day thing
usual, the neglected, despised MAJ
formed his resolution.
''I will ask Edward to give me
home" he said. 81 will intrude on yo
no longer"
Edward, indeed ~ the lady sneered
"why, he is as poor as can be; a mic
hinder you will be, truly"
II shall not be BURDEN he sal,
quietly.
So in Edward Chalmers far-less pr,
tentious house, the weary-hearted Ol
man at length found a haven of rest.
: If he had acquired habit of fretfu
fulness, of being on the constant lOol
out for Sights that never came, it SOC
vanished in the genial atmosphere l
, which he was daily surrounded. II
grew cheerful and contented as ii
days went on, finding that he was N
considered burden by any one.
A dreary day it had been, and no
the short November afternoon was ia
giving place to a dismal rainy nigh
| MrS CboIunarS Sa+ i'm Lar Smnll no
lor, her usually sunny face cloude
her whole expression indicative of son
great trouble which lay upon her min
SO near the happy Thanksgiving tim
J. yet no glad anticipation expressed
-, self. Lately trouble had indeed fall,
d upon them. In the early fall Mr.. Cha
IS mers had taken cold. Slight, at fir
81 it seemed. Had he taken more care
- himself it might never have come
anything serious. No one realized
long time how i'll he really was, he
unfit for work he long had been.
had broken down at last one day, a
now for more than two months he Ia
]" not been able to leave the house. Ne
er very strong, his constitution "
+ lily able to battle with disease. L
failure of their income, small thou
it was, was a serious matter. A boo
p keeper, on a very insufficient sala
he had never been able tO save mu
and sickness and its increased exp'
- ses had made sad inrOads on that
tie. Added to all was the fear
thought ever in the wife's mind, Il
y, he might never get well again.
I'M "What an unhappy, gloomy Than
giving day it will be-" the young "
!. was saying to herself. Glow differ
from last year, when everything set
ed to portend prosperous future
pa Mr.. Delmar, who was reading at
!. window, laid down his book, and