Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1883-05-30
If THEY HAD KNOWN.

"Soyou've come back again, jerome? :?
said old Mr.. Sewell "Well, we heard
you was thinkin' of rcturnin' to Elm
Mountain. Bad pennies always come
back--ha, ha. ha And you didn't
make such a big fortune as you calcu-
lated, eh ?"
Jerome Clay leaned over the old zig
gag rail fence and rubbed his eyes,
Had time stood still all these years
while he had been IN the South For
here was Farmer Sewcll in the same old
blue-checked overalls, with the same
battered straw hat, the same wrinkles
between his brows, driving the same
old red cows home through the twilight
lane, where the scent of trampled
spearmint came up, and the melan-
choly notes of Il distant whip-poor-will
sounded faintly on the purple silence.
And yet and yet it was twenty odd
years since he had left Elm Mountain,
with all his worldly goods balanced in
a bundle on his back. lie had been q
dashing lad of twenty-one then; there
were silver hairs in his black locks,
now, and he had left a dead past buHed
under the sweet magnolia groves.
And here was Moses Sewcll, just the
same as ever, only trihe yellower and
more dried up.
"Yes," Clay said quietly, "rve come
back. And you are right when you
say fortunes don't grow on every
bush"
Coin to your un'le's house?' said
Mr.. Sewell leaning over the bars.
"He's dead and buried, poor fellow.
Always had weak chest, you know
And the gals amt no younger-the
three old maids we call 'em-ha, ha,
ha"
And again the old farmer chuckled
himself into state of semi-suffocation.
"Come in and see us" said he. "My
daughter Aurilla she's come back a
widow and does tailorin' and plain
sewin'. The old woman's stone deaf
but she's dreadful quick at catchin' a
persons meaning"
And off he trudged over the bruised
patches of sweet-smelling spearmint.
his broad figure vanishing into the
gloom like shadow.
"Three old maids, eh 2" repeated
Jerome Clay to himself. "Clara and
Bess and little Kate, the golden-haired
beauty, the soft-eyed poetess, the bright
little sprite who was a mixture of
Undi1e and Queen Nab. Then, surely,
Father Time has not stood still"
The light was shining out, as of old,
from tho red-curtained easement, the
great fire of logs was blazing on the
hearth, and the three cousins greeted
the returned wanderer with unaffected
warmth.
They were changed, of course.
What else could have been expected? 3?
The Beauty had grown sharp and
frecllled, and her lovely hair had lost
Its burnish, and she was not quite as
tidy as she used to be in the old days
about her ribbons and frills. Soft
eyed Bessie's sweet voice had degener-
ated into a whine; she had grown
round-shouldered and lost one of her
front teeth: and little Kate was stout,
woman, who reminded
one of Undine no more.
But they were his cousins still-the
girls who had romped and flirted with
him in due arithmetical progression.
And there still existed bond of stead
fast friendship, and he told them the
story of the southern wife who had
been buried for five years under the
and they all sympathized,
and Beauty even cried little.
81 have brought my three children
to the North" he said. 81 left them in
New York, and if l can get some gen.
uine, whole-souled woman to take
charge of my home, I'm thinking of
settling here in Elm Mountain. Clara,
dear, you used to be fond of me in the
old times! What do you say to under
taking this charge?"
The Beauty seemed to grow smaller,
sharper, more business-like, all in a
second. If Cousin Jerome had come
home a millionaire, she would have
jumped into his arms.
But Clara Neely was not romanti-
cally inclined. To her, love in cot
tage possessed no charms.
81 couldn't, Jerome" she answered
quickly. "Tm not very strong, and |
assume any responsibility of
this arduous nature Besides, Pm not
fond of children. I'm greatly obliged
TO you, I'm sure, but I'd rather not"
Jerome Clay bit his lip.