St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-02-14

lneg jest got III twelve ton of hay
spose that was how it happened to
! be strnck. A barn is good deal more
likely to be when they've jest got hay
in. Well, everybody sOt to an put
. the tire In the barn out. They handed
buckets of water up to men on the
roof, an put that out without much
trouble by takin' it in time
But after they'd got that put out
they found the house was on fire. The
same thunder that struck the barn
had struck that too, an it was biazin
away at one end of the roof pretty
lively.
''Wa'al, they went to work at that
then, an they'd jest got that fairly put
out a few minutes before we come.
Nothln' was hurt much, only thar was
a good deal of water round. We had
hard work next day cleanin' of it up.
"Aunt Rebecca alters was calm
sort OF woman, an she didn't seem
near as much tiustered by it all as most
folks would have been.
al e9nldn't help wOnderin' an look
ir' 3fler pretty sharp to see how she
took uncle EnOs's death, too. YOu see.
thar was suthin' kinder curious about
their gittin' married. I'd heerd about
1t all from mother. | don't s'pOse she
ever wanted him, nor cared about him
the best she could do, any more than
she would have about any good re-
spectacle man that was her neighbor
Uncle EnOs was a pretty good sort of
a man, though he was alters dreadful
SOt in his ways, an | believe it would
have been wuss than death any time
for him to have given up anything he
had determined to hev. But | must
say never thought so much of him
after mother told me what she did
You see, the way of it was, my grand
mother Wilson, aunt Rebecca's mother,
was awful sOt on her hevin' him, an
she was dreadful nervous an feeble,
an aunt Rebecca Jest give in to her.
| The wust of it was, thar was some one
else she wanted, too, an he wanted
her. Abner Lyons his name was: he
want any relation to the Lyons wo-
man | had when | was sick. He was IA
reel likely young feller, an thar want
thing against him that any one else
could see. But grandmother fairly
hated him, an mother said she did be
lleve her mother would rather hev
buried Rebecca than seen her married
to him. Well, grandmother took on.
an acted so, that aunt Rebecca give in
an said she'd marry uncle Enos, and
the weddin' day come.
"MOther said she looked handsome
as a pictur, but thar was sOmethin'
kinder awful about her when she stood
up before the minister with Uncle
Enos to be married.
''She was dressed in green silk, an
had some roses in her hair | kin i'm
agine jest how she must hev looked.
She was Il good-lOOBin' woman when |
knew her, an they said when she was
young thar WANT many to compare
with her.
Mother said Uncle Enos looked nice,
but he had his mouth kinder hard sot,
us eff now he'd got what he wanted, an
meant to hang on to it. He'd known
all the time jest how matters was.
Aunt Rebecca'd told him the whole
story she declared she wouldn't marry
81 s'pOse at the last minute that
Aunt Rebecca got kinder desprit, an
realiZin sense of what she was dOin'
come over her, an she thought she'd
make one more effort to escape for
when the minister asked that question
bout thar bein' any obstacles to their
gettin' married, an ef thar were, let
'em speak up, or forever hold their
peace, Aunt Rebecca did speak up.
Mother said she looked straight ut the
parson, an her eyes was shinin' an
her cheeks white as lilies.
".Yes,' says she, thar is an obstacle,
an will speak, an then | will forever
hold my peace. don't love this man
| I'm standin' beside of, an love an
other man. Now eff Enos Fairweather
wants me after what I've said, I've
promised to marry him, an you kin go
on but / won't tell or act a lie before
God an man.
Mother said it was awful. You
could have heerd pin drop anywheres
in the room. The minister jest stopped
snort an looked at Uncle Enos, an
Uncle Enos nodded his head for him
to go on.
"But then the minister begun to hev
doubts as to whether or no he ought
to mary 'em after what Aunt Rebecca
had said, an it seemed for minute as
IF thar wouldn't be any weddin at all
"But grandmother began to cry, an
take on, an Aunt Rebecca Jest turned
round an looked at her. 'Go on says
she to the minister.
"Mother said eff thar was ever any
body looked fit to be martyr, Aunt
Rebecca did then. But it never seemed
to me twas right. Marryin to please
your relations an dyin' to please the
Lo, d is two things.
"Wa'al, | never thought much of
Uncle EnOs after | heard that story,
though, as | said before, | guess he
was pretty good sort of "A man. The
principal thing that was bad about
him. | guess, was, he was bound to
hev Aunt Rebecca, an he didn't let
anything, not even proper self-respect,
stand in his way.
"Aunt Rebecca alters did her duty
by him, an was good wife an good
housekeeper. They never had any
children, but | don't s'pose she was
ever really happy or contented, an
don't see how she could hev respected
Uncle Enos, scursly, for my part, but
you'd never hev known but what she
l did.
$50 | looked at her pretty sharp as
we sot thar in her little bedroom that
opened ont of the settin'rOOm thar
| was Jest room for one cheer beside the
bed, an | sot on the bed. 1t seemed
rather awful, with him a-layin' dead in
the best room, but | couldn't hell
; wonderin, eff she wouldn't marry Ahnel
Lyons now. He'd never got married,
a but lived all by himself jest at the rise
of the hill from where Aunt Rebecci
lived. He'd never had housekeeper
: but jest shifted for himself, an folks
: said his house was as neat as wax, an
: he could cook and wash dishes "a
J., handy as a woman. He used to hey
/ his washin' out on the line by sever
n o'clock of Monday mornin' anyhow
-.lt'