St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-02-14
On the WalPOIe Road.
BY MARY f. WILKINS.

porlum OF trade thither the villagers
from the small country hamlets there.
abOuts went to make the bulk of theil
modest purchases.
One summer afternoon two women
were driving slowly along road
therefrom, in "A dusty, old-fashiOned
chaise, whose bottom was heaped up
with brown paper parcels.
One woman might have been seventy.
but she looked younger, she was SO
hale and portly. She had double,
brlstllng chin, her gray eyes twinkled
humOrousiy over her spectacles, and
she wore Il wide tiaring black straw
bonnet with purple bows on the inside
of the rim. The afternoon was very
warm. and she held a palm-leaf fan in
one black -mitted hand, which she
waved gently now and then over
/ against her capaciOus bosom.
! The other woman was younger
forty, perhaps; her face was plain
| featured and energetic. She wore a
gray serge dress and drab cotton
gloves, and held tightly on to the reins
as she drove. Now and then she would
slap them briskly upon the horse's
back. He was IA heavy, hard worked
along at an easy pace this warm after
noon.
There had not been any rain for a
long time, and everything was very
dusty. This road was not much trav-
eled, and between the wheel ruts grass
was growing; but the soil flew up like
smoke from the horses hoofs and the
wheels. The blackberry vines climb
ing over the stone walls on either side.
and the meadow-sweet and hardhack
bushes were powdered thickly with
dust, and had gray leaves instead of
green. The big-leaved things, such
as burdock, growing close to the
ground, had their veins all outlined in
dust.
The two women rode in peaceful
sort of way the old lady famed
herself mildly, and the younger one
slapped the horse mechanically. Nei-
ther spoke, till they emerged into il
more open space Oh hill crest. There
they had an uninterrupted view of the
northwest sky; the trees had hidden
it before.
~ declare, Almiry," said the old
lady, "we air goin' to hev IA thunder
shower
''lt wont get up till we get hOme,n
replied the other, can ten chances to
one it'll go round by the north any
way, and not touch us at all. That's
the way they do half the time here. If
I'd II seen cloud as black as that
down where | used to live, I'd known
for sure there was gOin' to be heavy
tempest, but there's no KNOWN any
thing about it. wouldn't worry any
way, Mis- Green, if it should come up
before we get home; the horse amt
afraid of lightnin'."
The old lady looked comical. "He
amt afraid of anything,is he, Almiry ?''
"NO," answered her companion, Civ
ing the horse Il spiteful slap; she don't
know enough to get scared even, that's
Il fact. don't believe anything short
of Gabriel's trumpet would start him
up Il bit"
..... Il don't think you {, ought to speak
Its kinder maxim light o. sacred
things, seems to me. But as long as
you've spoke of it, don't believe that
would start him up either. Though
I'll tell you one thing, Almiry ! don't
believe thar's gOin' to he anything very
frightful bout GahrieHs trumpet.
think it's goin' to come kinder like the
robins an the flowers do in the spring,
kinder meltin' right into everything
else, sweet an material like"
That amt accOrdin' to Scriptur,"
said Almira, stOutly.
'It's accOrdin' to my Scriptur. | tell
you what tits, Almiry, I've found out
one thing, alvin so long. an that is,
IL Il
on this airth as thar is in the folks that
see 'em. It's me a-seein' the Scripturs,
an it's you a-seein' the Scripturs, AL
miry, an you see one thing an | an
other, an | dare say we both see
crooked mostly, with maybe Il little
straight mixed up with it, an we'll
never reely know how much is straight
till we see to read it by the light of the
New Jerusalem"
"You ought to ha' been minister,
Mis- Green
"Wa'al, so | would ha' ben ef | had
been a man | alters thought | would.
But | s'pose the Lord thought there
was more need of an extra hand just
then to raise up children, an bake an
brew an wash dishes. You'd better
drive along ii leetle faster ef you kin,
Almiry."
Almira jerked the reins viciOusly
and clucked, but the horse logged
along undsturbedly. at amt no use,
said she. "You might as well try to
start up a stone post"
"Wa'al, mebbe the shower won't
come up" said the old lady, and she
leaned back and began tanning her
self peacefully.
! "That cloud makes me think OF
Aunt Rebecca's funeral" she broke
out, suddenly. ''Did | ever tell you
about it, Almiry ?"
"No; | don't think you ever did,
Mis- Green"
"Wa'al, mebbe you'll like to hear it,
as we're ioggin along. tn keep us
from gettin' aggravated at the horse,
poor dumb thingw
"Wa'al, you see, Almiry, Aunt Re
becca was my aunt on my mothers
side-my mothers Oldest sister SHE
was-an' I'd alters thought a sight O
her. This happened twenty year age
or more, before Israel died. She was
alters such an Own-fOlks sort of /
woman, an jest the best hand whel
any one was sick. I'll never fOrgit how
she nussed me through the typhu,
fever the year after mother died. THAI
) | was took sick all of a sudden, an
four leetle children cryin', an Israe
couldn't get anybody but that shiftles
Lyons woman, far and near, to CONF
an help. When Aunt Rebecca heerC
of it she Jest left every thing an come
She packed off that Lyons woman, ba!
an baggage, an tux right hold, a
nobody but her could ha' known hoy
L. to. alters knew | should ha' died e
it hadn't been for her.