The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-04-28
Selected Storp.
Whatsoever q Man Soweth.

ooh, Tom, it frightens me to think
what we have done! What if am not
as you expected? What if you shouldn't
love me after awhile? All my life be-
fore / saw you l got along with only
Uncle Joshua to care for me; but now
know the difference, could not live
to 60 back to the old way. Tom, you
never will repent, will you, and you'll
be patient with me if l disappoint
your"
For answer the young farmer drew his
bride of few hours to him.
May God deal with me as do with
you!" he responded; and the deepest
feelings of his nature were touched.
All her life her loving heart had
found no one but grabbed old uncle
on whom to lavish itself When honest
Tom Gray, a manly young farmer from
neighboring town, fell in love with
her sweet face and sweeter disposition,
all her pent-up affection centered around
him. There was something pitiable in
the intensity of her regard, for there
was little hope in this work-a-day world
but that its very strength would bring
her pain.
"Cheer up, little woman! There, now,
see how Prince speeds along through
these pines; he knows what's waiting
for him at the end of the journey"
They emerged from the woodland road
into an open space, and drew up before
substantial brick house. Shading it
were huge naples and two gigantic fir
trees. Across the road the long,
rambling barns clustered, weather.
beaten, implanted, but their capacious
sides promising to hold good store for
the winter. The level space on which
the buildings were situated ended in a
bluff, and below lay broad acres of ara
BILE land. In the distance, a silver
band binding the surrounding emerald
of the meadow, wound a river Be-
yond, the hills shut in the little valley
Nestled at the foot of one, blue in the
distance, the white houses of a small
village cleaned.
In less time than it has taken to de-
scribe this scene Tom had flung open
the house door and ushered his wife
into large square room, whose deep
windows let in floods of sunshine on the
bright carpet and new furniture the
young man had purchased for his bride.
This is where father brought
mother thirty years ago; they didn't
think how soon they would go, and who
would be here after them to give the
old house a mistress. They were an
uncommonly loving pair, though" he
said
Oh, Tom, 1 hope 1 may be all to
you that your mother was to your
father" she replied, the bright color
flooding her cheeks. Then they wan
dered over the roomy old house, at last
pausing in the kitchen.
"We'll have our wedding supper,
now," she said, gayly, " if you'll just
fetch the basket from the carriage"
So he obediently brought it in,
then sat down in the old rocking
chair by the open window, watching
her quick, deft movements as she
spread the table with snowy linen
cloth-she had hemmed all sorts of rosy
fancies into it-then the delicate old
china which had been his mothers.
Cold fowl, delicious white bread, a pat
of golden butter marked with the letter
G, pies, cakes, all made their exit from
the basket. He knew they had all
been prepared by her careful hands.
Then she darted from the door and re-
turned with great bunch of red roses
which her quick eye had spied, to deck
the feast.
How pretty she looked, he thought,
in her neatly fitting dress, her dark eyes
bright with happiness, the lovely color
coming and going in her cheeks! Surely
he was very much to be envied; she
was his own always.
And she thought, "What good gift
is life and Lowell There can't be the
unhappinesss in the world people are
always talking of"
Then they laughed and chatted, and
for once were perfectly content.
CHAPTER II.
Five years had slipped by; a little
period, yet in it how many have passed
to that other country, how many
launched on life that may hold SO
much or so little in store In it our
fondest aspirations are realized, or our
cherished idols shattered at our feet.
Five years had brought to Mary's
home an infirm old uncle of her hus
bands, besides a little waif of eight
whose mothers dying request to care
for her child Mary could not refuse
and two babies of her own, for the ell
der was little more than baby. Time
had not touched her very lightly; there
were sad lines about the mouth, pit ifu
to see, and now and then a tired spiri
looked from the brown eyes. Evi
IDENTITY life had not been quite so fair as
it had promised to be on that wedding
day, half decade before.
Yet they had prospered. Thomas
was one of the " substantial men of tn
town." so the people said
"Savin' an sharp, savin' an sharp
Tom'll be rich man afore many
years." old Uncle Warren was wont
to chuckle from his corner of the great
fireplace. Then he would add, with
along-drawn sigh, EFF his wife dom
room him by her extravaganza, putin
cream inter the biskits, an boilin' egg
when eggs an butter is high. My wifi
never put on sugar for the hired men
nuther. My wife and me was man
ayers. Now, if Tom'd only married
Belindy Thompson, the squares dar
ter, she'd brought her husband
good sum, an she's savin', too.
Such conversation Mary was force,
to hear as long as Uncle Warren coul'
find an unfortunate listener. He neve
minded that the kitchen door was ajar