St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1889-03-28
DUN GONE DEAD.


mules were hitched in front of the
store, but the only person in sight
was a girl of eleven or twelve years
seated on the doorstep, with elbows
on her knees and her chin in her hands.
Good morning. l saluted, as I
came quite near.
"Mawnin'," she replied, without
raising her head.
Anything wrong"
She pointed toward the house and
choked back a sob.
Somebody sick ?"
Dad is, orful He'll be gittin to
gwine befo night
At that moment a woman appeared
at the door of the house mentioned
and beck me over. She had been
weeping, but she choked back her
tears and said:
I'm glad you'un has come. The
OF man are gwine to leave us. Come
right in"
The country doctor had come and
gone, and seven or eight people had
gathered in the one big room to be
with the dying to the last. On bed
in the corner lay an old man He
had the frame of a giant, and had
stood up under old age like an oak
tree. He was a specimen mountain
Ger, born and reared among those
mighty hills, and without education
or polish. He had lived out his days
without knowing the world about
him. He was propped up in bed,
with chair and pillow behind him,
and as he shook hands with me he
said:
I'm glad, stranger-mighty glad.
| reckoned the folkses down below
might hang on to We till it was too
late"
Hell read the Bible to We, Jim
said the blacksmith, with evident re-
lief
After a bit, Tim l want to talk
a leetle fust. And say, Tim, if we've
got q mewl to be shod, or any other
work to do, go an do it. It's mighty
good of yo' to come in, but yo' can't
help me any"
Tim went, and the other man went,
but the women remained. There
were four of them Three had their
knitting, and one was making a
hickory shirt The wife was busy
most of the time at the other end of
the room, and after a bit the girl,
whose name was Nancy, came in and
sat down on the floor beside my
chair. The old man was given a
brandy sling, propped up anew, and
then he said to me:
"They say I'm dyin', an l reckon
they 'uns is right. feel womanish,
and that shows me I'm done sent fur.
They'uns yere have been tellin me to
git ready
Eyes, it would be we'll" | replied
1--WE hearn about this yere heaven,
an t. other place" he went on, land
| reckon l orter have paid mo- ten
shun to what folks said. It's purity
late now to begin, but I'd like to AK
a few questions. It's all straight
bout that ar heaven, aint it ?"
Il believe it is"
ITS writ down in the Bible that
all we 'uns orter be good, amt it p
Yes"
"And all of we 'uns is done told
that if we is bad well go to that
other place."
Yes
"Wall, I've hearn it often huff, but
Inever gin any heed. 1t was SO much
easier to be onery that kinder drifted
that way. | kinder depended on my
livin' to be q hundred years old, yo'
see, and yere I'm tooken away at
eighty-one It's kind O sudden-like
meet1n' bar as YOU turn a corner
and hain't got no gum
Il don't think you have been so
7 l..
fingers worked nervously on the quilt.
wall, mebbe not-mebbe not. l
hain't shot anybody, nor been rob-
Der, nor sot fire to a meetin house,
like some. Does the Lord call it a
sin to get the best of a teller in a mewl
trade ?"
"Probably not"
"Itraded a dog for gun onct, and
that dog he died in two days. | see
now that | orter returned that gun,
but in them days l was stiff-necked
Hev | got to answer for that p
''Perhaps."
Il took up a stray hog onct, and
didn't say a word about it; and
afterwards | killed him for bacon. 1t
was onery, as kin see now, and the
Lords gwine to bring it up ag'n me.
What shall say, stranger ~
Il can't tell YOU
Il fit with Tom Wheeler onct.
begun the quarrel, and l was to
blame I'm a thinkin' the Lord has
got that down. And say, l haven't
alays done right by the OF woman"
Jim oh, Jim! don't serious nothin'
bout mel" said the woman, as she
came to the bed with tin plate in
one hand and a wiping towel in the
other.
But, nanny, I've been shuckless
and onery. We could hev had mo- eff
I'd worked and tooken keer o things. |
| kin see whar I've done wrong. The
Lords got it all down ag'in me, and
he's gwine to make me holler for it.
Stranger, yo' kin read, | reckon?"
Yes -
Then read me little out O. the
Bible. Lucy, git it fur him. Wehain't |
none of us much on the read. Don't |
remember that | ever looked into it,
but | never used the leaves for gun
wadding, like some I've hearn the |
circuit-rider read off about Dan1 in
the lions den, Moses and the sarpint,
the children of Isra'l, and SIGH, but l
never cuddled to it much. Thought |
it might hev bin writ by a city chap
who wanted to show off his smart
ness. Do yo' think it's all true?"
Every word of it,
Then the Lord is gwine to jedge
me fur it. Read to me, stranger"
l took the Holy Book and read to |
him the 18th chapter of Luke and
such passages from other chapters as
thought might comfort him. The |