St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1890-03-27

INSl iiSIll On OG ldDlC WIlSlS NOu put
it, and everything was all right when
| went away fom de house"
An what did you go away for?"
inquired Aunt Susan.
Poor Jacks face clouded again, as
he replied that he got mighty sick
soon after eatin' de turkey an went
down, or started down, to de white
folks house to git a little medicin.
"ldon't know how long l was down
on de creekSide," said he. Some
body must have got in here while |
was out. De nasty railroad-walkers
mus have watched me leave de
house."
The minister, who had stepped out
toward the front door when Aunt
Susan called her husband and had
become aware that something terri
bic had taken place, walked back to
where the poor, disappointed couple
stood conversing with each other in
low, troubled tones. They made
known to him the real state of af-
fairs and he did all in his power to
console them. 1t was impossible for
them to keep from frightening a lit
tie as they listened to his cheerful
words.
Little PhineaS Wilson had slipped
out, amid all this uproar of disap-
pointment, and informed his good
mother of the sad catastrophe that
had happened to Aunt Susan's house.
AuntM Maria was perhaps the most
appropriate person to apply to in
case of emergency in the entire popu-
lation of colored danes, and she
therefore determined to do what she
gould for poor Aunt Susan.
Meanwhile Aunt Susan could hard
ly be convinced that poor Jack was
telling her the clear truth when he
denied having eaten anything but 1.-THE
turkey and a pone of light bread.
lust as she was about to tell Door
Uncle Jack she believed he was living
to her Eliza Watson entered the
room and, OF learning what had oc-
CURED, disclosed the startling inte!li-
Sence that she herself had seen three
ragged-looking white men in the
house that morning, but assumed
that Jack vas there with them and
took no further notice of the matter.
Every word of light thrown on the
morning drama, every observation
made as to the baSeneSs of the act,
and every sad countenance thatsvm-
pathized with Aunt Susan in her I'M
speakable disappointment, appeared
to change itself into q severe pang of
remOrse and enter the bosom of poor
Uncle Jack. The minister put forth
all the eloquence and pathos he could
muster for the consolation of this
miserable old couple. Eliza too SYM
pathlzed deeply with them both and
did what she could in the way of
saying "accidents happent to the best
| of families."
When the grief of Uncle Jacks dis
grace had about spent its force with
Aunt Susan she suddenly becamecon-
scious of the fact that the clergyman
had not eaten a morsel of dinner. A
double weight gathered about her
good old heart as she communicated
the state of matters to Uncle lack,
who was evidently more disturbed
than she, for he knew himself to be
the sole cause.
At the height of this embarrassing
situation a scheme suggested itself to
Uncle Jack. He would run down and
make known to little Charley his
w1te's condition and he would GER
tainly do something for them. He
had started for his hat when there
came n gentle rap on the rear door
OF the dining room. Aunt Susan
sprang quickly to the door and pull
cd it open, halfoverjoved, half terri
fed, not knowing what to expect
next. Uncle Jack saw what was up
and quickly closing the door that
separated the two rooms, he moved
toward his wife who was standing
by the table. The minister was en-
gagged in the front room in a CONVEX
sation with Eliza. The visitor who
had tapped so softly at the rear door
of h apartment was none other
than good Aunt Maria Wilson who
had brought as a present to the dis
tressed household an immense basket
containing fried chicken, roast pig,
l~lght-bread, biscuits and an album
dance of cakes and pies. In short,
she had brought everything necessa-
ry and fitting for a minister's dinner.
The chicken she had fried a few min
utes before and the other articles she
generally had on hand at the close of
each week because she had a lot of
little children who loved table dain-
ties.
The humble board wasspread most
beautifully and if there were ever
two happy faces, Uncle Jack and
Aunt Susan wore them at this mo-
ment. 1t was an unbounded pleas
ure too, to Aunt Maria, to afford so
much JOY to this old couple. Imag-
inc the unutterable surprise that
characterized the minister's ewes,
thoughts, and everything else when
he was invited in to dinner. A sight
at the splendidly arranged table
completed his surprise. Eliza, too,
was dumb-founded. Neither she nor
n minister suspected that Aunt
Maria was the sole cause of this I'M
expected display. The table was mi
nus some few articles it had borne in
the morning it is true, but no feast
could ever have been enjoyed as this
mere lunch was.
The minister never forgot this days
experience. Aunt Maria's recollec-
lions of the day were always of the
fOndeSt nature because she had been
the source OF so much pleasure in the
house of her most intimate friends.
SO Aunt Susan didn't entertain the
minister at last, but her attempt had
been the sole cause of Uncle lacks
ever afterward being sur-named, 1.-The
man of temperance"
Travellers Guide.
Boston N Maine R. H., Passumpsic Div.
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