Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1897-03-13

S.4 luS ScuI'ciuaus nu'
fQ6 dressing the hotel
clerk.
h&@nAK, glanced in the
lHDM =4H=' direction indicated
by a nod of his head, and 1 saw a
silyery.haired old man with stout
walking cane pass slowly by on the
sidewalk.
was IN utter stranger in the vii
lape. but month of enforced ldleness
was ahead of me, and I determined to
become friendly with the old man.
This did not prove hard to do, for he
was genial, and have always had a
liking for elderly people. Short and
stout, ruddy OF face, with perfectly
white HAIR and whiskers, and blue
eyes quick to light up with laughter,
he was very good to look at. In talk
ing, be had trick OF occasionally re-.
peating the last words Of sentence, o
habit amusing to strangers, but rather
pleasing than otherwise on closer &C.
quaintance.
Whom Lad put myself on a fairly
good footing with him, some two
weeks after our introduction, ! found
him one afternoon in an easy-chair on
his front piazza. Sitting down on the
steps, leaned against o post and econ
led him to talk about his young days.
"Well," he said, ~ will tell you the
story straight, for I see you have had
several second hand nibbles at it al
ready.
"When I was a young blood, like
yourself, lived on large plantation
in Georgia, my father being one OF
the richest planters in his State. On
the same road that our house faced,
with about two miles Of field and
woodland between, was another extern
sive farm. This was owned by the
Grantlands, family who were our
bitter enemies. though we had once been
ON the frlendliest terms-yes, friend
liest terms The oldest son of that
house had killed the oldest son of my
fathers house; that caused the en-.
nifty, bitter to the core. The young
men had been bosom friends; one
wouldn't go 'possum hunting unless
the other went. remember the
morning when my brothers body was
brought home. was about sixteen
then, and he twenty three. My father
stood by the corpse and swore eternal
hatred of the whole Grantland family,
and the rest OF us partook of his
spirit.
why, you married Grantland,
didn't you, Mr.. Dearing,' asked.
"Not SO fast, young man, not so
fast! You are like one Of these cleo.
trio machines didn't have such in my
day.
ITO so back to my story. OF course
none of the Grantlands came to the
funeral, and the young fellow who had
done the killing had skipped the conn-
try. 1t was fine thing for him that
he got away, and his family took good
care that he did not come back-good
care, tell you. They held their heads
as high as we did, for none Of them
believed the killing had been inten.
tionaI. We took our membership away
from their church, going five miles
further to another. They would not
get their mail from the same Office
where we got ours, but sent fourteen
miles to another Office, and neither
family would attend nm entertainment
in the neighborhood where the other
family might be met.
''All this went on, and at last l
found myself twenty-five years old.
Then something happened that was
like gall to my taste-like gall.
"Mr. Grantland had daughter who
was about eighteen years of age at that
time, a girl named Henrietta. Living
90 near together, OF course there we're
times when members of the two fami'
lies were obliged to see each other,
and it seemed to me that was forever
seeing Henr'et Grsntland. would
pass her, face to face, both OF US on
horseback, run across her at picnic
where l did not dream she'd be, and
meet her in town at the home of some
mutual friend. Pretty soon I founi
myself watching out for her, looking
at her on the sly, wondering what it
was in the set of her head that was so
taking, why it was that her hair seemed
to catch and hold the CLINT OF the sun.
shine-and oil the like OF that, you
know.
ut mado me angry every time I
found myself watching her, for I hated
her, you see-hated the whole Grant
land generation. Despite all, however,
here was something about the girl
that compelled me to look her way and
to think about her. just fairly des.
pissed myself for it, felt worse than a
traitor-worss than a traitor. And
father. he began to notice me said he
could see / was troubled.
at was one night when he and l
were together on the front piazza, he
smoking, that he asked me about it.
We always were companionable, and
just made clean breast of it; told
him l wanted to go away, that it seemed
to me / could not turn around but
that Henr'ett Grsntland was coming
face to face with me, welding a power
over me a little short OF torture.
"Father pitched his freshly-lighted
cigar into the flower yard and sprang
from his chair.
"'Does she try to attract you-does
| ehe try p he askad ov cikad1v