St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1901-07-03


fectly oblivious to the rain and everv.
thing but just themselves.
For some reason or other John sighed
heavily and then to excuse himself Of
the weakness looked after them con.
temptuously and denounced them az
deluded fools.
When he reached home, Mrs. Ham,
ton met him at the door and asked
him to kindly post her letters. There
were tWo-one to mamma, certainly
but the other was addressed to a young
man who had been a frequent caller M
the maternal home until their engage.
ment was announced.
excuse me-" he said in a dignifed
manner. MAY l be Informed of the
contents of this letterW
"No, you may not" said Mrs. Hamp-
ton stiff1y. "And your request is an
insult. Pray make haste back, as lunch.
con is on the table"
And again John obeyed, though with
very Ill grace.
that honeymoOns were very dull.
you had better give notice here and
pay the weeks bills and take rooms az
one Of the best hotels. 1t will be a
treat to see a few people at mealtimes
even if one does not speak to them"
At this John made a strenuous pro.
test He hated large gathering, he
said, and much preferred a quiet life.
Besides, he was hurt and mortified that
she should so soon tire of his company.
In a honeymoon a wife and husband
should be all and all to one another. 1t
should be brief time sacred to them
selves. time when there should be no
intrusions from the outside world.
But Mrs. Hampton only curled her
pretty lips.
THAT'S all nonsense" she said, with
a derisiye laugh. "You only read about
that sort of thing In books. In real life
a marriage is a very prosaic matter.
When we return to town and you go to
business, it will be different. l shall
euleIldlu lily llIeuus IuGA anu 6udI
have plenty to amuse me-"
And so to the hotel they went, and
after that Mrs Hampton couldn't COM
plain that she saw too much Of John.
She became a great fayorite with the
visitors there and was always joining
in some expedition or the other, and it
was with great sigh of relief from the
happy bridegroom that the holiday
came to an end.
How pleasant the little villa at Nor.
wood looked after those desolate rooms
at the hotel. Even Mrs. Hampton adj
mired Johns taste at the manner in
which they were furnished, and they
sat down to tea in the little dining
room for the first time together.
John took up his evening paper as
was his wont and scanned it through,
but raised his head suddenly at what
sounded like mufiled sob.
Madeline" he said anxiously, "wha,
is the matter, dear?" And he jumped
up and went to her side, whereupon
tLlt dloll SSScu Ohc lllIeu u ldCG ripping
with laughter.
"Oh, John, dear John" she said,
"Tell me, did you enjoy your honey.
moon very much, dear"
John hadn't, but he didn't say so. lie
caught the white hands held out to him
and drew the owner to him.
MADELINE" be said, "did YOU
eyes; | did, said Madeline, inter
rupting him in her usual way. q
wanted to give you a lesson, sir. You
wanted to have things all your own
way. | OWNED it from the first. You
married me because you wanted a com.
panionable housekeeper. Come, con,
fess, sir. You didn't marry me be-
cause you loved me-"
But now, dearest" he said, still
holding her close.
We'll, | think, thanks to my lesson,
you do little bit now"
And John confessed he did just lit.
tie bit, and his thoughts travelled back
to that happy young couple under the
umbrella at Brighton.
"We'll have another honeymoon later
on, Madeline" he said; "a real one this
time."-Penny Pictorial Magazine.