The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-01-10
Their First Visitor
loriginaLl

IOnginall
Waverly, Unlike the other suburban
stations on the railroad. had been ser
tied by people Of the old regime. Not
that the regime was very anclent--noth-
Ing is ancient III Amerlca- but 1t was
certainly not the new regime OF
wealth There were families that had
been In comfortable circumstances for
a hundred years, some who had de-
scended from those once prominent,
and an were refined Refinement nee
essarily means exclusiveness. ana Wa
verify was known as an exclusive place.
a wealthy soap boiler had settled there,
but after years had passed without
making any friends he moved on.
But one day little house that had
been vacant for long while was
opened. the paint retouched, shutters
repaired, broken window panes put In
and the fence set up. No one in Waiver.
~ was especially interested in who
was to occupy 1t, for people occupying
such houses were usually not Of kind
TO be associated with. But when
young couple appeared, boy and
girl JUST married. both bearing the
marks Of refined parentage. some of
the Waverlyans took notice. Those
who would scorn TO visit a-millionalre
soap boiler would not hesitate to take
into their hearts refined people
But the citizens of Wayefly were
not in the habit of being in hurry in
their welcomes. Time enough to call
when they had learned something
about the young couple. The husband
went into the city almost every day,
but not every day, and when he did
go in he often came ont long before
the closing Of business hours. The
wife remained at home all day. She
dressed plainly. bnt neatly. If she
had fine clothes she had no occasion
to show them EXCEPT at church. where
she wore such costumes as were ap-
propriate But information concerning
the young couple did not come rapid
ly, Weeks had passed before the
name, Tileston, was generally known.
The couple did not appear to wish to
be left alone indeed. young Mrs. Tiles (
ton made several efforts to become ae-
qualnted with the ladies OF her church. /
But the ladies of the church did not /
see why persons travelling on the same |
road together to heaven should need to |
camp together by the way not that
they proposed to exclude Mrs. Tiles I
ton; they simply intended TO find ont |
MI about her before becoming intimate
with her.
Months passed ana still information I
the young couple fingered. +
There came vague report that let I
ters were eoning through the post +
otiice TO them under an assumed name.
This settled the matter There was
no further question as to the future
social status OF the so called Mr.. and
Mrs. Tileston They were to be let
severely alone.
One day a man with small sntchel
anne out from the city and made
straight for the Tileston house. He
stayed half an hour went away and
anne again the next day. and the next,
md the next Neither husband nor
wife was visible. and the shades In
IN upstairs room were drawn
No one IN Wavcrly took note OF this
except an old maid who lived OPP
,osite Though living so near the
Tilestous, she had not paid any ntten-
ion to them She had an income OF
800 year, the remains OF large i
ortune built up by her grent.erand-
ather IN the slave trade, She was a
Dc G.. and the De G.'s had once been
he social heads of society in the city.
When one Of the Waverlians had pro-
iosed 10 call on the soap boiler Miss
De G. had held MP her hands in holy
Iorror and prevented the call, But
he was an Old maid, and old maids
re proverblnlly curious, What could
e going on in the little house OPP
oste? There was but one way to find
ut--to 60 over and see
Miss De @. Knocked at the door and
eceivod no answer. The latch was
OF caught md the door was shaken
fully by the wind Opening It, she
rent inside. Neither in the living
pom, the dining room nor the kitchen
'as there a sign of living being.
ovefcnme her objection to
ltruslon. ana she went upstairs.
The Tilest0ns had received their first
visitor who had come to
lay. On The bed lay the wife, dead. /
he husband sat in chair, his arms I
i table and his head on bis arms. 4
Miss DC G. saw this from tho head !
the stnlcs Her curiosity was salts
ID. She stepped back stealthiiy. went
1t and reported what she had seen
J one o. the ladies Of the church.
he lady called On several other ladies'. I
ID the matter Of taking some action '
as discussed All those visited were 4
gagged to 80 to a lunch party, but z
lev decided that Il was their Chris 1