The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-02-25

trained for two reasons. Ma Hender-
son had no goods of this world TO
waste on such foolishness; and Mibb
wouldn't have put the time into train
ing if she had.
The girl sang at singing schools,
parties, snall-town entertainments
She abused her gift with all the
abandon of the irreyelent child of such
parents, and used it only to create
merriment for her associates with the
popular songs and ballads of the
period.
! There came a day when Mibb did
not abuse her voice. But that comes
later-very very much further on.
/ Neither with the Henderson girl,
therefore, did Mary find much tenn
peramental compatibility.
Many is the night that we elder
folk in the front Office, sensing the
trouble but not knowing exactly how
to go about applying remedy, en-
countered Mary walking about the
streets of Paris with little feeling
of sorrow and sympathy
Somehow she just didn't fit in with
the various phases of the towns So
cial life. She was too good for the
workaday crowd in the shops and
factories of Paris as we'll as her fell
loW-employes in the mechanical de-
partment; and the balance of our
people considered her beneath them
and gave her small opportunity to
convince them how thoughtless and
wrong they were.
At first we had supposed that her
! mother was coming in off the farm
and live with her; that indeed, would
have been a happy solution to her
loneliness. But the helpless idiot to
whom she. had given birth and who
spent his days in bare room on the
second floor of the Wheeler house
| would have persisted without her.
While such an event might have been
a mercy, mother-love held her to the
inspeakable sacrifice. With Mary out
IF the way, temporarily the husbands
personal abuse ceased.
Mrs. Wheeler said she guessed that
after what she'd stood she could
stand it little longer so long as
it didn't get any worse. Besides,
she didn't propose to go to no Paris
and live on the slender wages of no
laughter, not while she had the
breath O. life in her body to look out
or herself and she calculated she
lad. If Mary couldn't finish her
;choolin'-if she had to go to work
md take care of herself, she needed
Ill the money she earned to buy her
elf clothes and pretty things and fit
herself to attract "the right sort in
he matter of husband.
It is not correct in this chapter of
Introduction of Mary to Paris to say
hat in that first lonely summer and
autumn she was wholly ignored by
The thoughtless boys and girls that
made up our community's younger
set. The night of the lawn party at
Calvary Methodist church there was
| me young man who remembered her
| md asked her to go with him.
Poor "Slug" Truman! With all his
saults and indiscretions he was a
| yood-hearted boy and meant well. He
| zoo had been unfortunate in the
choice of parents.
His father was old "ShortCramp'
Truman, so-called because in an over
grown blacksmith shop down on
River Street he manufactured" a
farm wagon of his own design with
exceptionally small front wheels
which gave his product a sale and
tuppence worth of fame for its uni
que short turning qualities; also be-
cause, being a frst-class mortgage
forecloser and plate-passer, he was
not above cramping unfortunates
1 whenever he had the opportunity to
execute such maneuver to his fin
ancial advantage.
Herbs mother was weakened,
whimpeI-ing voiced, fat-faced woman
with hand like damp dish-cloth
| who never expressed an opinion in
/ her life and spent her days following
around and setting off rather fashy
and forward daughter, who made all
decisions and saw that they were car
ried out.
! (Coptinued m nape sivl