Weekly Caledonian. (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1919-1920, 1919-02-26

distances to snap the place from dlt
fcrort angles. 1t is the typical Ney
England abandoned farm.
An abandoned farm indeed! Their
are many Of them scattered through
ills section Of Vermont. True, thi
particular place is not so dilapidate,
and abandoned as some OF them witt
their sashlcSS windows and sunkcl
roofs and fallen doors. But it i.
pathetic enough, especially to thos,
who know the story Of the place Il,
we Of the Telegraph Office have come
to know it.
The yard of the old place is pickcc
up very clean. The haylofts in The
| Cd barn arc empty. The place was
stripped Of everything of value years
a"9 II the time of the auction when
Mar Parse came TO live in the vii
lac Even the thrceforked light
Gins, rods on both gables Of the house
AMI Oh the front Of the high barn
w1le bourht for old metal by Il jew
i.sh gentleman Of our community who
il "Dmowhat of a cornosscur in old
llct Il with Il ciandostinc remeitable
value. No, the place is abandoned
indeed and stands there on the little
hi!isop all alone waiting the sparA
ircrl The pipe of some tramp or a flu
tu;a northern gale TO carry it down to
oblivion. Vet what has taken place
in those naked lonely rooms, the UNI
sEc;4kahlc Joys they have seen. the
vo."llcss Gricfs, the namcleSs sorrows,
t"nr5 IL warm glow about our heart 5
AMI we'll! our eyes with tears and
tht q is nothing maudlin in this frank
Confession either.
Probably we in our little country
daily Office know more about the KING
olo =; and inside history of every
MAJ, woman and child in our town
tknA anyone else for that is our bust
RES. But we especially know more
ab3at This particular family, this
aba Adoncd farm, than any other native
hccau+c it Is literally tied up with
III Telegraph office with tics of blood.
We know there arc times when
tht !mhtu;; folk in ouY town drive the
VII or ana the stranger 1:,ct the place
CT / summer afternoon, point their
vi'as 1T il and remark: "rhat's the
Old pur;c place, the home Of an un'or-
tu ttc family. that finally summoned
W Munption to amount to some
tAi 80 lut they say that because they
ca rot know the history of the fam
iIy as We have seen it from the in
side, FROM the night that Mary sat
with her mother in the little room
ui1fier the caves, down to the present.
go" when VIC drive past VIC behold
th;.. abandoned place h;llfhid now by
tn" Mr'ac and thc ragged lilacs and
VIII ro}", an affection Tor il arise,
vi l;a U, a. though we were one OF
III family ourselves and the place
...,. 1t father and mother and home.
wa. back l,any years ago, before
Ncy,' Eu"lnMH hal discarded her we'll
;w"enj r. A..millS and filtered
wa {" ,,'..pin5; before electric cars
ha come in; before the Shcr-
-1A., Act and the tcn-cent magazine
md tic machine Gun, back in the
lays wECn the ladies rode bicycles
'or recreation, Central Pail, was one
# he attractions of H.: York and
Ii o. newspapers were .Ct in non |
,arel by tramp printers %no knew
.ht.r Shakespeare as we'll a. the high
;c.13ol girl Of the present knows who
5 ,;.icd il the movie, back in
no e prehistoric times OF lay-rum
ND Moody-and-Sanky and IL les,
lcw-drop bonncts and j uatratc'l /
wallpaper and camp meetings and
pull door-bcl!s and brown pug dogs
m. wood cngravings in the maya
in s,--thc house wa in its prime and
e. much occupied and the windows
were open, especially one window in
he gable OF the upper story.
|. vas a stuiry little bedroom Up
AIer the caves. 1t smollcd OF
shingles and cedar
hosts and musty closet; and old rag
y ,cti. A cheap low-hung yellow
so, toad with Il ridiculously high
cardboard and ridiculously low
ct5oard and bouquet of hidcous
ro'YN flowers painted on both, oc-
uliod The corner between the one
Oh h window and the west wall,
Iuar;n% out into the room leaving
);: c only for Il rocker and Il bureau
it, y hadly~nawcd glass. t
'ino-discolored wallpaper pceling !
.lacc;, Sunday School notices and
ntil tin-typcs and photographs t
~; il thc sides CT the cheap mirror I
ID; and dresser and mantel shelf J
Il ,'a'n.; feminine occupancy,-thcsc y
ii w the light of the day might (
:rn disclosed. Now they showed
WY or in Fantastic shadow, for it
Il lH,r or IL soft spring night and 9
e "oom wa illuninod by moonlight i
timing Il long white blotch upon t
q iIoor. n
acre were two people IN TINS little :
& \ tucked away beneath the twist '
rid caves. One was Il girl Of
Z H;y years in = night gown sitting Q
'"r Ii" bed with her back against (
g "iliowing pillow, her fair arms i
. 'Hrd about her knees, troubled v
e.; fixed upon the shadows. Near, !. ::
. hn.lh Of die bed in ihc rOckcr sat