Year: 1878

mand explicit to ''Tenoen9ber all the way the Lord thy God led thee;" and is forgettulness without sin ?"

 But the man kept or. in his respectable ca reer. buying and selling at the lowest rates and selling at the highest; faithful ex- ternally to all bis duties; ever present in church. never late at his Sunday school class, never missing a jealous exhorter, a master hand at prayer,n as Widow tBhsso allowed ; deeply interested in the work of missions, and a stated contributor to the Bible society; but at home-no it was 10 home at his store, strict in every matter of bdsiness,s meFciless te' his debtors, close and niggardly even to his best customers, harsh to his clerk, and greedy or every smallest profit Nobody ever went to him for friendly offices; nobody asked him to- be neighboFly; no subscription list for 8 poor man with broken leg or burned down barn ever crossed the door-sill of the store. When all other youug men went to quihings he staid at the desk, amusing himself with his ledger, or 8 ponderous laW-book borrowed from Squire Larkin. So he ived-or existed till he was thirty years old; and one fine day Squire Larkin died, and left behind him an only daughter, goodly sum of money, and vacant office of postmaster. Now was Sam uels time again. He attended the funeral, and appeared to be deeply affected by the loss of an old acquaintance. He called on Miss Lucy

 

 the Squire's law-books. They were useless to Lucy now, and she had not thought of selling them; the nearest city was full thirty miles away, and she had not even friend in it's busy sphere; nobody in Basset wanted law books, so Samuel Paine bought them for a quarter of their value and Lucy never found it out. His next step was to petition for the post-ofice; here again nobody intefered. It would be very convenient to all concerned that the postoffice should be in the store that was it's natural and fit situation When Squi1e Larklns took it in his hands, his old law office stood close by Si Jones's place of business; but that tiny tenement had been burned this long time, and the mails carried to Mir. Lar kins house and distributed in the south par Tor, where also his books and his few clients found place. Now if s. Paine got the office it would be ''everlastin' handy" everybody said; so everybody signed the petition, and Postmaster Paine was sworn in.

 Lncy Larkin was no longer young; she was twenty-eight at least "a gentle, faded, pretty woman, with mild blue eyes, and thin soft hair of dull brown and soft trembling lips She was not forcible or energetic; she pottered about the house good deal and had headaches and went punctually to sewing circles. Her literary tastes were not violent; she was fond of Tupper and the Ladys Book and every day she read chapter in the Bible, and tried with all her simple heart to be good. But she had not much vitality in body or soul; and af- ter her father, who had always been her tender companion and guide, left her to herself, Lucy was dreadfully lonely. The Squire left his money we'll tied up, but she had all the in- come, and the principal was also we'll invest ed Here was another opening for $. Payne.

 ''It really seems providential, he said to himself, as he carefully sanded the last barrel cf ,,,~,., J,,u;rrr frot GIIod hi@ oyUn since he had taken the store he had lived in the two rooms above it, taken care of his own wants himself, and hired Widow Bliss one day in the week to do his washing, ironing and mending,, all of which must be achieved within those twelve hours, or her dollar (ac- cording to agreement) was forfeited. "Yes, it seem to be leadin'. She can't sell that house; there ain't nobody in Basset wants to buy house, an it's real handy to the store. can put Widow Bliss up stairs, an then John won't lose no time a-comin an a-goin to his meals he'll be real handy to his work, an l can stop the rent out of his wages so as to be sure ont. Guess l won't move them law books yit. Things seem to be gettin' into shape somehow I'll fetch around there tomorrow night, if I'm spared, an visit with her q lit tle." And covering up the sugar carefully, Samuel Paine took himself off to bed. =

 Poor Lucy was lonely and Mir. Paine made himself agreeable He condoled with her in good set terms-quoted Scripture, and threw in verses of Dr. Watts in an appropriate manner; blew his nose sonorously when Lucy cried little, and thereby produced in her innocent mind the impression that he was crying too. And after he had cheered her up little with tender exhortations not to give way too much to her feelings, to remember that man was made to mourn, that Svnire Larkin Cor rather ''our dear departed friend'') enjoyed the ''haleloo- yers" of heaven much better than his daugh- ter's society and keeping post-office, with oth- CT appropriate remarks of the same kind, he bade her goodnight, tenderly squeezing her hand as he left, and causing the poor little woman to feel doubly lonely and to wish he would come back.

 An why do we try to comfort those whom death has bereft? Why do go over those vain conventionalisns which we know are futile? Can words like these back the smle the voice, the touch, for which we hunger with madden ing eagerness? Can 1t help us i'll our hope less longing to know that others suffer the same vital anguish : that to die is the sure fate of all we love- sooner or later? or that we must submit to these soltudes and eryings and strong tears because we cannot help ourselves! !! No. ten thousand times no! There is but one consolation of real virtue, and that is the closer clingng of the soul to Him who can not die. The rings that clasped these broken supports must close on higher branches, even on the Tree of Life; and if human love takes us in it's tender arms and silently kisses away our tears it may bring us still nearer to theDivine; for if we so love one another, shall not God, who made us, love US eternally and infinitely i? But Lucy Larkin was one of the bending sort who never break under any blow. She went her placid way about the world she knew did all her tranquil duties, and prayed hard to be resigned. It made resignation easier to have Mr. Paine come in once or twice week; and when, after decent interval, he proposed to fill the vacant place in her heart, the little smitten plant rose up meekly and accepted the pallid sunshine with gentle surprise and con- tent. She was so glad not to be lonely any more, and so astonished that such smart pi- ous man as Samuel Paine should have thought to make her an offer-''she that wasn't talent ed nor good looking, nor real young"

 Unworldly little soul her twenty thousand dollars were more to this smart" man than the beauty of Helen, the gifts of Sappho, or the divine sparkle and freshness of ideal girl hood; but she never guessed it. So they were married just year after her fathers death. Mr. Bliss was installed into the tenement over the store and Squire Larkin's handsome old house being freshened up with paint and set in thorough order, though without any ex- pense of new furnishings, seemed to renew it's youth Perhaps when Mrs. Paine learned to know her hvsband better, she did not ex- perience all that superhuman bliss which poets and romancers depict as the result of matrimo- ny; but then who does? Most of us learn to be content if we can rub along easily with our life partners, and cultivate a judicious blind ness and deafness, in the wise spirit of good old Bishop Ken's well known hymn:

 70 that mine eyes n ght closed be l1 ts4F To what becomes me not to see; -

 That deafness might possess mine ear oIn | To what becomes me not to hear ]" +eT Lucy was not conciously 30 wise as this; but she had the greatest respect for her husbands piety and shIartness, and if she could not un- derstand certain of his manners and customs, she still thought man could not err who made such long and fervent prayers at family devotions, and who always had the golden rule on his lips as professed rule of life. She was not naturally demonstrative; few New Eng land women are If they were as afraid of being angry, or cross, or peevish before people l as they are of being affectionate and tender, life would be nightly sweetened to many of | us; but when our sour but sublime old Puritan Fo+Lo., 1o laval offanao for yoa, to