Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1844-04-19
THE OLD cLoAK.

y 0@AAA ANNtaAI 'Aa1 - 80 = -
at an evening party, pray, do you intend to
remain an old bachelor all your days7 Since
your return from Europe | have been con-
%tinually expecting TO hear Of your marriage,
but here you have been, two years, and you
are still to all appearance, lin statu quo as
the lawyers say
my Dear Mrs. Hinton replied the young
gentlemen, with a smile, i will be frank
and tell you the real reason of my remaining
a general admirer of the sex, instead of con-
filming my attentions to any one bright par
%ticular STAR however much may be daz-
zled by its b%rilliancy. am actually afraid
to marry
Afraid echoed the lady, opening her
dark eyes to their widest extent with as
constituent. Faint heart never won,' you
know. Are you afraid TO proposeT
No, madam, afraid TO marry. You will
laugh at me ! dare say, when / tell you that
my seat in church has a great deal TO do
with my solitary state, which seems SO much
TO excite your surprise
why, yes replied Mrs. Hinton. one is
always surprised when a young man Who
without meaning to fiatier you-is GER
tainly a %favorite in society, there Mr..
Norton made her a polite bowl and who
has an independent fortune, still ~refrains
from choosing one Of the many fair dainsels
whom he meets. to snperintend his establish
ment. But what influence your seat in
church can have upon the matter / am at a
loss TO imagine
You must know, then, that / sit Just be-
hind Miss La Mode, in DR.. Righthead's
church, and the sight of her velvet cloak, alb
solutely frightens me from the thought OF
marrying a wife who may some day say to
me, My dear, l am dying for a new velvet
cloak please 10 give me Two or three nun
dred dollars, and / will 90 to Stewards and
buy one How i should shudder to hear
such a requestr
Really Mr.. Norton, this is too absurd,
for you with your fortune, to talk in such a
manner. shall begin to think you a miser.
Your wife might dress as extrayagantly as
she chose, and it would not injure you.-
And surely you do not object to a lsdy's
wearing a velvet cloakP
Il do not object TO anything that is con.
%sistent, but | cannot help thinking splendid
velvet, such as Queen Victoria hersell
might be satisfied with for a coronation robe
] odull Out VI pldCC NDCu ~ 10 iuduC lutO Z
cloak, to be worn on almost all occasions
particularly when it is well known that Mis-:
La Modes father does not even pay his ba
ker or his butcher. IL ] were one of hi:
poor creditors ! should be tempted to take
! the cloak from the young lady, in the street
aud sell it for what it wonld bring
/ Mrs. Hinton sat silent at this Speech
Her conscience reproached her, for sh'
knew that she had, on that day, purchased
an elegant new mantle, although her HUSBAND
I had requested her TO be as economical al
possible in her expenditures, as he found j
, difficult, in those trying times, TO meet al
the demands made upon his purse. Sh'
was a woman however of generous feelings
as yet unhardened by resisting good impuls
es, and she secretly resolved to take bacl
r the mantle the next day and prevail upol
the shop-man to receive il, since il was NO
, yet paid for. All this passed through he
mind with the rapidly Of lightning, and sh'
turned round with a smile TO address Mr.
). Norton, when an over dressed young lady
who had been sitting, an interested lisiene
10 the conversation, suddenly interposed.
If Mr.. Norton wants an economics
wife, she said, i would recommend him Il
e offer himself to Emily Harwood. thin
a she will suit him exactly, for she has worI
e an old cloak all winter, with no alteration
S one which she has had Two years at least t
a my knowledge
Mr.. Norton looked at the speaker, an
e the unamiable expression of her countenanc
: sunk her in his estimation forever, allhoug
he had hitherto regarded her as very prett
= anA antoracftnn aud had entuoftntoe ava
e thought il almost possible to love Carolin
Howard well enough TO marry her, if b
could only hope 10 cure her Of the pai
e sion for dress which she displayed. b.
this remark sealed her fate, as far as he wa
concerned, and turning TO Mrs. Hinton, h
asked, Who is Emily Harwood Are yo
acquainted with her? | should really lik
TO be introduced to a young lady who ha
moral courage enough to wear an uDfashioI
able garment, after having already worn
for two winters; she must possess a MOI
than common character
ID Il will introduce you, with pleasure , sal
ie Mrs. Hinton. She is a sweet girl and
:, great favorite Of mine. / confess | have m,
d. self been surprised at the plainness of h,
a dress, this winter, for her father is col
q sidered wealthy, and she is the only one
y his daughters of an age to 60 Into society,"
re Tha: is she, in the simple white frock, al
le that is her mother, by her side
e' Mr.. Norton was charmed to perceive tn
n it was a young lady who, by her singul
% modest and unpretending appearance, hi
G. attracted his attention in the early part
as the evening. He had intended to inqui
DC her name, but lost sight of her in the crow
2 and supposed that she had retired. She :
ceiyed him with an easy, graceful name
IA and after a few moments passed in conye