Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1847-08-26

owners had ceased years ago even to enquire
after them. Mr.. Sempil, however, had .
small allowance for keeping the town clock
in order, and, with repairing eight day
clocks at the houses of the owners, and 9th
err sources of revenue, he contrlved to live
much as other poor tradesmen do. The wife
was a soft, good-natured sluttish woman
with a large family of small children, who
as she had no servant, fell entirely to be
managed, or, properly speaking, mis-man-
aged, by herself The back room in which
| they lived was constantly OVERLOOKING into
the shop and street with little puddle crea-
lures, in whom the human lineaments could
scarcely be discerned beneath the thick
stratum of dirt with which their faces were
encrusted but who nevertheless seemed as
happy with pillows for dolls, and tea spoons
for toys, as ifthey had the contents of ba-
zaar at their command.
The heart of the stoutest housewife might
have sunk beneath such tremendous load
of duty as fell to the lot of poor Mrs. Semp-
i'll. For her part, she had never attempted
to grapple with it. If she could contrive
to prepare their meals with some sort of reg
ularity, it was the utmost she could do. As
for her person it was one constant mass of
dirt Even the black prints which she wore
for their eminently useful virtues of keeping
long clean, were glarngly dirty She had
altogether torn-down, worn out look, as if
she had every day endured fate not much
less harrassing than that of poor Honoria,
represented in Chaucer's ancient tale, as
every day torn to pieces by the dogs of her
rejected lover. A sterner or more refined
nature would have been broken by such cir
cumstances; but poor Mrs. Sempll was of
that easy temper, which does not grieve it.
self about what cannot be helped, as she
struggled on through twenty years of inces-
SAINT drudgery of the worst kind, with moth
ing like the ultimate exhaustion which might
have been expected.
One year, we say, Mrs. Sempll resolved
to make her own jelly. 1t was an almost
unaccountable resolution, Perhaps some
one had made her the present of the fruit :;
or some debt of long standing had been I'M
expectedly paid; or Mr.. SempilI had got an
order for new main spring for a gentle
mans watch or some other uncommonly
agreeable circumstance had occurred to dis
turb the unfortunate torn down woman in
her monotony of contented poverty, and in
spired her with the idea of for once initial
ing her betters. However the notion was
suggested to her. certain it is that Mrs
Sempll did make preparations for the boil
ing of pan full of current jelly. The requi-
site utensl was bespoken from Mrs. Mitch
ell with all due ceremony, and as solemnly
promised. The sugar was purchased, and
the berries were gathered. Great was the
sensation among the host of youngsters,
from the oldest boy aged II, down to the
prattlers of two or three years, when it was
discovered that there was to be making of
Jelly that night in the house. A subdued
ebulution of great joy went through all
hearts The usual amount of noise and tur-
bulence was diminished about one-half, and
even Tam, noted as the most rrepressibly
mischievous of the whole clan, was for two
hours apOsitively welI-behaved bov.-About
three in the afternoon, they were all set
down to the table with their mother to pick
the berries from the stocks, in order to pre-
pare them for the pan. There were strict
inlunctons to eat none; but of what use are
all the demands of morality which goes
beyond the ordinary limits of human virtue !
The temptation to eat was IRRESISTIBLE and
eat they did accordingly. Mrs. Sempil, in
the course of her other duties, now and then
cast her eye to the little busy fry around the
table, and, often would she cry, 4" Now, Tam,
you're eating" Bob, ye villain, if come
till ye," and so forth; but it was all in vain.
The eating was kept up just as long as there
remained any berries to be picked after
which, they each seized handful out of the
basin, and rushed out of doors in whrl-
wind of triumphant laughter, to devour the
! Of 10, ba Sc
erless yexation with which their mother fol.
lowed them.
A quarter of an hour served to reconcile
Mrs. Sempill to her offending offspring ant
no more was necessary on the present occa
sion. One by one they came quietly in
and once more took up their position in the
kitchen, where they found their mother Ell
gagged in straining the berries through
piece of cloth. All gazed with wonder anc
delight at the red stream which poured
through the cloth into the pan; and wher
that operation was concluded, and the clotl
with its contents laid aside, all rushed witt
eagerness on the pulp of husks, of which il
a few minutes they scarcely left single
particle Mrs. Sempill complained griev
iousy of their depredations on the fruit
which, she said, was not above half o
what it had been but they were so mucl
) accustomed to similar complaints, that the,
|, paid little attention to this. Having place.
) the pan containing the juice of the berrie
on the hearth-stone, she put in her sugar
and then went to press to get a spoon
: wherewlth to stir the mess. Her back wa
not turned above half minute yet in tina
} little time new attack had been made OF
the materials of her jelly. When she one
, more turned her eyes to the freside she be
! held the whole tribe gathered in dens
+ cluster around the pan, no part of whc
was visible for heads, while a score of fin
gers were buslly engaged in conveying pol
l tons of the raw but yet sweet mixture
r towards not much fewer mouths-an Object
5 nevertheless, which did not entirely engros
e them, but that they had drawn several mul
= derous looking streaks with the rcd liquc
a across each others faces, partly through
5 spirit of fun, and partly to avenge certai
S attempts at monopoly which they had seve
e ally made. The mothers heart sank witt
t in her at the sight She was very near bt
e ing almost angry. But squeaI from on,
d upon whose bare foot red cinder had ia
len, banished the unworthy feeling, and pr,
d |, served her equanimity. Tam, | wondC