The Rutland County herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1852-1855, 1854-09-15
rnR TWO nAipnss


visitor entered tho room in whi,h she
sat basily engaged In sewing. You
ssc lliai an full Of work"
81 yon seem to bc." was the quiet
reply Bat ! suppose ,oa can spare
tonight ior work Of mere, =
lloS a work Of mercy, Mrs. Hin.
ton 2"
" foor old Mes. Bender is very ill.,
SO W that sac canno, be left alone any
length Of iine. have been up with
her two nighs IN succession. aud am
nov booking for one or two young Ia
dies Who vii take charge Of her TO.
night Cur ! depend upou You Z"
" Not ,o-right, Mrs. Hinton. Iiwo'd
be impossible II viii take me tll
twelve tonight, and the mos, parf OF
To morrow, 10 finish this dress, which
must wear at Mrs. Corrie's party to-
morrow evening. Any other time
would 20 with pleasure"
" avn really sorry for that. have
been 10 two or three this morning. and
all have declined on account of this par
ty."
Hannah Ball can go as readily as
not, Mrs. Hinton. She had her new
dress mad, at the maniua. makers"
81 have seen Hannah"
Does she decline r
Yes"
" That's very strange. What reason
does she give Z"
She says that if she were 10 sit up
tonight, it would ruin her appearance
tomorrow evening that it would make
her look dreadful"
There 10 something in that, YOU
know yourself, Mrs. Hinton. Lnss of
rest has the samo effect upon me. |
don't look fit to be seen for two or three
days alter losing a nights sleep"
Yes, ! know that sitting up does not
improve looks much" Mrs. Hinton
gravely remarked; and then, after
pansing few moments, got up, and
said as she moved towards the door,
Well, ] must bid you good morn
ing Martha; time is passing, and
must find some one who will relieve
Inc, or ] shall be sick myself"
IL hope you will" Martha said, in a
tone of concern "Wcre | not situated
just as ] am, | should go with pleas
ure."
And then the visitor went away. Az
ter her departure, Martha Green sat
ihoughIinlly for some minutes. She
did not feel altogether satisfied with her
self, and yet, on reflection, she could
not see any causc of elf.condcmnatiou.
Sincerely did she pity the condition of
poor Mrs. Bender, who was nearly sew.
eniy years OF age, sick, and without any
one in the world upon whom she could
look and claim, from consanguinity. a
single kind office. +" But il was impos-
sible for her to CO." she reasoned. in the
effort 10 quiet her uneasy feelings. "un.
der The creumstances--utterly impossi-
be"
Sill she sat Thoughtful, without re.
sumng her needle At length she
aroused herself with the half audible
remark,
Somebody will 20, of course" and
that settled the matter.
IL WAS perhaps, an hour after, that IA
young friend and contidant, dropped in
to sit an hour with Martha. The con-
yerSaiion ran, of course, on the party
10 be held at Mrs. Corrie's on that eve
ming.
You viii look beautiful in this
dress" the friend remarked, lifting
portion of the garment upon which
Martha was AT work, in her hand. III
suits your complexion admirably be-
sides being OF a rich material, aud at.
traeiiFe' yet appropriate, and not too
gaudy 10 color"
:" am glad you think So" Martha
replied. with smile OF satisfaction.-
81 don't believe there will be anything
half so elegant at the party"
There viii at least be one dress
that will fully equal it," the visitor said
" Are you sure 7" asked Martha, in
tone Of disappointment.
Yes. As ] came along this morn
ing, on nay way here, dropped in a
moment TO see Ellen Willard, and found
her ~ work as you are, upon her own
dress. She has certainly selected il
with excellent taste. Much MS ad-
mire your, really think that I should
prefer the one she has chosen. She
viii attract much attention, Of course
yon know that .he is girl Of great
deal Of taste, aud knows how to dress 10
the bet advantage"
This intelligence had the effect TO
change materially the tone of Manha's
feelings. a, far A. WAS in her power.
she concealed thus change from her
friend, bot after she had lcn, her eogn.
ienance expressed much concern. The
reason was Ili': A young man named
Alton bad paid her good many alicB-
lions in The last tew lines, and of sncl, =
marked Kidd, that she Lad suffered her
afrr'ions 70 become a good deal inter
esitd. The extent or ihis interest had
moi beoome apparent TO herself uniil
within a seek or two, during which he
thought she perceived a slight change
"a his manner towards her. united Ia,
o" one o. two oeeasiDns, perceliihis
I preferences ipr tho company of Ellen
willard. Dpr r-as0n for her bring