Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1855-02-10

Alice with fresh loaf, or some other nccessa
ry.
''Go just as quick as you cun, !" she wouI,
say, snow you mus, be back before Mr. Sneel,
comes home"
Sometimes she woud attempt 10 laugh abou
Il, and then add-"You know, Alice, that MI
Sneeks does not like Mother Shepherd, so dom
say word, but run quick. will scrub Will,
you are gone"
She began to feel, ere long, that this was ,
miserable way Of living. She had never prac
ticed deception before and she dcPsed il. Sh,
lowered herself in her own es,imton-it wa,
mean to do this But what shall we say Of
the spirit that brought her into circumstance.
that forced her 10 act contrary to her own con.
viciions Of propriety
Mr. Sneeks appeared to have a great passion
for trading but he generally msie bad bar.
gains. lie urged the selling Of the house and
lot in town. and the buying Of kss valuable
place, TO which his wife consented lie sold a
large amoun, Of property and bought compara-
lively liule. What was done with the balance
Of The funds. his companion never knew. He
was in the habit Of visiting the city frequently,
which was only two hours ride, by railroad,
from his own home. Although he generally
said he would return the next day, YET he often
staid week, and sometimes fortnight. This
annoyed her exceedingly. She knew that he
always went with his pocket book well filed
and came back with it entirely empty; but she
cared less for that than his absence, and the
mystery that hung over his stay.
Mr. Sneeks was not professed gambler, bat
he played sometimes; neither was he an habi-
tual tippler, nor notorious for his dissolnte hab.
its; still he had his "sprees'' occasionally aud
very "ish ones uhey war iney were always
INe" .s ao'osu, unu ,'o" ne ''v1 oay spen' AZ,
no '"n"S "e ""u WIN '""', "u' "''e" i"'o'ou
himself to a large extent. 10 three years from
the time they were married, he had squandered
not less than hVe thousand dollars that belonged
TO his vile.
What strange ideas those old English law
makers had, 10 write down women among mi
nors, idiots, &C., and then not throw around
her property, the safeguards that are thrown
around the Inheritance Of these classes II she
really is ignorant Of that which she pertains 10
her best inieresis-if she is foolish, and sur
renders, in dream of love, her possessions,
under the understandable belief that her future
husband can do no wrong-then she needs pro-
lection. But, instead thereof, she is entangled
in difficulties, while the bad man avails himself
OF the abundant facilities offered for evil doing.
Mrs Sneeks felt rather uneasy about their Pc
cuniary affairs, and often said to herself, 81
wonder whether woman can restrain her hus-
band from wasting her property. Perhaps
ought TO have taken my brothers advice, but it
looked so Absurd
CHAPTER iii.
AI;ce had lived with M,s s,e.t. "a, rr,nv
wears. bat a, lcno,b sbc married orea,lv IN ,be
.orraw Of tho mistress
"You must 20 10 day, Mr. Sneeks," said the
latter, "and GET another Girl. | can do with.
ou, no longer. never worked half so hard
in nv life as have this las, week.
Bot week af,er week, and month after month
passed, and yet no help was obtained She
could not go herself, she had no horse 10 20
with, and Mr. Sneeks would not 90. Whether
he was governed more BY avarice, or by ueIi.
ness, j, was difficult to tell. Mrs. sneeks
worked herself down so thin that she seemed
nearly as unsubsiantal as a shadow. All
through having and harvesting the house was
filed with laborers, and vet she did the work
herself; and sometimes when she was ready
to drop down with fatigue, with trembling
and qnyering in every limb, he would come in
and begin to fret -
"Come come ! isn't dinner readyl The
men are all waiting. conld oet n dozen din
ners before this time. Come, boys come -
Put on the pudding, wife"
On one of these occasions. when il was ex-
ceedingly warm, and every fibre of her system
had been faxed 10 i,s Utmost tension. be beoan
,e.y ;mp.tien,ly-
aHow long before dinner will be ready ius,
tell me that
"very soon,, replied the wife. and she step
ped the quicker, and her hands new the faster.
Her face was red as living Goals, and the pers-
piration was running from very pore.
s'Did you mend nv pants this morninptv
al did not, and had not time"
"Time never saw such slow, moping
creature as you are! Now want those pants.
can get nothing done, unless ! do il myself.
How on earth you spend your time the Lord
only knows. You accomplish the least Of any
person | ever saw ri