Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1856-10-02
Why Aunt Patience never Mar
ried.
BY RACHEL RATHBURN .

BY RACHEL RATHBURN.
| Miss Patience Spinal dwct in little anti
quated cottage, covered with woodhine aud
roses, and surrounded with flowers. situated in
the north end of the village of Scratchdale She
was familiarly known to all the people in the
country round about us Aunt Patience and
being of an easy, open disposition, with pleas
ant word always on her lips, and a story of
olden times ready on the moment of asking, her
cottage became lavorite resort for the young
of both sexes.
Very unlike tie generality of old maids was
Aunt Patience. True it is, that " on her face
no beauty dwelt, and in her garb no pride ,"
but she was neither tall nor spare, and yet she
had not thin nose, and never was known to
scold A perfect wonder among old maids, was
she with her fair, fat face, and well-rounded
limbs.
One night, as about half dozen Of US were
coming from there after having lisenedfor the
twentieth time to the account of her journey to
Boston, it was proposed by Susan Lee, a bright
eyed little witch of some fifteen summers, that
the next time we went there we should ask
Aunt Patience to give us her experience in love
affairs. We received the proposition with gee,
and wondered we had not thought of it before.
Well, we teascd and teascI Aunt Patience, but
not a word could we draw from her on the all
important subject; her only answer was a
strange sort Of smile, and "you would find
less of romance in my history than you imagine,
children" (she always would call us children,
though we all wore long dresses, and some Of
us had beaux.) But at last tho old lady be-
came " weared with much Importantly" and
promised us that if we would come to her on
that day week. she would tell us why she never
got married then we wended our way home
rejoicing.
Wasn't the week that followed long one
How many times we put our heads together and
wondered what Aunt Patience's story could be
How we pited the dear soul, when we thought
Of the torture it must ring from the heart tc
revive those long-burcd memories but We
quetcd our conscences with the thought that
perhaps q lesson was contained in Aunt Pa
ticnces experience, which we should do well to
know and heed.
All length the wished for evening arrived =
We, the female part of the company, equipped
ourselves with two extra pocket handkerchiels
and set out slowly, and almost sadly, for the
cottage.
As we bade her good evening" in subdued
sympathizing tones, so different from our usua
light manner, she applied her handkerchief t.
her face, and spasmodic motion Of the body
followed. We thought she was weeping ovel
blasted hopes and lost expectations, and we too
wiped away tear
Children" she began, and her voice wa
calm and free from excitement, MS if she hat
been about to inform us that another stalk o
her hollyhock had blossomed in her garden bu
we thought she had nerved herself Tor the task
and we only wept the more freely
Children, never was married, because no
body crer asked met"
Wasn't there reaction then The air fairl
rang with our merriment, but no one laughe
louder than Aunt Patience.
fear we never shall hear the last of this a
fair from the young gentlemen who were wit
us; but if Willie Lee doesn't stop plaguin
me about it he shall not come to see father an
mother every Thursday night and sit up unit
twelve o'clock, see if he shall.