Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1857-09-26

Walprt anu now lne bUlNtlsdl lnOllNt power was
gone \ new system OF convenienres was now
developed We stationed an Irish engine at
the force pump to throw up water into the tank
from the st:cet ciscrn, blessings be on that
cistern in the street 40 man knew how deep
that was. Like the pond in every village, no.
body had ever found bottom And so we limped
along for few DAYS. Meanwhile, the furnace
having been examined, the secret of ali this
trouble was detected. The life blood of the
house had been oozing and flowing away through
this iurnace How much would it cost to re-
plr ity More money than hot air furnace
would cost, and half more than that So We
determined to clear out the pet. Alas, (again,)
how we ioudird the iavorie at first, and how
contemptuou,y we kicked at last 1t - said
that no one isa whole man we have partial gifts.
In our own case, the gift OF buying was llbvray
bestowed, but the talent for selling was either
withheld or lay an uhdevcoped ealhryo. How
to sell the old furnace and to get a new onc
There is great psychological experience there.
We aroused ourselves, gave several days to con-
temptation, laid aside all other cares, ran from
furnace to furnace, saw six o. eight patterns,
each one of which was better than all others, and
all of them were able to evolve vast quantities
of heat, with an imaginary amount of fuel. But
fortune, that had 50 long prosecuted us, did not
presume to destroy us yet and, aS cat with
rat, let us out OF lis paws for moments case.
In other words, we arranged with McSsrs. Rich
ardson BoynOu to put their iutalce IN the
place of the hOt-alr gentleman in black and to
this hour We have been glad of IL. winter
aud IA half on Brooklyn Illghts will put any turu-
ace to proof. And we prepared to defy the
north wind, the west, or the buist-touS SOUTH
west They may heap winter as high as they
please without, we have Summer within.
But oh, the changing 1t was mid winter
The mild weather took this chance to 20 sonth,
aud got III its place the niggardest fellow that
ever stood sentinel IN kamtschalka. The cellir
was divided from the kitchen IN part 10y this
furnace. For two or three weeks they were
chiseng the tubes apart, and getting the rub
bish out of the way-masons, tenders, iron men,
old iron and new IRON tin pipes carpenters, and
then new air buxes, girls and dinner, the Irish
man wheeling at the pump-all mixed in such
confusion, that language under the tower of Ba-
bel was a euphonluuS literature in comparison.
Sometimes. as we walked out, our good and low
iug deacons, IN a delicate way, would warn us
of the danger OF being pulled up with the pride
OF a stylish house
AT length, after nearly SIX weeks of the cold
est weather of the season, lhe new furnace took
charge of the house. Water returned 10 the at
tic. The girls no longer dreaded being blown
up by the boiler at the range. But the report
came up that the sinks stopped. After in
vestigailon the kitchen floor must be ripped up,
the great ~asic-pipe reached by digging, and
laid open. Broken tumblers, plates and cups
stopped up the pipes. Another week for this.
Just as We were sitting down to a dangerous
peace, we walked to the window one murnlng,
10 see that our yard had disappeared The root
OF the store on which it was laid had gwen away,
4 4. H., ,th
the four stories to the ground Just one thing
more was necded-that the house itself should
slide off boldly, and dump itself into the East
River. Yet the misfortune was not without
comfort. The store used for grinding drugs.
Ten thousand pounds of salts, ip"cac, rhubarb,
strychnine, and such like dellcacics, were hid
den beneath hundred tons OF earth-the medI-
enc being, where many people for whom II was
destined would have been. buried under ground
For sevclai weeks afterwards, think the bill of
mortality improved in the region around.
There were great number ot other things
exceedingly convenient III our house. The wa
ter-pipe from the root to the front cisten was
carried down wittiH the wall to the ground. The
bitter cold irozs II up. Nobody could get at H.
We sailed 1t ; we pokcd hot irons INTO the tap
we took counsel and finally let 1t alone. The
cornice leaked the walls were damp, the ceiling
discharged so much OF its contents ON the ground
as to saurate the wall in our basement entry ;
the area oyerfowed INTO the cellar; we dug a
cesspool let it Oft, and cut through the cistern
pipe leading to the kitchen pump. 1t could not
he sodered with water in it, and the clstern
nusI be run dry before tn It could be fixed. The
attic tank gave out again. No water!
"water, water everywhere
And drop
10 wash with. Then came on system of beg
| gng. We took the ncighborhood in order, and
went from house 10 house, tIll we exhausted the
patience aud the clserns of every friend within
reach. Then we betook ourselves To the street
pump, and for Two months we and the milkmen
subslsted upon that
There was a grand arrangement of bells al
our front door, winch seldom failed to make ev
erybody outside mad because they would moi
ring or everybody mad inside because they rang
so furiousy. The contrivance was that two
bells should be rung by one wlre-a common
bell in the servants entry, and gong IN the
upper entry. The hell train was heavy tt
draw that il never operated till the man got mac
and pulled with the strength of an OK. Bu
then It went off with such crash and jingle
that one would think band of music, with al
It's cymbas, had fallen through the skylIght dowr
INTO the entry, Thus, women, children and mod
est men, seldom got in, and sturdy beggars had
it all their own way. |, was quite edifylng lt
see experiments performed on that bell A mar
would first give modest pull, and then refiec
what he was about to ,ay. No one coming, hi
gave a longer pull, and returned TO waiting ant
meditation. A third pull was the preface tc
stepping back, surveying the windows, looking
into the area when, seeing signs of unquestlon
able habltatlon, he returns with flushed face Il
the bell. Now for it lie pulls as if he held {
line by the side OF a river, with thirty poun,
salmon on 1t, while all the bells go off mp ant
down, till the house seemed full OF bells Thng
are not mended when he finds the gentleman o
the house is not at home We fear that mucl
grace has been lost at that front door.
In the midst of these luXures of a frst-cas
house, we sometimes would look wisttully out O
the window, tempted to envy the unconsciou
happiness OF our two story nelghbors They ha'
no cOnueniehceS, and were at peace, while W
had all manner of convenlences, that drove II
up and down stairs now to keep the flood out
and then TO bring il in now to raise heat, the
to keep off conthgration so that we were lii
tie better at home than are those nnOcenlly IN
sane people who leave home every summer AM
90 into The country to take care Of twenty trunk
for two months. But the cruelest thing of all
, as we stood at the window, was the plOus look