Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1859-03-19

euj SHe SAT hpccCnleSs, BURNING tne SOU nhlr
that swept over her knee, till Lizzy's sobs quiet
ed, and then said,-
Wei, dear, if you're set on staying at home,
| won't oppose it, if your father thinks best; 1;
but must ask him; only what will you do,
Lizzy here alone all night p
Chloe and Peter will be here, mother and
I'll make Chloe sleep in Sans room, and leave
the door open. and when they go down to Di-
nahs, I'll lock up, and shan't feel afraid in
broad day.
Mrs Griswold shook her head doubtfully-
IN see what father says said she. So Lizzy
lifted her head and smoothed her hair while
her mother went out to the barn 70 consult
father
Here she was, if anything, more puzzled
Mr. Griswold heard the proposal with a rather
misty look, as if he didn't see why, and when
his wife had finished, said, gravely,-
What is it, Susan? Anybody I has lived as
long as | have knows pretty well chat woman's
headache stands for whole dictionary
why you see said Mrs & aswold, twisting
a little lock of hay in her fingers, and family
blushing, as if the question had been of herself
rather than Iizzy 'she-well, the fact is, hus-
band, she's kind of riled about Johns not COM
ing; you see we haven't been real particular
about the children, and so -
You needn't spell it, Susan said Mr. Girls
void, with a half smile; Polly Mariners
tongue helped on, guess. You let Lizzy stay,
if she wants to; 'twon't hurt her when folks
want to sulk, generally let 'em. She can stay
lie began to whistle Yankee Doodle and
pitch hay energctically, while Susan was with
in hearing; but how would that dear woman's-
soul have ioundered deeper and deeper in the
fog that couded it now, had she seen her grave
husband sit down on one end of the hay-mow
and lauUb fill tho s4nnI IN bis Innv
and then, drawing his coat-seeve across the
shaggy lashes, say to himself, Poor child = and
begin his work with fresh strength
SO matters were all arranged. After dinner
the rusty dusty, Old carriage appeared at the
door. with the farm horses harnessed thereto
jingling, and creaking, and swapping, as if oil
and use were strange to its dry joints and stiff
straps Mrs Griswold mounted to the back
seat, after kissing Lizzy with hearty regret and
tenderness,--hcr old gray pesse and green
winter bonnet harmonzing with the useful age
of her Conveyance. Father in sturdy great
coat and buckskin mittens, took the reins and
sam, whose blue jacket was at that moment
crushing his mothers Sunday cap in bandbox
that sat where Lizzy should have been, clam
bered over the front wheel. to the great detri-
ment Of the despised butternut suit and, sciz-
ing the whip applied it SO suddenly TO Tom
try road at pace that threatened a solution of
continuity TO bones and sinewS, as well as wood
and leather.
Lizzy turned away sadly from the door. Who
can say that just at that minute she did not wish
she had gone too? But nobody heard her say
so. She went up stairs to her room, and tried
to read, but couldn't attach any ideas to the
words; she was halt an hour over a page Of "A
very good book, and then flung it upon the bed
with an expression Of disgust, as if it were the
books fault. Poor authors! toll your fingers
off, and spin your brains out be as wise as
Solomon, or witty Sheridan. your work is
vanity and vexation of spirit unless the readers
brain choose to receive o~I Vi'ify the hero
glyphs of your ideas think yourselves success
ful because great man praises you. and to-
morrow that man is twisted with dyspepsia, or
woman passes him without smile, and your
sparkling sketch, your pathetic poem are de-
Clarcd trash. Such is fame OF which little
homily the moral is,--Write for money! What
a thing it is to be worldly wise. So was not
Lizzy if she had been, she would now be at
Coventry, kissed and caressed by grandfather,
aunts, uncles, cousins, and But we won't
anticipate.
Lizzy flung down the book, and went to her
closet toranother but it was as good tor as bad)
as Bluebeard's closet. for there hung the pret-
ty crimson merno with delicate lace at the throat
and round the short sleeves in which Miss Lizzv
Griswod once intended to electry Mr.. John
Boynton this very evening. True i, is that short
sleeves are not the most sensible things for Now;
bat Lizzy twenty, and had such round,
white arms, that she liked TO wear short sleeves
as any girl would and who is going to blame
her? Not |! a girl doesn't know her priyil-
leges who was never Just little vain,-iust a
little glad to be pretty when John is by. Lizzy
looked at the crimson merno and at the smart
slippers on the floor with a shining black bow
on each instep. There, too on little low ia
BILE, was green box somebody had leftit open,
mother, pcrhaps,-so she saw on its cotton
bed red coral bracelet, that came from Rox-
bury, or thereabout, last year at this time. Liz
zy shut up the box, and went down stairs to get
tea.
Chloe was indignant to think Miss 'Lizbeth'
thought she couldn't get supper without help,
and Miss 'Lizbeth was vexed with Chloe for be-
ing cross. And then, when supper came, the
Tea seemed to be very unwilling to be swallow
ed, and.the new bread was full of large Jumps
that choked person, and the lamps didn't burn
clearly at Observation-Disclosures Chloe, still
sulky, had cleared the table, Lizzy sat down on
low cricket beside her mothers stuffed rock
ing-chair, and had as good cry as ever she had
in her life, and felt much better for it.
So she sat there, with her head on the arm
Of the chair, rather tired with the cry, rather
down-hearted for want of the supper she hadn't
eaten, and making pictures in the fire, when all
of sudden it came into her head to wonder
what they were doing at Coventry There was
grandfather, no doubt in the keeping-room,
telling his never-tiring stories of Little Robby,
and Old Bose, and the Babes in the Wood; or
singing the eyer-new ditty of
'Dd you ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever ever
and so on, I'D idfnituna, till You got to-
See man eat whale?'
to some half dozen children while sweet aunt
Lizzy, serenely smiling, rocked the fair little ba-
by that fifteen cousins had kissed for welcome
that day and uncle Boynton trotted the babys
brother on his knee, inviting him persistently
to go to Boston and buy penny cake, greatly
to little Eben's aggravation, who would end,
Lizzy knew, by crying for the cake, and being
sent to bed Then there were Sam, and Lucy
Peters, and Jim Boynton, up to all sorts of mis-
chief in the kitchen Susan Boynton and Nell
ly James cracking nuts and their fingers on the
hearth,-father and mother up stairs in grand
mothers room for grandmother was bed-rid-
den, but kindly, and good, and humorous, and
patient, even in her hopeless bed, and nobody
was dearer to the whole family than she. Then,
of course, there was fire in the estparlor, and