Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1859-03-26


care, Leake," said a friend to him at needs
careful man to build so. A fire in winter up in
this cold country is something dreadful it's like
gun-powder-a flash, and all is gone"
"Oh, never fear" said Leake; 81 have had
my portion of i'll fortune in this world my luck
has turned" (Mr. Curtis often impressed on
the children that what shiftless people call i'll
fortune and bad luck is but the inevitable con-
sequences of their own imprudence or careless
ness.)
1t was during the third winter of the I.eakes'
residence in their new home that, Just at the
close of short winters day, the merry tinkling
of sleigh bells was heard, and the crealting of
therunners on the hard, frozen snow, and lit
tie cutter Ia single sleigh) Stopped at Leake's.
II was expected, the door opened, and shouts
of joy followed, and glad greetings of "unclc'
and "aunt," and Cousins" "Uncle Ben" and
his family had come from Connecticut to make
n long promised visit. When supper was end
ed, the card bearing the domestic axiom caught
Uncle Ben's eye. 1t was nailed to the wall over
the mantel-piecc. 81 declare !" he exclaimed I;
"well, never expected to see that bit of paste
board again. give you credit-mark for pre-
serving that, John" "You must give that
crcdit-mark to Lyman, brother: Ne preserved
the card but you may give me one for teaching
him care" Uncle Ben smiled. Yes he said,
.Ou iuNt JOiil' Oub NIOuS tllu lure
most-wrong end foremost"
The evening passed off delightfully."-. The un-
stintcd fire of new country burned brightly
basket of fine apples from the old "homc or
chard in Connecticut" was unpacked, and nuts
were cracked and eaten. The elders talking
about old times. I.eake gave the history of his
tolls on his new farm, and his success. lie told
Che had some rights to boast, for he had worked
diligently how much land he had cleared, what
crops he had raised, and concluded with, MY
barn is full have plenty of wheat, and corn,
and oats in the loft over my woodhouse; and
pork in my cellar and my wife has taken care
of the trinkcts-buttcr and apple-sauce, and pic
kles, and the like" and he ended his boast of
rural riches, with saying, al guess Ben, my old
neighbors could not twit me now"
"Your old neighbors, John, always knew you
for an honest, hard-working man; it was only
your careless ways, your want of order that
troubled us. You know used to tell you that
if you put ever so much meal into bag with
hole in it, it would run away"
"Yes, yes, know; and just so Lyman talks
now. Among you, you put an old head on his
young shoulders And thus the elders talked,
and the Youngsters had their pleasure, the vis-
itors telling the wonders of jugglers, and wax
work shows, and delights incident to their down
country advanced civilization; and the "new
'N'NN NHi'uANh itihliAp uANthAulto WIN bth4 y
and wildcats, and their own personal concern
with tanning squirrels and catching rabts, and,
finally, the evening closed with game of" for
feits," in which Lyman having been sentenced
to the common penalty of" bowing to the prct-
test, knceling to the witticst, and kissing the
one he loved best, declared all these dues were
to his cousin Sally His cousin Sally protested
and resisted the girls all joined her, and after
laughing scramble together, Lymans sister
caught up candle, calico " cousin Sally" to fol-
low her, and they made good their escape to the
bedroom. and bolted Lyman ont. Lyman re-
treated; the evening was far advanced, ,slnd the
Leakes and their guests separated for the night,
but not till after Lyman performed duty that
had been postponed by his uncle's arrival.
While his mother, "on hospitahe thoughts
intent" was preparing her little affairs for the
mornings breakfast, Lyman went to the wood
house to split kindlings for the morning fires
and having finished, he could not resis, the temp
taion of showing his well preserved az to his
Uncle Ben. So The boy is a fool about that axe -
said his father; if it was made of wedge Of
gold he could pot be more choice of it; he even
hides it away from me that gave it to him." Iy-
man looked at his uncle with a quiet smile.
Come, come, LYMAN" said his father, there's
reason in the roasting of eggs; throw your axe
in here for tonight" He opncd the door OF a
little closet next the fire place. "Dont go clear
back to the wood-house this cold night a
place for every thing, and every thing in its
place." replied Lyman, ard the axe was returned
to the wood-house. "Now that's what | call
superStitious." said the father, while he took
from the open closet a splinter-broom to sweep
the wide spread Goals of the fire he had Just
raked just as he was finishing his wife called
to him from the kitchen, and, hastily Mrowimg
the broom into the closet, he went to her.
II, - H. a. Il
house."
"Well what of that ?"
"Why, you know, l never like to go to bed
without pail Of water at hand"
81 Know that is one Of your superstitions.
John Leake, in spite of all his experience, per-
sisted in looking upon the provisions of foresight
as "supersitions." Let it 60, just for one night
wife; it's dark and biting cold, and the way up
to the well all shod with glare ice"
"Iis bad," said his wife, meekly, and urged
no more; but as she looked wistfully at the
empty pail, she thought, if they should chance
to want water in the night, it would not be any
better getting it, and an anxious sigh escaped
her. looming events" do sometimes seem to
.cast their shadows beofrel"
The family were soon all in bed. and in their
first sleep, the profoundest of the night but there
is no sleep from which a mother cannot be
awakened by restless child, and about one
o'clock Mrs Leake was reused from hers by the
nesting of her baby. She instantly walened
her husband with, "John do get up and see
where this smoke comes from the room is full
of it." Their bedroom was off the sittng-room
the door was open into it, and the moment Leake
raised his head he saw bright light shining
through the crevices of the closet-door into
which he had thrown the splntered broom.
Some small Goals had adhered to the broom
when John swept the hearth, but shut in the
closet with very little air, they had peen slow in
kndling but now they had kindlcd thoroughly
and when Leake sprang to the closet-door and
| opened it, the broom was in a lighted blaze, and
the heated partition had taken fire. John seized
the broom aud threw it in the fireplace, and al
that moment the fire had made so little progress
that single pail of water at hand wonld have
extinguished it.
"Oh, The pail Of fuater !" shrieked Mrs Leake
Leake thought with anguish of the empty pail
rushed to the kitchen for it, and rushed to the
well. The ground was descending to the house
and, as he said, "slippery as glass;" and Leake
fell Again he let the bucket down into the
deep well and filed his pail, and reached the
house with it, but the air had rushed in through
the open door and blew up the fire like fur,