The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1868-04-24

: She took her sewing, but somehow
: her needle moved slower and slower, till
at length her work lay idle in her lap,
and her hands folded listlessly over it
then, with blush and sudden recOllec-
ton, her needle flew faster, but the lit
tie hand keeping pace with the weary
heart became slow again; two or three
tears fell silently. She reused herself,
folded her work, and opening the door
leaned out into the keen air. She
thought she would like to go and see
Zen herself
Il wonder what he will say to me ~
she continued aloud; Every likely he is
sick. This weather always makes him
worse. Any way I'll take him some
currant Jelly, and some of the ginger
bread he loves so well.n
The day was lovely, not a cloud sailed
over the intensely blue sky; the warm
rays of the sun had loosed thousands of
icicles, and with cracking sound they
fell on the white mass beneath; little
birds hoped over the soft snow, picking
the seeds from the tall grass-stems which
poeped above the surface pine boughs,
ovSrbTrdened with their white weight,
occasionally yielded to the pressure, and
east il off with smashing sound even
the brook, winding along the road and
across the fields, was not quite frozen,
and managed to add afew gurgling notes
to the general gladness.
She heard the merry jingle of sleigh
bells long before she reached the end of
the lane, and the sleighs with their gay
occupants were just passing as she emerg-
eel into The public road. There were
three Of them. She knew no one i'm the
first or second, but the third-surely-
for she cannot as yet see his face-sure-
", she heard WentwOrth's voice. He
was chatting gleefullY with a young
girl beside him. Allie thought he did
not see her, but he did for his face
flushed and the sentence he had COM
menced remained unfinished. The girl
beside him discovered her, too, for Allie
heard her ask
Who is that young girl ~ and the
reply, intended to be quite unconscious.
Where oh, that is Farmer Birds
daughter"
She watched them until they were
quite out of sight, then, rs she realised
for the first time the gladness of the dav, /
a dry sob came into her throat. Pas
sionate words came, too. She hated 1
the sun, hated the snow, hated every
( thing that could be glad while She was /
so wretched; above all she hated that /
girl Wentworth was to marry; She /
wished he might be unhappy wish 10
allrn
Herdelcate hands clutched together /
neryously; how tight her hood seemed /
something suffocated her She sat down,
united her hood, and gathering a hand /
ful OF snow, laid il on her burning tenn 4
pies bitter tears rained down hercheeks, /
and she shook convulsively. Pride (
whispered:
'Can YOU cherish this man who cares /
/ only for himself, who, for paltry gold, /
/ has crushed your heart beneath his /
feet?n
The only answer that came through /
her sobs, as she swayed 70 and fro, was 1
Il hunger thirst for him!'
She heard sleighbells again-she must /
not be seen there, so She tied on her /
hood, and took up her basket, and by /
the time she reached Benny's had quite /
regained her c0mpOsnre. She knocked /
at the door, but receiving no CHEEKY 1
''c0me in.H she pushed il open, and en- [
tered; as she anticipated, Benny was /
sick. He made no movement as she f.
crossed the room, and she found as she I
took chair beside him that he was 1
asleep. Nellie was not there, there was /
moore to talk to- 80 she laid her head on /
tho iailio w; it was aching fearfuny.- /
Bensy-movoa. hi. l.ssIt,t sought 'ner I
head with a earessing motion, and he /
murmured:
'Sophie-S0phieln
Allie knew of whom he spoke, his I
sister, Nellie's mother. She wished he /
would waken, the stiffness oppressed /
her; she raised her head, and the move
ment aroused him.
ooh, Miss Allie, is il you | was
dreamin'-u
THAT it was your sister" Allie said;
won't you tell me about her? You
called me SOphie lust now y
did l? I've been dreamin about her
all night; 'peared as though we was
child'en together in the old home
Them was happy days Miss Alien
won't you tell me about Sophie
she whispered, quietly. "Where is she
now ~
It seemed to her as though the recital
Of another's woe would help her to bear
hers. The question, though asked so
gently, stirred tied of unhappy memo
"Oh. don't ask me, Miss Allie
don't!'
He turned away his face, and when
he looked toward her again, there were
no traces oftears on it.
~ viii tell you about her, he said,
''seems rs though my heart would break
sometimes keepin' it all in. hope
you'll never know the sorrow that makes
the heart so black and dark, that it
seems as tho there wasn't no light no
where's. | feel 50 sometimes, but | go
with ii all to the foot of the cross | feel
better when know somebody helps to |
lift it. You see, Sophie an me was the
only childen an she grOwed so pretty |
an so cunnin' in all her ways, that eY-
erybody loved her an petted her-it |
ruined her at last. We used to play out
o. doors all day long, an huntnests, an
pick berries, an sometimes we'd stay in
the woods all day long, gatherin' wild /
flowers.
"WeH she growed to be fifteen, she
wus younger'n me by twenty years, but
was mis'able cripple, an so small
nobody took me to be so old. I'd seen !
she looked very serious sometimes, an
found fault with her clothes, an didn't /
like mother to correct her-tho' mother
didn't do it very often-an' 'sed she
couldn't bear rag carpets an wooden
chairs; / kind o. wondered at 1t, but /
did'n s'spect nothin' till | see her one /
day with Tom Russell. He was the
richest Young fellow in the village, an
as wild as hawk. I knowed from the
way she looked at him she loved him,
an that he'd been putin all these no
lions inton her head, an | says to her:
''Sophie | wish you wouldn't go with
Tom, he ISL L lllc hluu y OAABetis %
young girl like you ought to keep"
Her eyes were angry as ia never
seen 'em before, when she said:
"Benl | didn't think you'd talk to me
so; d'you think | care for Tom half so
much as | do for you?" an she hid face
on my shoulder an cried.
''At fust / felt little riled with her,
but as she lay there, so quiet-like, an
the tears rollin' out o. her great brown
eyes-oh what beautiful eyes she had, |
Miss Allie, brown an big, an soft, just |
the color of her hair, that waved with
out curlin'-I couldn't help putin my
arms around her, an then when she |
looked at me through her tears, an |
asked sifI'd always love her? burst |
out cryin' in spite O myself. She hung |
to me till promised her, then she went |
into the house.
"Well, fur two or three days she went |
| about the house so still an sorrowfui, |
that it made my heart ache, an she did |
| JUS as mother wanted her to, an seemed |
| JUS like little lamb what has been
hurt, till one mornin'. when | came
down stairs, mother asked me where So
| was.
A. IT L 7 cold