Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-09-30

away in cloud of dust the noble prepos-
sessing young doctor, whom half the girls
were breaking their hearts for, but who, as
they Indignantly averred, seemed to have
mot the least bit of heart to give any
body except his patients, to whom he made
himself very dear, no matter how old and
repusive His breakneck pace, however,
slbsided into slow walk as he rode to the
hill beyond, and it gave rise to the script
ural quotation which heads this story.
That evening, just at sunset, Charity
Abbott went leisurely down the meadow
path, across lots from her pretty home to
the humble cottage of the Wells family.
The grass waved and surged about in the
evening breeze, sea OF billowy green,
gemmed with tall, nodding buttercups
The delicious breath from the crimson clo-
yer on the hillside came waited to her like
purest incense, and little further on,
faint delicate odor from the lowlands told
of Strawberries ripening to luscious sweet
ness down among the rank grass and weeds.
The bobolinks nodded their saucy, black
caps at her as they followed along in
friendly proximity, trilling forth mean
while their unintelligible jargon, rich and
clear in its silvery sweetness and thus
attended she traversed slowly the long mea-
dow path, drinking in at every step the
beauties of earth and sky and cloud. Down
the little hill which hid her home from
view then through huge gate which
opened a little way with its creaking
sweep, to let through her agile form, then
around the corner of a field of rye already
standing stoat and tall, she entered little
! yrk1
and signing in the waving branches, max
ing sweet and pensive music which
chimed in pleasantly with her thoughts
so attuned to natures harmony, and she
fingered in the charming grove a little
pleased with everything even the soft, brown
carpet which the fallen needles made under
her feet Regarding it then and not till
then, she noticed that she had on her new
CATERS. Provoking. The morning dew
would nearly spoil their beauty, but it was
not worth while to go clear back home
again, so, resolving to make the best of it,
she passed on out at the bars, and down q
little piece of dnsty road to the brown
little house which was her destination.
The soft, clear, summer night passed
away, the patient watcher moving quietly
about, doing all that sympathy could prompt
! for the poor old woman now SO nearly be-
yond her gentle ministrations. With a
touch as tender as though the invalid were
dear friend, she chafed the aged limbs,
smoothed back the snowy hair from the
wrinkled face, and bathed the aching head
| Unweared were her attentions and much
were they needed by the worn sufferer, un
til toward morning they took effect, and
she sank away into quiet, peaceful sleep.
Still Charity sat by the bedside, driving
away with her fan the villainous musqui-
toes that persisted inannoying her charge
and at the same time creating with 1t fresh
currents of air for the comfort of the suf-
ferer, whose lungs were well nigh wasted
away.
At sunrise the family were up, and Char
ity was released from her post, glad to go
forth in the fresh moning air, after her
wearsome night.
Mindful of the well-being of her new
CATERS, Charity picked her way carefully
along the road, wetting them in the dewy
grass when she tried to avoid the dust,
and covering them with dirt when she tried
to avoid the dew by taking the middle of
the road Once in the shadow of the
pines, she paused to look at them in disgust,
when brilliant thought struck her Why
not doff shoes and stockings and 90 home
barefoot 1t was so warm and pleasant,
and the path smooth and soft There was
no danger of meeting any one, and she
could slip in unobserved at the back door
at home, so that even her watchful mother
need not know it. To plan was to execute
with this active young lady, and seating
herself on fallen tree trunk by the path,
she quickly barred her feet, rolled the snowy
stockings into a snug ball which she put in
her pocket, light knotted together the strings
to her CATERS so she might hang them over
her arm, then rose and went bravely onward
congratuating herself on her brilliant idea
Alas, for the frailty of human calculations
Out of the pine woods, along by the edge
of the thrifty rye. and there was Dr. Nor
ton himself just coming around the corner,
and within ten yards of meeting her, pail
pably and undisguisedly barefoot as she
was, with her skirts caught up to avoid the
dew, and her new CATERS carefully hung
over her arm
The fresh rays of the morning sun shone
full in DR.. Norton's face, rousing him from
a night of unusually quiet and undisturbed
sleep. To visit old Mrs. Wells was his
first thought, and he made hasty toilette
and started out A sudden determination
seized him to 90 across the fields on foot,
instead of taking his horse to 90 around by
the road, which was twice as far The
morning air was so invigorating that he
felt as if the walk would be decided ben
oft, SO ho struck into tho path across the
pasture, which, at the rye field, came into
the path Charity traversed the evening be-
fore, and walked briskly on
1t was trying moment for Charity Alb
bott, and all sorts of wild thoughts careered
through her mind at once, though she still
kept on her way, since it was too late for
concealmcnt. Yesterdays bushes when
he caught her exhibiting her CATERS were
as white roses to peonies compared with
the burning red which suffused her checks
and forehead, and even crimsoned her she'll
like ears. That he should think her so
| careful and penurious as to save her new
CATERS at the expense of her feet-her
confusion was overwhelming What
thoughts passed through his mind we will
not pretend to say, but it is certain he then
and there discovered that he was fully in
love with the girl before him, whom hither-
to he had thought he only half-loved. So
careful, and withal so modest girl as her
bushes betokened her to be, could but
make prudent, faithful wife. The i'm
pulse of the moment came over him, and
he yielded to it, so that when they at last
met and he took her hand to say GOOD