Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1870-11-04

Breut lump rose III my tnrOat, tnc ro"
of milk pans swan before my eyes.
mot till we have had tho wooing If you
please" 1 managed to say in a steady voice
and rushed into the kitchen without look
ing back.
heard his wagon wheels sound faint
and fainter in the distance with crushing
sense of disappointment, though l could
not in reason expect him TO leap in at tho
pantry window, and insist on a bottor an
swer to his question, in the face and eyes
of Miss Althea.
To tell the truth there was very little roa-
| son in tho matter, anyway, when you come
TO sift it.
If you will believe it, Steven had mover
| spoken a word of love to me in his life,
and then sprung that merciless question on
me, all at once, about our weddng.s-t
knew him well enough to be certain that he
was thoroughly in earnest.
1t was the condensed crystal of many
| thoughts that he had uncovered before my
eyes so suddenly.
"You didn't keep him long" said Miss
Althea. 81 guess it was the wind after all,
that shut the pantry door in my face. l
didn't know but you might have done it
with long handled skinner or somothin' /,
SOS TO have crack with Steven, but
could have told you it was no use, There's
no palaver about him. A gals gal ohm,
| and nothin else"
IA primrose the rivers brm
| Ayelow primrose was to him,
| And 1t was nothing more"
muttered under my breath.
"What's that?" said Miss Althea. amt
deaf only you talk so thick"
"a bit of poetry, that's ALL"
"Oh, thought you'd heard about them
Primrose girls they do say that Steven
Frazar is kind of hankering after Liby.
She took tho first premium, ten dollars,
for her butter at the last cattle show, and she
makes all her own gowns and bonnets."
"They look so!' said l spitefuly, for
Miss Althea always did bring my bitter
streak to.the. surface.
| "Looks amt everything, Sylvie, tho it's
done a good deal for your family. The
| Frazars always look out for wives that can
turn off good days work. Steven might
have been kind o. sentimental when he
was young, say sixteen or thcreabouts !;
| but he comes of timber that hardens as it
grows old. If you could get him Sylvie,
you d do better than all your sisters"
81 hope you won't put any such notions
| into her head until after house e-cleaning,"
said mother, with one of her low, bllowy
laughs, which always exasperated Miss AL
thea. She never showed more than four
teeth in a wiry smile.
"No need to put 'em in; they're in the
| grain with all your gals but I'm wastin
| precious time. l only run over for min
| ute while them pillow-cases was on my
mind"
Don't be in haste; your cat won't be
| lonely" 1 said, with petty sarcasm wor-
! thy of Miss Althea herself. Twas ASHAMED
\ of Si before her tcant skirts were out of the
| doorway.
| "You have too much patience with her ;
1t ceases TO be virtue,' 1 said, answering
the rel roach in mothers eyes. "You don't
even resent the Sights she puts upon your
girls"
"Thats because she has none of her own;
it's the pity of it that smoothes my fcath-
ors when they begin to bristle," said moth
or, gently. eve were girls together, AL
thea and l, and you don't know what man
ner Of woman might have stinened into
if had lived on toast and tea all these
years, and lain awake on winter nights to
hear the wind blow round a lonely house."
Mother" l said, dashing sideways at
the subject which filled my thoughts, "do
you think some women are pre-ordained
from the beginning Of the world to be old
maids?'
at may be so, but am sure that n wo-
man was ever single except by her own
choice; there comes TO every woman at
least one chance of marriage, if she have
the presence Of mind TO grasp it,
Marriage! yes, but suppose she wants
love? l am twenty-five, and no one ever
said, Il love you.'"
"Some things go without saying" said
Steven Frazar, appearing suddenly at the
south door. 81 went of and left the eggs
after all, and so came back for them. |
have heard no treason except Sylvia's last
speech. Does every man have one chance
Of marriage, too?'
"Yea, verify, Steven; one chance of
somebody loving him for himself, let him
be ever so awkward and disagreeable."
"That's good news" said Steven.
"Ivc half mind to tell you story"
said mother meditatively.
"With all my heart the eggs can watt
"You know what rough husk my
brother Shubael wears to all the world, but
you may never know the warm heart that
he hides under it. He was always like that
from boy, but he used to suffer from the
most intolerable bashfulness. lie was in Q
flame if girl looked at him if she spoke
his tongue Glove to tho roof of his mouth
l never pitied anybody so much in my life
1t seemed to me that ho only needed to be
gin to pny attention las the phrase is) tC
some nice girl in particular, to find on
that there is very littlo in any woman tc
make n man afraid of her.
~ lay in wait for Shubaels opinions, til
| discovered that he had faint liking for
girl who was every whit as bashlulas him
self. It was impossible for either to %
half way. | was foolish enough to tax,
the girl into my plot, which dazed wha
wits she had whenever Shubaol went nea
her, and the more because she really pre-
fcrred him to anybody else.
81 worked his courage up to the stickin.
point Of asking her to let him go home will
her one dark night from 'quilting,' anC
was describing my success to your father
as we were taking the longest way home
when Shubael passed us alone, waltin,
very fast.
81 knew my plan had fallen througI
when 1 caught sight of his whimsical face
) had invented the mldest OF formulas 70
0 him to use, and he declared that he march
cd up to her like martyr to the stake, an
r repeated it without the least mistake. An
! what do you think she said?
0 mo, thank you Ivo got rubbers."
- "Then Shubael fed, and never Dire,
breath till he was safe at home.
n "lIo laughed till the tears ran down hi
!, face, AT himself and her. but from that da
to this, he has let all women severely alon
a II she had had her wits about her that on
nj, IN ,trrlt mazda ln,