Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1872-07-26


and eggs to town. After the easy-tem-
pered, assembling wife was very shy of
the shrewd addition to her household
but quite Intellectually, for Miss Helen
got into way of eavesdropping and
playing the spy, that enabled her to find
out her aunt's most private affairs.
Being sent to school, she made much
better progress in learning to chew gum,
finding birds nests, and cleaning news,
than in reading, writing, and ciphering.
She triumphantly informed her uncle
that they "lived better than any Of their
neighbors, for she had been all round
visiting, just to see what they eat, and
nobody had pies and cakes like them
selves" This sally of precocity nearly
tickled Peter to death, he declared
she was "too smart a child to be brought
up in the woods, and would send her to
a city school as soon as she was twelve
years old.
In due time, therefore, the inquiring
niece found herself located at Madame
Hoskins' Finishing School for Young
Ladies. Her uncle had expended con-
siderable amount in buying cloth for
her Aunt Polly to make up; but poor
Aunt Polly knew nothing about Dem
rests modes, or stylish New York pat
terms, consequently Miss Helen's dresses
we're terribly oattre in their cut, and her
under garments made with fullness
approximating the Dutch girls of pris
tine New Amsterdam. Worst of all,
her sandy hair was screwed into an in
fnitesimal knot of itself, entirely inno-
cent of even the shadow of chignon.
Her uncle stayed with her one day,
bought her large paper of candy, and
at leaving presented her with five dol
lars.
The very knowing young lady was
quick to perceive the discrepancy in her
dress, and that of her companions, and
she denounced her old fogy Aunt Pol
ly," and her dogged, stiugy Uncle Pc
ter" pretty freely to herself for sending
her out in such plight. However, be-
ing established on very friendly foot
ing with Matte Matherson. fat, good
natured girl, who pitied the dowdy
backwoods tacky," Miss Helen was
soon directed to the proper channels for
improving her personal appearance,
which for long time occupied her
thoughts, to the exclusion of everything
else. She was speedily corseted, hooped,
paniered, bustled and chignoned with an
addition of huge bunch of natural
curls, bought of her milliner. Her un-
Gle responding to her demand for hun
dred dollars with only fifty, she wrote
him pathetic letter complaining that
everybody knew he was poor nobody
by his being SO stingY with her." In
stead of being displeased at his niece's
ingratitude and want of respect, old Pc
ter's pride took up arms at the possible
suspicion of his impecuniosity, and he
sent Helen two hundred dollars. AS al
the old field school, so at the polishing.
mill, Miss Helen's inquisitivenessd did not
avail her for the acquisition of knowl
edge. She managed, by surreptitiously
looking in her book while reciting, and
paying others to prompt her, to take a
pretty fair stand in her classes, and she
evinced wonderful aptitude in "get.
ting the hang" of things generally. She
found out the engagement of one of her
classmates, and by threatening disclosure
to the teachers, made the poor girl work
out all her sums, for her, and write hel
French exercises till the end of the
term.
Matte Matherson who occupied the
same room with her, coming in unex
expectedly one day, found her chum
very deliberately reading Mattie's let
tiers. She also offended Hester Smith
by inspecting, without leave, her private
diary.
When Papa" as she now called Un.
Gle Peter, came after her, she informed
him that the august principal, Madame
Hoskins, wore false teeth, false hair, 8
false eye and cork leg; that the music
teacher, Prof. Won Alste, was a NOR.
phine eater, and his wife, her German
teacher, was "chloraP drunkard. Mr.
Goss conc uded that he had the know
INCEST niece in the world, and be resolv.
ed to make will forthwith, in her favor
Having at length finished her educa
ton and returned to her country home
Helen found time such laggard in the
absence of the sensations and excitement
of city life, that she hardly knew what
to do with herself. She "got up" some
diversion in selecting guests for the big
dinner she made her Aunt Polly give
and in remodeling Uncle Peters ideas
on the right way of furnishing a house
Her indulgent uncle, only indulgent tC
Helen of all people in the world, got the
sort of furniture she wanted. and let bel