Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1873-07-25

| tuOuSu W uO lO-ubNs W htcp thIOC BdllS VI
hands busy. Her heart beats faster than
ever, and there's bright flush on each
cheek, as she lies the little shaker o CO
more on the little fair head as the bright
eyes look up so lovingly into hers. UP
stairs by an open window, sits Miss Sharp
sewing. She hears Mr.. LittlesoIe's re-
marks, because he always talks 50 loud
that everybody around can hear him; and
she says, We'll, I am glad that man aint
my husband. With my big nose, hpmely
old face and no property in the word but
my scissors and thmble, and nobody 10
supervise me but Susan Sharp, TIM better
of than that poor woman down stairs, with
her rich fussy husband. She may serb
the house up, and scrub IL down, aud scrub
il around, and scour every stone in TIN
yard, every picket in the fence, and every
nail in the barn, and if he come home at
night and finds some rose leaves on the
hall carpet that the wind has just blown in
he'll preach sermon about order and sys-
tenn, and things going TO destruction. If
he sees a cobweb on the roof of the barn,
or solitary weed in the cabbage patch,
he'll talk an hour about general supervis-
ion. l wish could supervise him! And
those shakers-Pd like to know who can
keep track of them? You'd want a body
of police on purpose. These children arc
all over in minute, chasing the ducks in
the water, chasing the chickens into the
barn, hunting up the kittens in the garret,
making mud pies in the r0ad, see-sawing
on the gate--it is a wonder TO see how any
body ever knows where those shakers are.
Dear little tormenting witches! Their shak-
ers never keep hung up until their sunny
heads are in their coffins. That man will
grumble until he dies. Even if everybody
in the house runs their heads Off for him,
he'll think he's dreadfully abused. If he
gets into heaven through some back door,
he won't be contented unless he can ind
some dust on an angels robe. or some speck
on seraph's wing. There's that wife of
his has kind word for everybody. She'd
make everybody on the place happy, if he
didn't work her to death. She has mill
ion times his heart, twice his common
sense, and as much brain as he has. What
on carth's the reason you good -for-nothing,
silly women get such splendid husbands,
while some noble hearted woman will be
tied to fussy, fidgetty, LitllesOleof a man,
for whom nothing and nobody ever is right
They want a new earth, and guess they'll
have TO have new heaven fixed up on
purpose for them. It's pity if there are
any good men, that that sweet woman down
stairs could not have had one. Oh! If her
husband only knew what willing, noble
hearted woman he married =
When NJ. Littlesole came home that
night the gate hinge was as bad ever, the
weeds were in the garden still, The h II
was full of rose leaves, and three little sha-
kers were on the front stoop.
Mr.. Littlesole almost boiled over with
insuled Indignation he met Miss Sharp
al the open library door, and he said quick
ly and impatiently, where's NV wife?'
Come in here Miss Sharp said, 'she 10
here : and he followed her through the Ii
brary into the bedroom, where on the bed
Law his wife, pale, cold, and beautiful be-
side her was a physician. Your wife is
gone, sir, he sad she must have had a Sc
we're nervous shock. 1t was some trouble
of the heart, it seems now; shouldn't
think it could have been of long Standing
She worked too hard sobbed out Miss
Sharp. She swept out this morning the
whole garret and cellar, tried to pull up
those big weeds in the garden, and she's
worried herself these six months about ev-
cry hole and corner in these forty acres.
In the city her friends and flowers, music
and children took her time; but here there
l..
the best she could 90, had something left
undonc to worry about. When / found her
this afternoon she must have been dead an
hour, and L m glad she's at rest
Mr.. Iittlesole kissed her over and over,
said she was an angel, and oh how he
wished her back. He knew that almost
every hour of her life and thought of her
heart she had spent in trying to make him
happy. He knew that in the world there
was no such patient, loving wife as she had
been TO him. He knew that those little
darliugs crying by her side for mamma 10
wake up and kiss them again, would new
er find such another tender, gentle mother
He covered her coffin with flowers. He
erected over her one of the handsOmest
monuments in Greenwood, sacred to the
memory of Mary the beloved wife Of John
Littlesole; around it he planted roses,
hearts ease, and forget me-not.
'What pity said Miss Sharp, her tears
falling like rain on the new made grave of
her best earthly friend-'what a pity that
man couldn't have planted Il few flowers
in that lovely woman's living path Il!
Mr.. Littlesolc didn't break his heart /;
such men never do; they're only made,
Miss Sharp says, on purpose 10 break 9TH
er peoples.
One year after, he met at Saratoga, Miss
Fanny Bergamen. She was Judge Berga-
mems young, handsome and only daugh-
ter Mr.. Liltlesole could make himself
agreeable to strangers with his fine face
and figure. He won aud married Fanny
six months after he saw her.
Fanny had never received fault finding
word from any one. All her life she had
had kind and polite attention from all a
round her.
1t had never been her luck to yield to a
bear or wait upon the whims of others.
She had been married year to Mr.. Lit
tlesole. He had really been kind and care
ful of her feelings and tastes.
One night he told her he would stay at
home the next day.
MY husband will be at home all day.,
thought Mrs. Littlesolc. I'm play for him
that new music I've learned show him
how those flower seeds I've planted are
coming up; and he'll help me train up
those wisteras, and in the afternoon we'll
ride out to Mr.. Jardne's place, and select
some of those hemlocks for hedge. / am
glad he is going to be home. I'll have him
all day to myself Aud she had enough
of him that day-the old lit was on him {;