St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-06-05
Poor Miss Betsy"
BY MARY ID. BRINE.

B1 MARX ID. BklNE.
Miss Betsy Brown rocks slowly back
and forth in her low sewing chair, darn
ing with slightly unsteady fingers her
hrother's SorkS. The little dining room
Is bright with sunshine. which dances
gaylH i'll through the halt-upcned win
dows and falls benignly on Miss Betsy :
capped head. Tahhy the eat. and only
pet allowcd in the house. lies stretched
at her mistress : feet purling and blink
| ing her green orbS contcutedly. Out
side it i> lovely and pleasant as that
beautiful season where spring and sum
mcr meet to kiss and part can make it.
Tiny brown sparrowS hop hither and
| fhithcr in sealGh at. GrluRhS tHtlipT al
Miss BetSN's little green area. since she
has no love nor admiration for the
''noiSl tNittering things" And this
morningr>hc even has the cruelty to
''shoo" the little creatures away. de
claring that her nerves can bear moth
ing more i'll the way of annoyanccS.
Truth to tell. Miss Betsy is in Il very
unamiahle mood. and it is all because
of that lmpudent orange boy who came
Il little while ago to the dining-runm
window and offered his fruit with a veil
her seat. and startled her So she could
hardly stand for. YOU see. she sat with
her back to the window. and didn't oh
serve the boy until she heard his fright
full voice. 'Olamg"s TODAY ?" OF courSr
after that Miss Betsy wouldn't buy his
fruit Just to punish him, and therefore
shook her head mo" But like all bows
OF his class and calling. the boy per
sisted that ''Shc'd better try EN-" and
after repeated noes" Miss Betsy de
clined again. this time accompanying
her refusal with stamp of her foot hy
way of emphasis. This. however. failed
TO affect any one but the cat who
moTintuliy withdrew her tail from its
dangerous position, and magnanimously
forgave her mistress. The imp outside
argued the matter, and even sat down
on the areaStepS to allow Miss Betsy
time to digest his argument. 1t was
very inconsistent, no doubt. but be
longcd Ia her ''w0mIn's privilege" to
he Inconsistent. | suppose al amy tate.
Miss Betsy. Notwithstanding her pre-
vIous firm and emphatic noes" did
finally say undecidedly: "Well. | don't
know how much are they ?" rising to
take one i'll her hand. and turning the
orange round with critical examination.
''Ten fur ii quarter" yelled the little
pcddler, pressing his advantage.
Miss Betsy declared the price too
high. Straightway followed discus
lady and her oppOnent-thc former
smelling of an orange, and insisting be
tween each sniff that "thcy don't seem
:, small -
gravely suggesting the possibility of
1.-THE misSus having cold in her head"
drew from Miss Betsy severe glance
from over her spectacles. Well, after
an argument of nearly ten minutes du-
ration it ended by the ''nIissus" hand
ing the fruit back and returning to her
former decision with decided mo"
which made the peddler mad" and
caused him. with a meanness only
equalled by the quality of his fruit, to
cry out for the editication of the neigh
bors as well as for the man in the orange
cart Il say, this old party won't buy
worth cint, but blowed if she hain't
got quarters worth of smells :" No
wonder then that Miss Betsy is in Il
cross humor after ''such impertinence
from so inferior Il person as an orange
boy" and she informs Tabby, the only
contidant during the lonely hours of the
day, that children are nuisances, and
the sight of one made her sick. She
also thanked fate that she had been
spared tn care of such dreadful crea-
lures" And yet even as she thus ex-
pressed herself Il shadow fell across her
lap, and presently, just where the
orange boy had planted himself, stood
a wee little child of, perhaps, five years
of age, who looked at Miss Betsy with
two blue eyes and smile that would
have gone straight to the heart of any
one but Miss Betsy Brown.
SEQ right away this minute, little
girl! y commands the spinster $50
right straight away
''Daisy tum III dere ?" is the soft re-
ply, while IA tiny finger points within
the snug room, and the child seeing
Tabby, fairly laughs with glee.
Good gracious sakes alive" ejacu-
lates Miss Betsy, aghast at the idea of