Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1874-06-19


house, but l had nothing TO say now. l
even filled his pipe and lighted ii for him.
And then he told The story Of his life, which
had been full of strange and interesting
adventures. He was evidently a man who
did not read much, and who could not have
written well, but he could talk, not always
dramatically, perhaps, but always with
forco and fascination.
1t seemed that years and years ago, his
father and my mothers father lived in a
town in the valley of the Kennebec. My
mothers father was large farmer, aud MIR.
Averill's father was very small farmer
with very large family. So the youngest
son, Sam, came 10 work for my grandfa-
ther. My mother and my aunt Augusta
were young girs-they were twins, and 1
suppose by the way they look now, they
must have been pretty then. My mother
was early engaged and married to my ia
| ther; but there was Augusta, and there
was Sam, and where one was you might
usually find the other near at hand. Sam
never said anything, he was not of the de-
monstrative kind, but he knew how he felt,
and he supposed Augusta knew too.
So the years budded and blossomed and
brought forth fruit, until at last Sam went
down TO Connecticut to take charge of
| w-mill for an uncle of his. He wrote TO
aunt Augusta and aunt Augusta wrote to
him aud now and then he came to Maine
on business, always going to my grdndfa-
TIERS before he went home, and carrying
himself toward aunt Augusta like AN accept
ed lover.
After few years he found himself pos
sess ed OF twelve thousand dollars, and i'm
mediately went to work to spend it, He
went abroad, to England and Rome and
Egypt and Paris and Germany and Swe-
den and Russia and everywhere. When
he came home at last it was only with fifty
dollars in his pocket. SO next he went out
among the copper mines OF Lake Superior,
aud in due time was again possessor Of
twelve thousand dollars.
"Now | will come home and marry Au-
gusln, and settle down." said he to himself.
But he never said il to anybody else. 1t
never occurred To him that 1t was nocessa-
ry.
Meantime my aunt Augusta had not
stood like a rose in a pot, waiting for the
gardener to come and pick it,. She cast out
her roots aud threw up her branches and
bloomed as though it was enough to fulfil
the laws of being and beauty for their own
sakes.
In that simple neighborhood work was
supposed to be the chief end of everybody.
So aunt Augusta learned vest making, and
then she went to Coos, where her brother
Nathan lived, and set up for herself.
Coos was little crumb ofa town in those
days; but it held up its head and had its
stoi es and its mills, aud its shops and its
great white meeting house on hill, with
galleries on three sides and square pews
aud high box pulpit.
The first Sunday aler aunt Augusta
went there she climbed the hill, of course,
and went in the front pew with uncle Ma
than and his wife. She was fashionably
dressed in black gown, a scarlet shawl
and white silk bonnet with red roses in
side. Her cheeks were as pink as her ros-
es, and her eyes were as black as her gown.
There wasno need that Mr.. Keeer should
point her out to the young men, but he took
the pains to do il. Mr.. Keller, the minis
ter, was little, lank mas, as plain and
gray AS dor bug, aud so afraid of the
pomps and vanities that he wouldn't wear
buttons on his coat. No sooner had his
eyes fallen on aunt Augusta, settling her.
self in the front pew like a variegaled tu-
lip, than he dropped the subject he had
started upon for his sermon and began to
preach against conformity to the world.
He was a sincere, earnest man, and he
preached it with all his might, emphasiz-
ing and illustrating his words by pointing
with his blunt finger at the scarlet shawl
and pink roses. So if anybody had neg
lecled to look at them before, they look ed
then.
Among those who were obedient TO the
ministerial foreiinger was Abner Stanton
the village blacksmith.
Abner Stanton's heart was a good deal
like his iron-not easily meted-but when
it once had been hammered into shape,
there ii was fixed and steadfast And to-
day aunt Augustus eyes went through il
like red hot arrows as he peered around al
her from behind one of the pillars in the
gallery.
The next day he came to get vest made
The day amer he came to bring the buttons
for ii; aud the day after that he thought, a:
he was going by, he would call and see i
she had everything she needed, and how
soon the vest would be done. II was no
two days more before he was there to bring
a letter.
81 happened to see it at the post Office
when I went after my paper, and so
brought it along. / could as well as not, >
said he.
The letter was from Sam Averll, telling
about the luck he had in mining, the wealth
er, and the fact that he was we'll Nothing
more nothing about the home he wa
building in his fancy, and the figure tina
was always central in his thoughts.
81 hope" said my uncle Nathan, "tha
you are not foolish enough to set your mnC
on such a rolling stone as Sam Averill.
He has no continuity 10 him."
3 "If we are going TO hunt for man tha
, has no faults in this world, we'll have
D long road of it," returned aunt Aug gusta a
I bearing down the heavy pressing iron up
, on her seam as though she were trying Il
r crush the life out of something.
In less than a week Abner Stanton callet
7 again. He thought perhaps Miss August
$ didn't know the swamp pinks were out
/ and so he brought her handful, that b
got on the way over from Cowsett.
I Aunt Augusta had weakness for flow
ers-she and my mother are unlike abou
4 that-and she put a cluster of the blossoms
Q in her hair at once, and another at he
y throat, while Abner Stanton stood ant
= looked at her with admiration in ever,
# hair of his head.
v "lf you were a sister of mine, you shoul
L | alMaXa sit In a rnckinn chair mud u,aa