Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1874-11-20
nOIr LERRY CllME HOME.

schtleIluS llnDeI' II gave lne Olu pcutle-
woman, who had long been lowering
douhtfully on tho borders of two worlds,
a very good reason for departing at last,
and leaving lon waited for estate to in
nuneralle hungry heirs and lawyers.
"Too much for the old lady, that scare"
neighborly people said, "though the fire
didn't amount to any thing; but, bless
your life, sne'd hung on SO longi' imply
ing that the breeze which had shaken her
of at last was all in the way of Providence
The truth is, people had become to feel that
Death, with his hands full among medner
people aud poorer people, had quite over
looked rieh old Mrs. Ctil.s in her snug
old place at the Naples. There is a certain
sense OF justice in these things, and three
score years and ten is generous allow
ance for lifetime after all 4; to go beyond
II looks covetous, especially it you have
heirs. There were no red eyes at the old
gentlewoman's funeral, if you except those
of Deborah, the old lahy's humble compan-
ion and housekeeper.
"She's made a fool of Deb, though but,
for the matter of that Debs always being
made fool Of" said Mrs. Thornpin, chat
ting to a Deighbor over her gate, with a
brood Of barefoot children behind her.
Mrs. Thornpin was Deborah's half sister
a shrewd and notable woman, with faded
wisp of hair done up in scantling twist
behind, and skewered vixenishly back
from forehead and ears. "Yes, she's made
a fool of Deb-leit without paying her last
quarters wages, aud give her the sweep
ings of her property just to set the whole
place talking about US and our poverty.
And after the struggle I've had to keep my
head above water, to have Deb come baok
TO me like that, with that ragged bit of sea-
shore and that wheezy old barn of a house
behind her and all Of hazing after that boy
of hers, who'll never came back, it's my
belief. If he's deceutly dead and buried
It's all the harm wish him
For il seems that Deborah had had her
romance too, years ago. 1t came to her in
the shape of IA stray sailor drilling up the
shore one day-a slouching fellow, with
pair of gypsy black eyes and foreign
look, which the good people of ,he village.
not being able To translate accurately, took
to mean evil altogether, shaking their
heads omincuslv when he ",nodn mn tn
Deb. and finally married her. ), when he
led Deb a hard life, drank up all his earn
ings at the village inn, and finally cut him
self adrift agaiu, going of without warn
ing into that unknown somewhere whence
he came. and leaving her with the care ,r a
three wear old bov. and moi a cent TO SIM
.ort ber.elr exervhndv looked at everv.
body else and said "What could van ex.
nect ?" And there woulI have bprn u,th-
ING for Deb but to po hack to her half.,i.-
teri. making ono Of scantilv fed and
ovornonulated household if This old gan-
tleyoman a, the Maples hadn't turned m
and wanted her for a bousekeeper.
p,,, II ,,h.. ,o,, h,l.,, ,,n,,1 ,.,,,
all, 40 oro,,. ,,.,,.l...,,,a ,,.i,d
vonny rellow whom M one saw anv cond
In ,,a nost or ,h, rai,bbo,b,.,a ,ne do
strover Of melon matches an finnish voupg-
ster with no end of dcviIment in him.
Even the most orthodnx G,Ik of the villoge
sometimes felt themselves constr ined to
wonder TO what end Jerry WAS born. Prov
idence seemed TO have so little 10 do with
him. So when one fine morning the lad
was IN and Off like his father before him.
nobody was sorry or surprised but his
mother. A fine summer morning long ago
that was. MANY mists had settled on the
sea.sbore and many SHOWS had whitened
the hill-tops since Jerry went away, but
his mother had been .Iooking far him
back" ever since. Every summer among
the far-fitting sails she fdncied Jerry's
ship was sailing in, for Jerry had gone for
a sailor, of course-what else? He would
come back some day in blue braided
jacket and floating ribbon as prOuu and
bright as the best Of them. That was Deb's
religion, her one mistaken faith and even
her hali-sisier, accustomed TO whet the
sharp edge of her temper on Deus short
cumiugs, was lain to keep shy OF this va
gary.
1t is astonishing, after all, how small a
portion of ones self is really owned by
ones self. Especially in a village. There's
the neghborhood, and there's the family,
and there's that vague, impalpable thing
called the word, which sometimes means
the meeting house one, two, three -fourths
the shriveled portion of selfhood re-
naming is hardly worth counting upon as
stock in Trade. And Deb had lived in the
village I'LL she was almost one OF lis tradi-
lions. Hadn't they known her from child,
ana weren't her whims and oddities sort
OF town property like the salt air aud the
sheli-hshr
When, therefore, the village learned that
Deborah was not coming back to burden
her hali-sister, but was fairly set TO move
into hat rickety, rheumatic old house, be-
queathed her by her eccentric mistress,
with its bare acre or two fraying out in
| poado,y land and sedoe IN the tide- rising