Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1874-01-12

e the request WAS ~ aihusihS, tliae h0
sid:
Very well, Miss Laura. 1t is a bar
gain, if, in return, you viii be my guide
to all that is beautiful and picturesque
ID this wild region"
..Oh. thank You ~ she cried. Il have
been longing to show you some lovely
views ever since you have been here, but
feared you would think me intrusive.
Shall We 60 up to Sunset Rock tonight,
Mr.. Alden I'd lore to 60.
Poor Cindy For the first time in her
life she envied Elizabeth and Laura.
This new hero of theirs was no less a he
70 70 her. As for loving him, she would
as soon have thought of loving star, or
the sun itself But this man was the
embodiment of all her dreams. He did
with easy, careless grace-the ease and
grace of god, it seemed to her-the
very things that she longed to do. He
lived her own ideal life. 1t acas hard
to be in the kitchen. doing the rough
work, while Elizabeth sat in the cool,
shaded parlOr, leading Winthrop Alden
on to talk of his work and its aspirations,
of artist-life and its romantic assoeia-
tions-of all, in short, that was dearest
to Cindy's soul. 1t was hard to be she'll
ing peas for dinner. while Laura, in the
prettiest of morning dresses, wandered
over the hills, or sought out fairy hooks
with r-drawing-master.
One day she was washing the dinner
dishes, trying vainly to recall the blithe
content of former days, and wondering
whittier it had flown. when Mr.. Alden
passed through the kitchen. Pausing
for a mement in the shadow of the trum-
pet honeysuckle, with his hand upon the
door-post, he looked down the fragrant
garden paths and then back into the
room from which the heat of various Gu
llnary operations had not yet escaped.
Cindy's cheeks were flushed. her hair
lay low upon her forehead in little moist
| brown rings, her hands trembled. and
she looked thoroughly uncomfortable.
1T is very warm to-day, Miss Cinder-
ella" he said Even genius can utter
eommonplaees.
cinderella y she cried, opening her
brown eyes at him. as she nearly drop
ped tumbler. What funny idea
That's not my name, Mr.. Alden
at is not Z? | beg your pardon. But
they call you Cinda-Cindy-do they
not ? l supposed it was for Cinderella. y
ut is not 1t is for Lucinda-just
plain Lucinda. Mr. Alden
''Lucinda-Cinderella' he repeated
musingly, while his eye royed around
the room, taking quick note of every
thing, from the pots and kettles on the
hearth to the saucer of pansies on the
window-sill, and the young girls tireC
face. "a strange blunder of mine. Bu
I really supposed it was Cinderella" "
| He hesitated moment, while sud
den light broke over his face, and q
smile played about his mouth.
.'Cin-de-rel-la' he said again, lin
gering on the word. I'VE are not goin:
to the princes ball, Miss Cindy, but W
; are going up the hill to the pine woods
Those cool green silenees will be delight
full such day as this. Won't you g
with US %
All, would they not be She longe'
for them unutterably. Winthrop Alde1
did not see the hot tears that sprang t
her eyes, for she turned to the sink an
bent over her dish-pan, as she answers
quietly:
{ Thank you But it will not be cor
venient to-day. Some other time perhap:
Why should she tell him that ther
. were clothes to be folded down, and BIZ
? cults to be baked, and raspberries to /
| picked for tea, and divers other thing
, to be done What could be understan
about it ? And the worst Of it was, the:
r things had never seemed SO burdensom
so distasteful before. She had not rea
. lied, herself, until this summer, no
I different life was hers from that le
2 by her cousins.
: The young man touched his hat al
I walked away. But as soon as he W
Y out of sight, Cindy dropped her dishtol
el, and flew upstairs in sudden pa
q sion Of tears Cinderella, indeed 81
o saw it all now Yet there was no Gro
n step-mother there were no cruel sister
4 Her aunt and the girls were simp
;. thoughtless. and, naybe-she did n
i like to say it-selfsh. That was a
a And. alas there was no fairy godmot
4 er either
e, She wiped her eyes and came do'
u stairs again. The water was cold 81
the fire had gone out. So much for qus
-h reling with fate, she thought. 1t w
better to 60 quietly on and not fall in
70 spasms. But she had made up her mi
ne during that seemingly wasted hour. S
m would be her own godmother S
10 would make no disturbance in the hou
no hold this summer This Mr. Alden
e. not belong to her world. He was not
ng ing TO her, nor she to him. What was