Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1875-11-26

up IN Olu rugs when was BuIli anu una
nys the good time we'ye had when some of
the neighbors was took in by us, and filled
our baskets with Thanksgiving fare. Your
spelling matches aint nothing new neither.
We used TO hev em out 10 Piko's Clearing,
jest for recreation like; cold winter eve
nings they warmed you up a bit, and be-
got many a heart-burning, I'll warrant. In
the summertime, you see, we could hev
| tigger in the barn, If Ben he'd his violin
mendcd but winters there want nothing
we could do but jest get together and culti-
vate our minds with the spelling book, for
we couldn't dance In the school house on
account of the seats. Seems 10 me l can
see Sibyl Jones now waiting on the siltee
for to be chose on ono side or pother; for,
you see, Jack Rhetl, Square Rhetps son,
used to come and join us while he was
studying with Parson Paul TO keep up with
his class at Yale the year lie was rusticated /;
and tho way it was, he always led one side
of The spelling match aud Matthew Morris,
Farmer Morris's Matt, led the other; and
there sat Sibyl as still as a mouse, only her
hands working together under her shawl
for the school house WANT always as warm
as love-aud her two soft eyes a-glittering,
| glittering; and p'r'aps it wouldn't be till
there wasn't nobody else left to choose that
young Rhett would say, saucy enough,
"Well, now I'll take Miss Sbyl Jones'"
Last, but not least" Matt Morris would
call out. For the truth was Matt would
hcv chose her furst himself but he knew
that she wouldn't do anything a-spelling
| against Jack Rhett, and that she'd sooner
be last with Jack than first with anybody
else. That's what call self-denial, or else
l never come across the thing. But, you
see, Jack was playing sort of fast and
loose with Sibyl; he hankered amer her
pretty face and pretty manners, but he
couldn't quite bring himself to overlook
the distance between Square Rhelrs son
and Farmer Jones's daughter, specially as
Farmer Jones was a ne'erdo-well, and
loved his own cider barrel better'n all the
rest Of mankind. Now with Matthew Nor
ris it was different, as everybody knows.
He loved Sibyl jest for herself, and it didn't
make no odds to him who or what her father
was, so long as she was nobody but herself
But then he was only farmers son him
SELF and p'r'aps he didn't know no better.
Well, wo kept up the spelling matches pret-
| ty much all winter, and sometimes Rhett
would choose Sibyl the very furst, and
then again he'd contrive not to choose her
at all, and she'd be that cut up by it-for
Sbyl nevoo he'd much proper spirit-that
she'd be the furst to miss on words that a
baby could spell, aud Rhett would be sure
| IN lauub nd nhoF har ha
| jest ready TO gush out of her Two eyes, for
the rogue knew it was all his work. Heav-
en- only knows why she cared a soumar-
kee for the young sauce. box. He wasn't
50 handsome as Matt Morris, but he he'd
the Hall and the square behind him TO be
sure, and he wore Store clothes, and had
| such airs as W omen folks take 10. You see,
he'd carry your shawl and hold your UNI
berell and quote pretty verses to you If you
was young and pretty yourself; aud he
he'd a mustache that sort Of dropped at the
ends and give him a sad look, which was
quite contrary to his feelings. I've always
noticed that gurls take 10 nlustache as a
duck takes 10 wafer. He was full of mis-
chief too, and that's what gurls don't OBJ
ject 10 in the leastest; The kind that gets
rusticated and expelled, and that proper
sort Of mothers don't countenance, is Jest
the kind the daughters mostly lose their
hearts 10. Not that Sbyl was one to like
1 fast young men she was so innocent her
self That she didn't as much as suspect any
thing about the wickedness of this wicked
world, aud she thought Rhelt was all thai
fancy painted him, and maybe a good deal
more. His fine airs was SO many virtues,
and she believed him il he said black was
white. Sibyl was good and pretty enough
for a dukes son, aud she he'd bin sent 10
school by her great-auIt Cover TO the SEM
mary at Great Guns, and want no way
lacking in book learning. She could pass
any word in the language, and she didn't
murder the kings English as Pve heerd
some do that's he'd more chances and she
was master-hand at reading, and could
tell you all about furrin parts, and do the
bigg est sums in the arithmetic. Nobody
needn't bin ashamed of Sibyl, she was that
lady-like and fit for the kingdom of heav-
en-. But the trouble was, she had set her
poor heart on Jack Rhelt. When he neg
lected her, all the light in her world be-
come darkness; when he was kind, the
dark mess divided, and il was day. Many's
the time I've seen Rhett lettering in the
bit of wood near the school house waiting
for Sibyl, who taught the district school
that summer; and then, when the schol-
ars'd come trudging out, he'd seem TO hap
pen near all by accident, and raise his hat
and kiss his hand and walk along with her,
| and didn't YnaaA ala IN ihat tha
longest way round was the shortest way
home at such times. Well, when he went
back TO college, he'd used 10 correspond
with Sibyl, and when he came home on va
cations, he'd contrive to meet her by the
trout brook or the Witches Pool-a pretty
puddle enough, that didn't seem TO lead
nowhere, nor 10 come from any where, all
overhung with trees that reached across
and knit together and darkened the place
with shadders. 1t was such a lonesome
place that you couldn't hire gurl in all
Pixies Clearing TO go there alone, yet il was
a favorile spot for young folks a-keeping
company; such as amt afeard of ghosts
II amt any thing but rivals as will make
their hair stand on end. One time Jack
come home and didn't 60 a-nigh Sibyl for
several days, and she set in the porch in
her best pink gown, with sweet-pease in
her hair, and watched the road stretching
out to Square khelrs, and grew rosy and
trembled when a team or a man hove in
sight, and fidgeted in school hours, and
didn't sleep O. nights, aud got as blue as q
bank of clouds. On Sabbath-day there he
was in the family pew as fine as silk
in kid gloves and patent-leather shoes
a-holdlng hymn-book along of strange
gurl, who he'd on morey antique gown
and blue bonnet like flower garding
and was all a-glitter with beads and buRles