Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-06-02
Eme's Dollar Bill.

IL
some Of the red Baldwin apples that were
packed so snugly in the oat bin, for old Mr..
Cornell had come to spend the evening, and
my mother took pride in her unpretending
hospitality, But Just as | stopped TO lift
the lid of the bin, a rustling noise in the hay
startled me. Before could utter a low cry
that trembled on my lips, saw that it was
Stella Severn.
Stella Severn, Mr.. lockwood. " bound
girl wild, reckless thing who received
bad name at every ones hand, and contnved,
somehow, to get blamed for every scrape
that was going Whether Stella was really
bad or not no one could tell-but somehow
she was perpetually under the ban. Mrs
Lockwood, stiff, rigid dame, Of the Puri-
tanic type, knew no more how TO manage
Stella Severn, than the matronly hen com
prehends the rowing nature of the willful
duckling that takes to water in spite of ev-
erything-- and for some recent escapade, the
full details Of which | did not know, had
been forbidden by my mother even to speak
to Stella,
" Yes, it is l." said Stella, slowly rearing
herself out Of the rccesses Of the hay, and
staring at me with her big, Andalusian eyes,
And am oh--so cold %
What are YOU doing here 2' ! asked
holding up my lantern in sore perplexity.
al am trying to sleep" said Stella. al
have run away"
"Run away What for 2"
"Because / couldn't stand it any longer.
Mrs. Lockwood accused me Of being a thief
she had lost some miserable old teaspoon
or other-and won't be called a thief~
but, Stella" cried, my conservative ma
ture thrilling with vague terror at the mere
idea Of such bold measures as these, "what
are you going 10 do 2"
"The Lord only knows" Steil answered,
with more reckless truth than reverence.
Perhaps mother would let you sleep in
our spare room,' | said.
perhaps she wouldn't" scornfully re-
torted Stella. No decent person let's me
in"
81 mean to ask her"
" Ask, then, and get scolding for your
pains" laughed Stella, bitterly.
"But it's so cruelty cold, and mother
wouldn't shut out even dog in such weather
as this"
Perhaps so--but am worse than dog.
You mean kindly, Eiie Ileartt, but you'll
find out the folly of it,"
] made no answer, but ran as fast as |
/ sould back 10 the house, where breathless
and painting, ! preferred my request
"a thief A runaway In my house p'
1 cried my mother.
"A lazy, good-for-nothing, who would
rather lie in the sunshine than work, any
time" echoed Deacon Cornell.
"Go and warn her off the premises i'm
mediately," said my mother.
81 dunno but I'd ought to 60 for the CON
stable" obviously remarked the deacon, feel
ing his stubby beard.
| skunk away disheartened. Stella's proph-
ecy had been correct. But | was de-
termined not to desert my old playmate thus.
Creeping up TO my room, took a solitary
dollar-bill, treasured toward a new blue sash
for q spring muslin, and wrote a short note
to Hubert Leslie, the young artist who had
boarded with us the summer previous, ask
ing him to befriend the friendless. believed
he would do as much as that for my sake,
and then hurrying once more to the barn, |
crept up TO Stea's side.
Stella" said !, "you must go away from
here"
81 thought so" responded Stella, calmly
But here is a dollar--all the money /
have got, 1t will take you to New York, if
you walk fast and reach the depot in time
for the midnight express. And here is
note to a gentleman who may, perhaps, help
you to find something to do"
Stella threw her arms about my neck, and
| could feel her tears wet and warm upon my
check"
"EiHe Ieartt," sobbed she, "if al the
world was like YOU, perhaps | shouldn't be
as bad as am. Yet III do my best. Give
me the money and let me 60"
watched her dark form plodding away
over the snow until the black speck vanished
under the wall of trees that lined the road
and then | came back into the house where
my mother and the deacon were discussing
their cider and apples.
las she gone ?" asked the former.
"Yes, she has gone" answered.
al am glad Of that" said my mother.
"l've no faith in that Stella Severn. She
might have had a good home with Mrs.
! Lockwood if only she had behaved herself. y
And it was not until some time afterward
that ventured to tell my mother what
had done.
"You are fool" said She with acerbity.
"Your dollar is as clean thrown away as if
you had pitched it down the well and I'm
sure don't know what Mr.. Leslie will think
of your interference"
| hung my head and made no answer.
But when the summer hung her coronal Of
big cream-colored roses over our farmhouse
easel and stretching umbrella, | ventured to
ask him of Stella.
"Oh," said he, that blaok-eyed girl with
the Spanish face Yes, ! remember now
got her place as ohild's nurse with my
cousin Mrs. Evelyn, but she ran away within
the month.
"Neyer mind, Eilie," said Mr.. Leslie
kindly, ga good action is never entirely
thrown away. Stella Seyern's gypsy blood
could i'll bear cOnstraint; but don't think
she'll forget you, for all that"
That was Just before Hubert Leslie asked
me to be his wife. We were married the
next spring and | went 10 New York to live
We had little bit Of a room, opening out
of Iubert's studio, where we kept house like
pair of turtle doves in a nest. Although
Hubert was such a genius, and had painted
so many beautiful pictures he was young,
and comparatively unknown, and we found
il hard to live, particularly after the twins
had opened their blue eyes ON the wintery
sunshine of a glorious February day. had
done little fancy needle work for the store
heretofore but now my hands were tied, and
it was hard to see the shadows creep over
IIubert's brow, and know that | had no
power to lift them.
So the years went by. More little ones
clustered around our scanty board, and al
though Hubert worked hard and consci.
entiously there were other artists who pan
dered TO the public taste, and received more
orders. We were very poor.
Hubert" said |, one day, when the load
OF poverty had been almost more than we
could bear, "dont you wish you never had
married 2"
DO wish the sunshine had never come
into my life 7 . he asked. "Neyer put that
question again, little wife. What would
existence be worth without you and the
bairnies ?"
"If you could only sell that thousand
dollar picture" | sighed thinking of some