Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-07-14

but The doctor says it may be only the heart.
I was thinking, Just now, Of the sea, the
long, cool roll Of the breakers and tho swash
The gulls diving and plunging, the crunch.
ing Of the sand under foot, hard, yet soft.
How delicious it would be 10 feel 10 all
again Perhaps | shall dream about it to-
night"
I" August li-No; dreamed instead that
We were frying doughnuts in q hot kitchen.
What q mid-summer's dream | am afraid
/ have a vulgar mind I"
October l.--llow little | guessed when
wrote such foolish words what was going
to happen. Papa is dead ! can't write
about it yet Oh, papa
Christmas again-such a sad day We
three have been sitting over the register all
the afternoon, aud making our plans papa's
lito insurance is all we have to live upon
now. Tom must give mp being doctor, and
take clerk place. Mr.. Squires has found
one for him. lie is very brave, and does not
Say one word 90 show how disappointed he
is but $50 an know. have written 30 Mrs.
Morris TO find me place 10 teach children.
Alice says J am too young, but | feel Old
aud il the children are not too big, think
can manage. Anything Is better than let
ting Alice work so hard. II no place opens
do something | must"
january Nothing yet, and dear, dear
Alice has been III for three weeks. She Is
little better, or don't know what should
do"
"Nlarch Isl have heard Of a place in
shop"
Here the writing broke of abruptly.
Johnhastily turned over the remaining pages.
Not another word, except in pencil near the
end, Black ribbon, thirty-scven cents hoy
at crossing, three cents oranges for Alice,
six cents; aud underneath o single line
" Patience is not always pleasant, but she
leads TO pleasant things"
Heres a pretty business he sollo-
quizsd slowing the little book in mis- breast
pocket " As We'll search for o needle in
hay-stack, as for this girl out Of all New
York city. Why cant women write their
names and addresses IN fun while they are
about III?
Tie took mp newspaper, but the letters
danced before his eyer, and before long he
had pulled the green book out again, and
was rc-raading the journal An odd excite
meut stirred his pulses. For a good many
ycars-in tact, since the age of nineteen
when bis first love Tilted him - he had
counted himself determined old bachelor.
and having no mother or sister, had dnfted
ont OF the way Of womanltind aud their in
forests " Flosy's" simple record seemed
to have brought him back to this forgotten
worid. IL was as II girl had sat down By
hi, side and whispered her secrets in his ear.
Visions Of a sweet, tired face behind a
counter, Of appealing blue eyes (he was cer-
tain they must be blue,) OF a veil of soft
light hair chair TO match the oyes,) swept
over him, and an his bnighthood was roused
Find her he must, and help her; but how
Never did search seem so uupromisiucly az
void OF clue.
Found, a small green pocketbool,,7 APP
peared next day among the " Personals" in
the Herald, and was reiterated So many
times thereafter as TO become, as it were.
a permanent feature of the paper A sin
gular rage for shopping seized upon John.
Every afternoon, leaving his Office early, lac
betOok himself to this amusement, choosing
always those shops whore women were EN-
ployed. No bride elect, with a trousseau TO
buy, over went into the business more deter
minedly. Long stairs daunted him not
he penetrated to third stories, to fourth,
even those mysterious topmost regions where
"ladies Quitting is attended to. Every
whore he questioned, Have you among
f'Nl 'AAIi'e'0 d NhuNN lNtl hhllth L Ilpi~
ence | have accidentally come into pos
session Of an article belonging to her, which
| am anxious to return
But no one answered the advertisement
and though more than one Florence turned
up in the shops, they We're not the one they
had no connection with the little green
pocket-book.
So May passed, aud june and July, and
when August drew on, and the city became
great focus of baking walls and evil
savors. our friend, tough and active rs he
was began 10 feel the need of change.
" Flo5sys words haunted him: "The long
cool roll and the swash, the gulls diving and
pluuging in the spray" they filed him with
longing for the sea. lie resolved on vaca-
ton aud one sutry evening, after an hours
humping on the railway. and a further Jolt
in country wagon he found himself at
IS Oriental Point" on the Long Island shore ;
spot which had rcjoiced in the name of
Clam Cove, until a recent rcchristening at
the hands Of local spectators, whose imag-
inations, fired by the completion of the
Branch railroad, had jumped forward to
anticipated hotels and a crowd of metropoli-
tan hoarders." Both hotels and crowd
were happily non-existent so far and the
Sylvan quiet Of Clam Cove still brooded over
Oriental Point. The red farm-houses scat
,erod along the beach sulliced for the few
strangers who had found out the place, and
in one of these Mr. Singleton and his KNAPP
sack were received and welcomed with q
hearty country hospitality, which, it was to
be feared, would disappear with the nearer
approach Of the ubiquitous steam whistle
Two days OF basking in sun aud salt two
nights of cool freshness, made him new
mmL Utterly content and utterly lazy, he
ielt imdisposed for everything but to lie I'M
der tho shade OF rocks, watch the water
come and 60 and nap aud dream.
10 was the fourth day of this oyStar-like
existence. that he reused from q doing revc-
ric at the sound Of voices speaking near.
Some ladies Ind seated themselves Just be-
low him. One, dressed in mourning and
wrapped In a shawl, seemed an invalid. The
down over n cool-ooking white and black
dross- She was reading aloud Loweu's little
poem, Sea Wccd." John caught the words
distinctly.
Is wonder what that means exactly" she
said as She finished
1t is very graceful -
Yes, but its pulling, too-a lascina-
ting puzzle. I'm always wondering if Mr..
Lowell, when he wrote it, meant the same
thing which fancy he meant. 1t quite
leases me-"
Aud yet you like it so much"
"Oh that's the very reason. | like TO be
teased and set to thinking. Alice, are you
warm enough ?"
John pricked up his ears. But his girl
has dark hair.
"rhanks-yes, ain almost warm enough.
/ Stil, you might fetch the gray shawl, Ma
| rion, if you don't mind"
John caught glimpse at the girls face as
she came back with the shawl, q fresh, pleas
ant face, with eyes Of the same red-brown as
the hair She saw him, too, and the sisters
| lowered their voices. lie did not hear
another word after that.
Two days later his laudlady met him with
a troubled couutcnauce.
"rm so sorry !" she began. "lt's Just a.
sudden on mes ON you, but my daughter she's
written that she and the children must como
home for spell cause the youngest S had
cholera infanticids and the doctor he says
they must get aways fast's they can aud it's
too bad TO turn you out but don't see no
other way to fix it and If you don't mind
/ Elkius next door has room free every bit
like the one you're in now and Alniry shall
carry over your things and you'll be every
l whit aa comfortable and | hope YOull have