Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1877-04-30

segeEe-apd to be silent on that point.
sFQzeyer q said he. And ever. said she.
1T Is impossible, said he. And then
he went over, one by one, a dozen differ
and scenes when they were
young and if ever fellow felt mean, |
waa the one.'
Il should think you would we said,
with one accord.
asrsNow look here" returned Ned. "If.
you want to hear the rest, you keep that
sort of remark to yourself. 1t was too.
late for me to show myself, anyway.
And I'll be blamed if I'll say another
word if you don't every one acknowledge
you'd have done just as | did,
ooh, Ned. do tell the whole That's
a good bcy r
We'll, she just began to cry-I nev-
er saw Aunt Helen cry before. And then
it seemed as if he would go distracted
and he begged her not to cry, and she
cried the more; and he begged her to
marry him out of hand-I know just
how TO do it now; only it doesn't seem
a very successful way-and she shook
her head +; and he implored her. by their
old love. he said, and she wiped her eyes
and looked at him. and gave laugh-a
hateful sort of laugh. Our old love =
said she. Then, said he, if you will
not fer my sake. nor for your own sake,
nor for the sake of that old love, marry
me for the sake of the motkerless chill
dren who need you more than chila.en
ever needed>a mother yet, and who
who are driving me crazyl' And then
Aunt Helen laughed in earnest, good.
sweet. ringing peal and the long and
the short of it is that she has driven up
to the Thornton house to-day, to look at
the cubs and see what she thinks about
them. Maybe she'll bring them down
here-she's great on missionary work,
you know"
"Well, / declare % was the final cho-
rus. And we sat in silence a-sood- half
hs.-rand by the time our tongues were
running again, Aunt Helen had return
ed, and Mr.. Thornton had come in with
her and sat down upon the piazza step
at her feet, bat not at all with the air
of an accepted lOver-much more like
tenant of Mohammed's coffin, we thought.
And. as | began to tell you. we were all
sitting and swinging there when Aunt
Helen exclaimed about its being a scene
of domestic comfort. AS she sat down,
the big black Cochin hen came to meet
her and Aunt Helen threw her bit Of
water-cracker, supply of which she al
ways carried about her nowadays.
"Why, where's your husband ?" said
she to the hen.
"There he is,' said Ned. "He's been
up alone in that corner of the grass the
whole day, calling and clucking and in
viting company; but the rest haven't
paid the least attention to him, and are
picking and scratching down among the
cannas."
"Oh, but he's been down there twice,
Ned" cried Harry, "and tried to whip
the little bantam, but it was a drawn
battle
"Well, he ought to have little vaca-
tion, and scratch for himself while, I"
said Aunt Helen. "He has picked and
scratched for his hen and her family in
the most faithful way all summer"
''And SOS the banty," said Ned. "The
bantam's the best; he's taken as much
care of the chickens as the hen has, any
way and he never went to roost once
all the time his hen was setting, Mr.
Thornton, but sat right down in the
straw beside her every night"
"a model spouse" said Aunt Helen.
"They are almost human" said Mr..
Thornton. And so we sat talking until
the tea bell rang, for Mr.. Thornton was
going to stay to tea, he boldly told us
and we saw that he meant to get all the
young people on his side by the way he
began to talk to Ned about trout and
pickerel. and about deep-sea fishing; but
when he got to eel traps, Ned's face was
purple, and he blessed that tea bell,
fancy. However, Mr.. Thornton might
have found that it wasn't so easy tc
range the young people on his side if he
had made ng-continued effort. W.
enjoyed romance under our eyes. bu
we had no sort of notion of his taking
our Aunt Helen away.
We were just coming out from tea
and we're patronizlng the sunset little
which was uncommonly fine, and | tho
/ had never seen Aunt Helen looking
like such beauty, with that rich ligh
overlaying her like rosy bloom. wheI
John came fastening up.
81 just want you all to step inside th'
barn door with me, if you please
ma am" said he. And we went afte
him to be greeted by the sweet smell 0
the new-mown hay, and to be gilded b.
the one great broad sunbeam swimmin!
full of glory of notes from door t
door. 'Do you see that ?" said John. l
was flock of the hens and chickens ol
| their on tom q ru rooafs ga md now n