Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-09-19


= the back, YOU could go behind her and put
= YOUR fingers across the top and under her
, arm; or she could easily sit In it, with her
t elbow resting on the back, and her hand
supporting her cheek, rs other people
: lean an elbow on the arm OF the chair IN
, which they sit. ,.,
, Yet Sylvia had been a very little baby
even smaller than usual. She was one OF
twins; and they were both so very small
that in the night, when the babies were
in bed with their papa, who was not at all
a LARGE man, he turned over in his sleep
and crushed one of the poor babies to
death without knowing it.
But either he was SO shocked at what
he had done that he was more careful IN
future, or the mother took the precaution
to save her other baby by putting 1t to
sleep out of his reach; for Sylvia, the
small twin that was left, managed to get
through her babyhood without being
mashed by her papa. She was always
small of her age, and II delicate little
thing, and did not begin to take on unusual
proportions until she was IT'S old rs other
! girls are when they cease growing. Instead
of stopping when she was seventeen or
e4hte II years old, rs most other girls do,
she simply kept on growing and growing,
for ten or Il dozen years longer, just as
fs! us children grow. She was never fat
or plump. but had the rather meagre habit
which children have who grow rapidly.
When she was twenty-five or three
years old she fell on IN icy doorstep and
broke her arm The doctor who set it
was astonished to find that the bones were
yet soft like u little child's instead of firm
and hard, like II grown persons; and this
soltness Of the bones seemed to continue
until she stopped growing.
| Sylyia's parents were very poor people,
and by the time she was u woman they
were growing old, and she was obliged to
do something for their support rs well us
her own. She could not work any faster,
or earn any more, because of her superior
size; in fact, it is not strange if she did
not feel us strong and well us other girls,
since so much of her force went toward
growing. She used to 90 out among the
villagers and townspeope and nurse sick
people and take care of little young babies;
she was u very careful and tender nurse,
and | have heard it said that when she
was holding little baby, instead of taking
it on her arm as most of us do, she laid it
on one of her hands with its head toward
her finger ends, and its little feet along
her wrist and in this great, warm, loving
hand us in cosy cradle, the little crea
ture would go comfortably to sleep without
IL thought of how exceedingly funny it
was to be literally held in the hollow of
ones hand.
Everybody loved Sylvia, not because
she was II great woman, but because she
was always kind and gentle, and helpful;
and even the rude boys on the street, who
were tempted to shout and jeer at her be-
cause it was so droll to II woman so much
larger than any man in town, were gener-
ally polite TO her; partly because they
knew how easily she could pick them up
and toss them over the fence if she chose,
and partly, perhaps because most of them
remembered how kind and patient she
had been when some of their friends were
sick, or when their mothers needed help
Once Sylvia went to help u farmers
wife who had more work on her hands
than she could do alone. Sylvia was not
only handy and faithful, but she was by
this time unusually strong and capable of
doing hard work. One evening she had
been straining the milk into big pans in
the kitchen-they used big, heavy, brown,
earthen pans, not often seen in Cities
and she started to carry them down cellar
So she took up pan, holding nine or ten
perhaps twelve quarts of new milk, and
went toward the cellar door.
Now this was an old-Elshioned kitchen.
and had in tba noilippr ri
hooks which were made to hold long poles
for the purpose of drying apples, pump
klns, and other things. Ordinary people
were obliged 10 stand in chairs in order to
reach these poles, and the drying apples
were quite out of the way above people
heads But Sylvia was not an ordinary
woman; and rs there was at this time no
poles on the hooks she forgot about them,
and us she passed too close to one it caught
in her hair and held her fast. The poor
roman could not raise her hand to her
head to free herself, because both hands
were Steadying the great pan, swimming a
full of milk; she could not even move her >
head back and forward to try and unhitch a
1t, because such shaking would spill the c
milk on the nice, white kitchen-hoor which
she had just scoured and there was no one a
but herself in the house at the time, as P
the farmer was in the barn-yam with his v
cattle, and his wifi had stepped into P
neighbours house. tt
So poor Sylvia could do nothing but
stand and wait, and occasionally rive a ,
faint call for help; for surely no one could l
shout very loud, with her head caught uD
by the hair, and her whole attention en-
gagged in holding without spillng heavy
pan OF milk. More than half an hour ~
passed before poor Sylvia was liberated
rom her painful pedicament; and even
when the farmer, coming in for another g
milk pail, discovered her sad PLIGHT. Re
aughed SO immoderately at the affair that
i took him long time to free her. In
act, 1t was said that he did not know
what to do frs and actually went to the I
lelghoor's to call his wife, without think.
ng TO relieve poor Sylvia first, by takino
ne pan from her aching hands.
by and by, MIR. Barnum, the Snowman
heard IN some way of Sylvia, and he at
nee sent an agen[ to see her, an ry to
IRE her to come to his museum in Boston
IS II curiosity. Now poor Sylvia was
uSt as averse to being stared at as you or
would be; she could not bear to be set nm
or a show and have all manner of peonle
ooking at her and making remarks nb6nt
Ter broad shoulders and her large hand.
o ut first she refused
But her parents were getting old, and
ne could not obtain by her poorly-paid
lbor many little comforts which She
new they needed and. moreover, She
lad greater expenses than most country
Tomen' since it took so many wards Of
10th to make her garments. All her
flends and acquaintance joined In telling
er that it was really her duty 10 accent
lr. Barnum's offer, which was a great
cal more money than Sylvia had aver
armed or seen in her life; and so, finally
fter . many tears, she decided to 20,
or course Sylvia could never bnv anv-
llng ready made, as she could never fHJ
large enough. All her 'tbinGs !"
keeping shawls and handkerchiefs had -
be made on purpose for her, shoes rU
,,o,cklngs and all. She had always been
hllged to wear knitted gloves or 90 hnrnI
anded; but when she wac oo;n,so -