Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1877-08-17
BRATTLEBORO, VT, FRIDAY, AUGUST II, 1877

uOne our very best Win II ana nau II not
been our own VIC could not have staid
there. We had spent all our money on the
land, and there was nothing left for the
house. There was not one bright thing in
IL except the cracking dre, aud Louise
with her golden hair and crimson cheeks.
Such homemade home as II was / had
braided great rug, and that turned out TO
be tue only bit of carpet we had for four
years. Our window shades were of news
papers scalloped and adorned with much
elaborate scissNrs-work. We had three
chairs, autiquated specimens that had
brought down from cousins wood house
chamber cushioned aud draped and the
trouble we had, 10 be sure, because We
could not step up on any Of them 10 reach
things We used stand in the place Of a
table, for which Lou conirived leaf; and
we slept upon au old-iashioned post bed
stead which Jauet had given US. We own
ed three plates and a platter, as many
knives and forks, cups and saucers; John
said if we had company Lou and l could
wait, which we did. The rest Of our in
door possessions consisted of some old kel-
ties, q score OF shiny new milkpans, a coup
10 Of pals, a broom, small pile Of b 'oks
in blue and gold, alrunk full of magazines
unbound but precious, an etching of
Evangeine, and a splendid engraving Of
Longfelow sitting in fockiug-char that
truly was everything we had to put into
that rambling old hous'.
However, we still think 1t was better to
have bought the clover seed.
The first evening was strange enough TO
us. remember just how oppressive the
silence became aller everything was done
and we sat down. Lou cried, aud 1 laugh
ed. Then we felt how absurd it was to be
afraid in our own house and we cheer ed
ourselves with the pussy and the fire, and
said we would subscribe for a newspaper.
After that all went well.
Only every morning Lou would ask me,
"Dolly, you never will 90 OF aud leave
me, will Won p
mo, indeed"
Aud that is cur "gOUd morning" still.
In due time cousin John came again and
gang -plougbed the fields we had devoted to
clover. Then he lent MS his team, and Lou
and narrowed aud narrowed. Then we
sowe1 our clover and timothy aHd orchard
grass, 50 th!ck.y, TOO, that John was fain TO
swear at our wasterulness. But / didn't
believe, even then, that there was need for
such spotted meadows as had Observed
the clover CROWN; in distant patches and
turls, the grasses coaIse, sparse and wiry;
| wanted some fine sweet grasses. | will
say here that was rewarded for my faith
in liberal seeding; for owing to that, and
to the plentiful winter dressing, and the
fine seed-bed We made Of all the fields,
our pretty treiOil came up all over like
wheat or n leituce-bed, and our grasses are
fiue, thick aud sweet. or course cloveriug
upon such an extensive scale obliged us to
hire pasturage for Pampas, aud to "soir'
eeutle Maggie; but we found the latter
plan, though troublesome. one of our most
profitable experiments.
And then, waiting for May days anI corn
planting, we began work in earnest In
our convenient shot dresses, in which
Louise said she felt $50 spry," rejoicing in
loose bands and in shoulder straps and in
blouse waists 10 degree that would have
delighted Miss Phelps, we shouldered our
axes and our dinner pals, a la lords Of cre-
alton, and went over to our b't OF forest to
get up "Ihe years wood" after the man
ner OF the model householder.
We took down and relaid the entite road
side fence, not accomplishing all this, of
course, without countless resling-spells
the fibre that endures, the power of giving
blow and bearing strain is of painfully
slow growth.
The fence monding done we attempted
another bit of thrift. We harnessed PAM
pas to the lille wagon, for which we our
sci YES had constructed light extra box 10
place atop the other, and theu we drove up
and down our estate-LOu praciicng the
art Of standing TO drive, The ewhile-through
the woods and through the grubby residue
which John couldn't plough, cutting our
wagon roads as we went, often both jump
ing out to roll aside a log, rolling and
blocking, until we had conquered, and
thoroughly "picked up" the place, bring
ing back to the door load afler load of
sticks aud limbs, and chips for summer
wood.
There were three acres of this unavaila-
BILE residue. While we were loading, We
oflen paused to contemplate ii. 1t was COW
cred by a growth of white oak grubs; old
stumps and knotty logs had been rolled
down upon it, and 1t had been made a
dumping ground for stones and mountain
Gus piles of brush from former clearing.
"Here, Dolly dear, is our knitting work~
Lou said one day.
Just that ii was for two years. When no
other work pressed we "loeged." That is,
we cut down grubs- trimming up the tall
est to mend fence with-and piled the
brush, old and new, around the logs, drag
ging the stumps into piles of two and three |;
many a summer night have we tended our
big bonfres over there; twice have we had
the whole place on fire and the neighbor-
hood out TO save the fences and put out the
flames. In fact, our daily life those first
years was so truly primitive, and seemed
such delightful bit of outlawry from the
conventional housewife of our sex, that
Louise often said, ave might as well be
gypsies, Dolly, and live in the hedgep
Meanwhile other things were happening.
We had tried bit of the newspaper gar
dening; Louise and had agreed we would
try almost everything. Underneath thin
coverlet of straw, and the shelter of some
loose cornsialks, down the sunny south
side of the selected garden site, we had let
tuce and peas and onions growing greenly,
right in the midst of snowstorms. 1t was
pretty sight, after light April snow, to
take peep in and see them smiling up at
us with such live, CHEEKY, undaunted
look as If to say, "We are very eomforta-
BILE, thank you, and as busy as can ber 1t
made us CHEEKY. We were like two chill
dren. We hovered every day about this
first Gardening this premature bit of su m