The Lamoille news. (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1877-1881, 1877-12-19
The Wishbone.
A CHRISTMAS STORY.

One might have thought it the verita-
BILE famous apple-pie of primer period,
from the way in which it ran: GA, ate
it; b, begged for it 4; @, cut it D,
divided it; E, eyed it; F, fought for it,
and G, got it"
1t was a Christmas turkey wishbone,
however. 1t lay. on Alice Abbot's plate,
and after the tender white meat had been
all eaten off, she held it up, saying to
her cousin Bertha
"See, BERTHE, my fortune-teller ! I
shall wish with it, and put it over the
door, and the one who comes toward me
first tonight, having passed under the
oracle, shall be my husband p
Oh, mammal p cried BERTHE, with a
pretty pout, "you might have cut me
that bit of the turkey, I'm the eldest
AMI ought to be married first be gen.
erous, Alice, give me the bone; I'll
buy you lovely brides dress for my
wedding"
"No, no, 'twould have no charm for
you, it is my wishbone, and I have sole
right to the test. Here, Dollie, you may
pull with me-" and Alice turned to her
little Eve year-old cousin, and the two
pulled. Alice was triumphant, winning
her wish in the larger half she then ran
across the hall and fastened the bone
over the parlor door.
"Now," said she, with q laugh, "now
we will all be on the lookout for the
'conquering hero. '"
"Shall you surrender unconditionally,
Alice ?" asked her aunt Carrie, with
kesn look at Alice's flushed face.
One must, to fate, mustn't one2"
returned Alice, with another question.
"Cela depend, one makes ones fate,
after fashion, sometimes ; therefore [
would advise you to be cautious how you
trifie with yours.
If aunt Carrie intended her words to
carry an undercurrent of meaning, they
reached their goal in Alice's understand
ing. She knew now that her aunt had
noticed her indecision and wavering
over certain questions to which she
must soon give decided answers, and
she felt that aunt Carries advice was
needed.
It was not an unusual quandary for a
young, pretty girl to be in, that OF hav-
ing to make up her mind to say either
yea or nay" to two men whose happl-
ness hung upon her lips, but it was a
trying one On the one hand, there was
position, talent, energy, to choose on
the other, wealth, fine looks and winning
manners and with both, devoted love.
Alice had procrastinated and delayed
determining which she would take,
until both lovers chafed at her irreso-
luteness.
Her heart had been touched by neither
of these slitors that citadel was as yet
unto their assaults. Had
it never been shaken ? All, hid beneath
the outer walls there was q tender spot
which certain knight had pierced and
rode away, and this little secret sore
Alice was trying to forget. and had
schooled herself at last to believe it was
but o fancied pang, and one that either
wealth or position would cause her to
lose even the memory of.
It had been q "summer Irritation, "
this knightly episode. Alice had spent
the season, year before, in q little
mountain village. He had been on
sketching tour in the same region they
had met, and talked, and read, and
rowed for weeks together, then one
morning he made little picture in her
album. wrote his name thereto: "Ger-
ONE Reid Knight" and mounted his
charger and rode away. That was all,
and vet the fortress had been taken,
Alice's heart went with him. Nobody
knew how she watched, and waited, to
see or hear from him after, but never,
ON street, at reception or ball was her
handsome Knight to be found ; he had
ridden ont of her life it seemed that
summer morn, but not out OF her
thoughts. Was it not strange that with
two devoted, ardent, warm lovers, the
girl should constantly compare one cold
careless one But it was just this con-