Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-02-15

was more affected by the ry-goods clerks,
! four of whom she counted among her vic
| tins.
! But with all this it must be owned, to Gle
mentine's credit. she did not become vain or
arrogant her head was too much in the
clouds for these things to turn it. She had
! long resolved that love alone should impcl her
TO marry reason was Il cold and sordd guide,
! and perish the thought of money 1t takes
! years and pain and the paugs Of poverty to
| teach II woman of this sort that money is at
least good thing to have in the house, and
no more to be despiscd than any other means
of comfort and health. Tina never paused TO
consider how hopeless and helpless she would
| be without her fathers liberal hand and good
! ly purse, and being to IA certain extent vitality
right and honest in her theory, she carried it
| to stern heights, and made it dominant in her
! dreams, intending with all her simple soul to
marry only the man she should love suddenly
and unmstakably, and hoping almost to pray
cr that the coming god might be some impe-
| cunious poet, or great politician, poor be-
cause of his mcorruptiblc honesty Poor
! Tina as if poets and politicians both were
No, the mo undesirable of their sex as hus-
bands or us if she were fitted to fill the heart
or light the hearth Of any poor man she,
who knew no more how to brol a steak boil
a potato or make loaf of bread than to cal
culate the orbit Of comet or square the cir
Gle!
But, as tim, went on, Tina found. to her
disgust that she did not fall in love with any
body. Not one youth from the studious crowd
nor one from behind any counter really stir
red her sleeping heart she wanted drcadfully
! to fall in love, but there seemed always to be
some obstacle ON the edge of that pleasant
| precipcc. One youth smoked she could not
abide that Another wore II plaid velvet vest
| ugh Still another had red hair and weak
| eyes; of course he was insuiIernblc But time
would fail Inc to recount the failings Of these
| young men. Few of them arrived so far rs
to offer themselves, for rs soon rs the "ob-
! iect' perceived they were really, to use their
! own phrase, "spoOnoy,' about her, she was
filed with unconcealablc disgust for the poor
creatures. and. with the charming frunkucss
of a dreaming girl, took no pains whatever to
| conceal il. Men. are not always bind. even
| in love, and the percep!ive share of Tina's
! lovers Slid back quietly into their own places.
! 4 few of the ubtuscr sort went ION to glory
| or the grave" and were received with open
astoushmcnt and rejected with equally open
! indifference. Sometimes she shed few tears
! when young man became very wretched and
tore his hair little. or limited darkly ut sui
| eide sometimes she rrproachud herself in
her secert heart for blightng SO many young
and ardent natures but, on the whole she
WAS tolerably comfortable about it. rs she
! ought to have been. for even the most defect
| ed adorer never drowned himself or plunged
! into reckless dissipation on her account, and
| some We're even known in after years to speak
of her rs that pretty little goose ] used to
know in Canterbury Men are SO pcrfdi-
| ous.
1t was Clcmontine's custom every year to
make II visit to her grandfather Hyde in Cow
entry. She generally chose the season Of
college vacation in summer to do this duty as
! Canterbury was really dull then, and Coventry
as pleasant rs could be. Grandfather Hyde's
! great uld-fashoncd house was spotless and
speckless all the year, but it might be cold in
winter; in July and August it was cool and
sweet and airy. Aunt Nabby. Squire Hyde's
sister, was Il mighty housekeeper; and when
! you had eaten her bread and butter and cot
tagc cheese and sponge cake, you might laugh
at Soyer and Tide and Blot, and smile with
| sCon at the rapier-skewered shadow Of Natel.
who died for want of turbOt. He would
have died for envy had he tasted Aunt Nab
| by's chicken pot-pie To make the dainty bits
of fowl so sayory the gravy so rich and tick
| lesome to the palate, the crust 50 light so
golden brown. so flaky and unsoddeu. all in
| the homely circumference of an iron pot, this
required genius. Nobody in Coventry could
make such pot-pie Clcmentine did not want
to; well as She liked to eat it, no cumulative
fury was kindled in her breast. She enjoyed
her food unusually at graudpa's. but she laid
| it to the air of the hills and this disgustcd
Aunt Nabby, for she was prouder of her cook
ing than poet of his rhymes and knew very
well that Coventry was scarce two hundred
| feet higher above sea-leyel than Canterbury
itself though the latter lay in a rich alluval
| valley and Coventry on sandy plain. But
withal Aunt Nabby loved the pretty pale girl
in her own curt and abrupt fashion. She fed
her with all sorts of dainty Gates, and let her
| lie in bed mornings rs long rs she liked,
though with much growing and grumblng
below stairs about the degeneracy Of modern
women.
Coventry was n very old town Its single
wide street had ON either side large old-tash-
toned houses that had descended from gener-
tion to generation and being built when la
Dor and timber were cheap and builders were
honest, the goodly beams endured well, and
the hereditary owners took n certain pride in
keeping them in repair.
There were old people in most OF them now.
| The youthful flocks Were scattered to other
pastures-the girls married abroad. the young
men pursuing their own ends in the distant
West or the great cities. Yet every year the
children, some of them, returned to the nest.
The windows of dark spare rooms were open
ed wide to sun and air, the parlor revived its
hospitalities the chickens and the kittens fled
from before the faces of trooping and scream
ing children grandsires and grandames kin
died up new life in their domains lit fresh
lamps aired countless stores of linen, wrang-
led with butchers and grocers in order to
prepare for the "boys and girls" and sleepy
old Coventry seemed to rouse itself from a
long nap to welcome its returning hosts.
There was Squire Wylde, the richest man in
the county Parson Chamberlain, the minis
ter Of fifty years standing Judge Ellet, the
only widower on the street, whose house flour
i,hed under the rule of n maiden daughter
Mr.. Pease Lawyer Cotton, Of mighty de
scent whose family tree was rs big rs u Sc
QH0jd gjglHticd, and hung in his front hall for
all men to see Dr. Drake, whose yellow gig
had trundled in and about Coventry beyond
the memory of any inhabitant-all these had
summer company" during Tina's annual Wis
it, and the rural gayeties of the place were as
incessant as the weather would allow
This particular year which we have to chron-
icle, Coventry was fuller of guests than usual.
Even Ned Wylde the squire's only son and
heir, who had been abroad as agent for great
wholesale firm in New York every summer for
many years, and amassed much money there
by but never taken to himself a wife as yet
even this delightful being was coming homo
this year.
1t does beat all, exclaimed Aunt Nabby,
ito think Eddard Wylde is coming back.
haven't set eyes ON him. really, except what
you may call peek when he'd spend Thanks.
giyn' here, for several year.
The squire is pleased enough, said Grand
pa Hyde hes stopping all the folks in town
to tell them about it. Seems as if he was
good deal broke of late years. I'm glad Ed
dard's coming. l wish he could bring hi,
mind to settle down here while the old MAJ
stays 'twould be such a comfort. He's al
the child there is, and Miss Wylde isn't very
rugged either"
Folks amt very apt to be rugged come tC
her time of life, when they've always beer
peepin' and pinin', curtly rejoined Aunt Nab
by. but it amt likelya young man like Ed
dard will settle down in old Coventry, if hi
folks do want him."
Then he can't be very good, Aunt Nabby,
said Clementine, with unusual vigor. 81