Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1878-06-05
That Little Place OF Browns.

yearly tiny charins renew
-Sprnafeid Republican.
That Little Place OF Browns.
The place was mine, and we lived as cozily
there my wife and little daughter and |, as
birds in nest, until the Blacks, some old
friends of ours from the city, came to live
in our neighborhood.
We were at supper one night when my
wife told me.
"They're going to take the French-roofed
house around the corner" said Sally, "with
the big extension and the conservatory; and
as happened to be walking out just as the
trucks came down | couldn't help seeing
that the parlor furniture is of crimson satin
damask and ebony-I think it's ebony, but
| won't be sure" continued my wife; "but
at any rate it's inlaid."
Well, that's comfort, any way" said |.
Z" If you're positive it's inlaid, Sally, you can
perhaps go on with your supper"
"Yes," she said, so preoccupied with her
theme that she hadn't eaten morsel, "and
there's the handsomest bedroom set for Jane
that most ever laid my eyes on; it's one
of these dressing bureaus, joe with a mag
niicent plate-glass that reaches down to the
floor"
"Thats good" said |. "You can run
around there when you have your next gown
fitted, and see the hang of it,"
al don't expect to run around there" said
Sally, craning her neck up stifiy, turning up
the end of her nose, and drawing her lips
down.
"Why, what's the matter ?" | asked.
"Wasn't Jane friendly? I've done many
good turn for Black in my day, and hope
they're not going to turn the cold shoulder
now"
"Oh, she was friendly enough" said
Sally; /" but we can't expect, Joe, that peo-
pie living in that kind of style can be upon
terms of intimacy with people that live as
we do. There are certain restrictions in
society -"
Restrictions be hangedl" I cried. "I'm
as good man as Black any day in the week"
@Youre as good as the President, for that
matter" said Sally but it's all like pair
of scales, Joe; when one goes up, another
goes down, and, from the way things look,
it II take a pretty heavy weight on the
Blacks side to bring them down to our
position"
must own this kind of logic vexed me a
little. | knew pretty well how Black stood
commercially, and told Sally there wasn't
a feathers weight on his side, so far as the
favors of fortune were concerned. "f he
has mind TO live above his means" said l.,
she can do it, and take the consequences"
" He has Just as good right to live above
his means" said Sally, as you have to live
beneath yours"
This was her Parthian arrow as | went
out the door, and it ranked a little all the
way down in the train, the more sharply
that found Black the centre of the admir-
ing bevy at the depot. He had quite an i'm
posing makeup and a glib tongue, which he
used in inveighing against our system of
paving. lie complained of the condition OF
good many things in our young township,
aud seemed to gain popularity with every
fault that he found. At last he spied me,
and was exceedingly loud and ELUSIVE in his
salutation.
"Hallo, Brownl" he said, shaking my
hand again and again, and declaring to the
people about him was an old friend whom
he was glad to unearth. "Ive run you
down, you sly fox. That's very snug lit
tie place around the corner-very snug
indeed l''
wouldn't have believed it possible |
could have been such an ass as to feel flat
tered by this familiarity of Blacks, but |
found myself smirking and nodding with
great complacency. Here were at least
half-a-dozen of the gentry about me who
| lived in big houses in my neighborhood,
| that | had been going up and down to the
| city with for years, yet scarcely knew them
| well enough for an exchange of civilities,
and here was Black already hand in glove
with the finest of them. 1t makes me sick
now when | remember that | turned my
back on poor old White, and went toadying
/ th tbic artctnaranu Whita HuaH i'm
even smaller house than mine, and had
hard enough work to pay for that. He had
| failed In business some years before, and
don't know what they would have done
without their boy Bob. He was with me in
the city, and knew that goodly portion OF
the lads earnings were given over to the
| support of the house. 1t was rather hard
for Bob but he bore his lot with great res
ignation. He came over pretty often tC
have a game of cribbage and talk over busi
ness matters with me, and | found him sharI
enough at both. Then he had a pleasant
way with the women. Our little Rosali'
was little more than child, but Sally usec
to brighten when Bob came in, till she go
into that kink about the Blacks.
"You'll stay here with Rosalie, won't you
Bob, till we come back ?" | said to young
White; and as spoke felt Sally give I
savage pinch to my arm. No sooner wer'
we outside the door than she began abou
poor Bob.
If you have no regard for your daugh
ter's future, and choose to throw her ava,
on a poor miserable beggar like Bob Whit
-" began Sally.
"Why my DEAR" broke in, Rosalie'
a mere child. Don't begin to plan abou
her future, beg of you. She's scarcel.
left off her pinafores, and if ever there wa
maiden meditations, fancy-free,' anywhere
it lies in the brown eyes of our Rosalie."
BY this time we had reached the imposing
portal of Blacks house, and were soon usl
cred into the presence OF the satin damas
and ebony. Blacks children were none o
them grown, but were precocious enough
take the lead in conversation and we sa
for a whole mortal hour and listened to tn
) eldest girl hammer out upon the piano wha
Mrs Black called 'revere. was gla
when Black took me into his library, wher
there were some good cigars, aud we left tn
women TO themselves.
But goodly quantity of poison was IL
fused into Sally's system and mine befor
: we left the big luxurious house, and we wen
? home together as changed as il touched b
r the rod of an enchanter.
"Dear me |" said Sally, "what a littl
r cubby-hole this is declare it's quite lik
1 a baby house !"
/ "I'd like to have library like Blacks,
4 said [, taking up the refrain. sits nice
! have room," continued, to Bob Whit,
r "where man can take his friends.
J. would be far pleasanter for instance, If yo
a aud could have our game of cribbag
a without the continual gable OF women
our ears"
"Oh, don't think So" said Bob"
n don't think so at all.
0 The lad looked over at Rosalie and blushe
b ingenuously. The color deepened in Rosl
9 lies cheeks till it went far ahead of the erin
4 son in Blacks satin damask upholstery, an
: | n ahv irlnnm ahnI frnm her hrnun nNna Iha