Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-02-07

no government bonds, they possess no real
estate (our neghbors did own their house).
they toll not, neither do they spin; yet they
reap all the numerous advantages that usual
ly result from honest toll and skillful spin
ming. How do they do it? But this is a di-
gression, and | am quite of the opinion Of the
old lady in David Copperiield, who says,
"Lat us have no meandering.' -
Though my wife had declined to risk GER
cmonious call on our neighbors as a family,
saw no reason why ! should not speak to the
husband rs mn individual, when l happened
to encounter him by the waysdc / made
several approaches to do so, when it occurred
to my penetration that my ncighbor had the
mir of trying to avoid me. | resolved to put
the suspicion to the test, and one forenoon,
when he was sauntering along on the opposite
side Of the road, in the vicinity of Fishers
saw mill, | deliberately crossed over to ad-
dress him. The brusque manner in which
he hurried away was not to be misunderstood.
OF course was not going to force myself up
on him.
1t was at this time that | began to form
unchartable suppositions touching our neigh
bors, and would have been as well pleased if
some of my choicest fruit trees had not over
hung their wall. ] determined to keep my
eyes open lnter in the season, when the fruit
should be ripe to pluck. In some folks, a
sense of the delicate shade of difference be-
tween mann Il tuun does not seem to be
very strongly developed in the Moon of Cher
res, to use the old Indian phrase
was sufficiently magnanimous not to inn
part any of these sinister impressions to the
families with whom we were on visiting
terms for dcspise a gossip. l would say
nothing against the persons up the road un-
I'll 1 had something definite to say. My in
terest in them was-well not exactly cxtiu-
guished, but burning low. met the gentle
man at intervals, aud passed him without
recognition at rarer intervals saw the lady.
After a while | not only missed my occa-
sional glimpses of her pretty, slim figure al-
ways drapcd in some soft black stuff with a
bit Of scarlet Mt the throat, but inferred She
did not 90 about the house singing in her
light hearted manner. ns formerly What
had happened? Had the honeymoon suffer
ed eclipse already? Was she i'll: / fancicd
she was i'll, and that | detected certain anx-
iety in the husband, who spent the mornings
digging solitarlly in the garden. and seemed
to have rclinquishcd those long jaunts to the
brow of the Blue hill where there is II superb
view combined with several venerable rattlr-
snakes with twelve rattlcs.
As the days went by it became certain thnt
the lady WAS confined to her house, perhaps
seriously i'll, possibly confirmed invalid.
Whether she was attended by physician
from Canton or Milton | was unable to say
but neither the gig with the large white allo-
pathic horse, nor the gig with the homeopu-
thic .orrel mare, was ever seen hitchod ut the
gate during the day. If physician had
charge of the case, hc visited his patient on
ly mt night. All this moved my sympathy,
and | rcproach,d myself with having hard
thoughts OF our neghbors. Trouble had
come to them early. would have liked to