Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-05-23
MIRANDA BELDENs WEDDING.

The bill for the extensive erection Of grave
stone over the lody of Bthtmoth BE ldt II had
been prest nted to, and paid by, his sole heirs
and executors, Miranda and Boulah Beldcn.
Every little claim had been punctually and
pleasantly met. The funeral sermon
preached the Sunday succeeding the sad
event had been printed and circulated in
black-hordered binding by the suffering sis
tors. and now, such mortuary duties over,
the two sat down TO confront the spectacle Of
their future lives and the spectre Of their
past. The day was long gone when beauty
(such as youth had bestowed) had departed.
Miranda was grim and gray enough in all
conscience, without the added gravity of
bombazine and English crepe.
Poor Beulah, contemplating the spectacle
from across the hearth this night-seven
weeks, dating from the great oyent-thought
her stern sister had never seomod so dark and
cold and forbidding.
There was not so much difference in their
ages, but nature endowing the younger sister
with pale blue eyes and brindle sort Of chec-
elure, had placed a seemingly great disparity
between them.
The domiueoriug spirit of Miranda added
aged lines to her hard features, and the old
est friend of the family hardly remembered
Miranda Bcldcn As n young woman. Behe-
moth, the lately deceased, had given his lead
ing tItllh 10 llllN MS tlutNl EIl anu 10 tllttt
characteristics the great wealth which unin-
numbered, lad been divided between them at
the old mans death, was largely due. Even
the equality of that,diyision had been asource
of great trouble to the greatly troubled elder
sister.
To share and share alike with that foolish
improvident creature-wh had never had
the handling Of money, who had no respect
for it when she did touch twas a sore cross
to Miranda And it seemed as though old
Deacon Harris and Squire Howe delighted in
angering the sour spinster, so soon did they
rush through their duties and hand over her
half the estate to the hitherto impecunious
Beulah. From her earliest years, the sorrel-
topped second born had been under the su-
pcrysion of the elder sister her food had
been portioned out her clothes bought, her
whole life fashioned and arranged by the
staid Miranda.
Therefore was Beulah crushing down the
evidences of great joy which now occupied
her soul-for with the possession of this
wealth arrived train of blissful antcipations
the principal one being al immediate eman-
cipation from the iron rule of the oppressor
The curtains had been sharply drawn, the
fire venomously prodded by the angular arm
of the despOtic ruler, who had sat down with
an air of determination and fronted round
upon the exultant Beulah.
"What did the Squires man come about
today"
The ball was opened, and the weaker fe-
male slowly folded up her crotchet work
feeling no waste of forces could be allowed
just now.
He came in reference to the stone cot
tage over the hill"
''Whats the matter with that"
Il am thinking about buying IT,"
"You?" Miranda sat bolt upright and
ceased rocking.
"I"
"And what on earth for"
'"Io live in.
"Beulah Belden, you must be insane"
1t was in an altogether new light the weak
sister stood before the other, rs she made her
first move in open rebellion
ITO live in p repeated Miranda, half COM
pretending: Il have no earthly intention of
leaving the homestead"
But have, quietly replied Beulah.
"You don't mean to take the stone cottage,
to occupy it alone 2" almost shrieked Miriam
da.
II have taken it Loomis is furnishing it,
and l shall occupy it, in company with SER
want and Nurse Adams, next week at this
time"
In the memory of Beulah there lived many
stormy scenes between herself and the irasci-
Die Alrhnun, Dut they all lhutu lhlo lhslBhln-
cant outlines beside the commissions of the
next few hours. 1t ended by Beulah's hasty
retreat with n small sachel to the house of
Squire Howe, and to an earlier installment of
the poor maiden lady in her new home, the
"stone cottage" The gossip-loving village
had work enough to discuss the sudden sep
araton of the sisters, and the two old crones
the peripatetic gazeteers of this particular
town-jogged back and forth from the Bel
den villa to the stone cottage with unhagging
industry for weeks. But events of this mag
nitude have their boundaries of interest, and
after a while it settled into an old story.
Miranda, stern and dignifed, weeded her
Aower-beds in black kid gloves and huge
un-bonnet loaded with Stats of pasteboard,
as much like barrel slaves as possible, while
Beulah in straw hat, barehanded, tied up
the struggling honeysuckle that clambered in
endless profusion about the porticOs of the
stone cottage. The village paper reproduced
the famous trials of the day, aud in those
days will trials were as frequent as at pres
ent. Therefrom the elder Maiden Belden
imbibed certain wild ideas of breaking her
fathers ill-advised division of his property,
and rescuing the portion of Beulah and re-
covering command of her reason.