Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-04-11

| of huency he was bewitched by the pretty
! widow She, however, had her own court to
hold. Butterflies never fluttored more thick
| ly about the gay weed that bears their name
| than the gentlemen of the party about Nan
| Boyd for TO tell the truth, this lovely crea-
/ ture was nntive couuette. 1t was as much a
matter of course for her to fiirt with every
| man who came near her as IL is for a rose to
| be fragrant and she had that charm, subtler
than beauty, which is potent without but ir-
! resistible with it,
It was a proverb in Cedar that no youth
| ever grew to manhood there who had not
adored Nan Boyd. Her cousin Anne was
very different. She had come to Cedar on a
visit when Nan at last made up her mind to
! select VIII Boyd As a permanent victim from
! the crowd about her, and she found her own
fate in wins twin brother james. The cous-
| ius, however, were not married at the same
/ time. Anne could not leave her father, for
! her mother had died Just after her return
! from Cedar but before many months her
father went too, and there was very quiet
wedding Mt her lonely home, and a brief
| Journey back to Cedar, where Nan, already n
six months wife. was ready TO welcome them.
Annie Boyd found too late that she had made
a mistake. She could not be happy with her
| husband. .Ile was ungracious- harsh in
| detd-thOugh he had seemed to her only re-
times ill-tempered. When he died, a year
after their marriage, and from the curious
| physical sympathy common with twins, VIII
died too, neither of the widows was heart
brokan-Nan from pure levty Of nature,
Anne from no sense of loss. but rather of re-
lief Since they both lived mt Cedar there
has been much confusion of names between
them, Anne Boyds both but Wills widow
was always called Nan by her old friends
1 1. 1. a.
Anne Hart, while her cousin was Anne alone,
there was Il way Of escape for those who were
well informed the others took their chance.
As the lovely summer days went on, and
Philip Norton was involved more and more in
the simple gayeties of Cedar, whose inhabt-
ants consoled themselves for their long cold
winters with plenty of outdoor life and en-
joyment in the brief summer months, he be-
came more and more bewitched with Nan
Boyd. Her beauty stood the test of sun and
air heat fatigue, and daily observation it
was as genuine and real as the roseate splen-
dor of the mountain laurel, whose pink bells
illustrated and illuminated every hill about
the village, and shone with light like dawn
through the edges Of the dark woods.
Then she was graceful, genial. kind al
ways ready to get up or to join a party of
pleasure willing to sing if singing was want
| ed to play cards with the card players to
make wreaths for other girls-wreaths She
| could not wear for the sake Of that typical
! triangle she never seemed tired dull. or i'll
dressed in short Mr.. Norton believed her a
real angel and threw all the strength of his
| honest, deep nature into his passion for this
| lovely little creature. An unprej JUDGED oh.
| sCrver-of course a woman-might have de
cried the sharp thin voice, the shallow laugh
the ma &c selfishness, of this angel and sus-
pected that this gay blossom would show no
adequate fruit when its petals fell but Phil
| ip Norton had no such sanderous thought in
! his heart. Such external charm was to him
| only the expression of inward beauty. EX-
! peronce might have taught him better, but
| he was not just now amenable to experience
he was in love. He liked Mrs. Annie Boyd
much as he became better acquainted with
her her really sweet and fine character had
its effect on him, and he enjoyed an hours
conversation with her-when Nan was not az
thoroughly She was one of those
| people who have that rare charm, a delicate
and melodous voice, with wonderful COM
mand Of language, and being withal percep-
tive, high minded, and of deep feeling, she
was a most fascinating companion even to a
man in love. Henry Clarke, too, was devot-
ed TO Nan Boyd He had been a childish
lover of hers during his youthful visits to his
| grandfather's farm at Cedar, and now the
! ufht lONt seemed 10 nave re-hNaktueu lie
! was mt her side every where. and if his pro-
fessional life had been any thing but that of
a beginner. his practice would have suffered :
| as it was. his rivals suffered instead, for either
| out of the familiarity of old friendship or the
mere caprice of her disposition, Nan chose to
| parade Harry as her cavalier more and more
| frequently.
Philip Norton was plunged in despair by
| this state Of thing, ne could not in honor or
| decCncy come forward as rival to his best
| friend in that friends house his affection
| for Harry, his SENSE of the proprietes, all
forbade his eNpr, ssing his passion for this
| enchantress He kept away from her charmed
circle as far as possible he talked much of
| Mrs. Annie Boyd because she was Mans
cousin. 1t is well to be near the rose If you
are not n rose yourself, for there is at least
| the neighborhood Of its bloom and perfume
! to attract adorers. Still, he plunged daily
| further and further into this gulf Of bitter
| sweet passion, till one moonlight night his
| mind was set at rest concerning Harry. They
sat on the steps of the south door, tired with
a long days drive to Bashbish and back, and
| the two little girls We're hanging about them,
anxious to hear some report of the days en-
| ioymont, for to them picnic of grown peo-
| pie was an unattained paradise. There had
been much whispering between Ruth and
Rachel for few moments but at last Ruth
took courage, and looking up shyly at her
| brothers face, spoke out Hal, dear are
| you going to be married."
Il hope so, ma'am, at some period of my
existence" ," he answered, gravely
"Oh / don't mean that Are you going
to be pretty soon? ?"
''Not this week, Miss Inquistor"
"lIal, you're an awful tease-there'' ~ burst
in Rachel out of patience.
/ l.ar ,rirlg IA ba tvOr1s Of the lament
cd Artemus, why is this thus What has got
into your small heads in that vacant place ma
ture intended for brains; p
'Why, Jack said Tom Green told him you
were certain sure going to be married right
away to Mrs, Nan Boyd"
Not much :" calculated Harry.
"Oh, Hal, that's slang"
'Well, what if it is? Slang is the Ian
| guage of the coming man slang is universal
word paintings slang-but | wander from
| the subject. Listen, listen. ladies gay, and
l will point II moral and adorn u tale for your
! infant minds / fell in love over head and
! ears and the top of my tallest hair with Nan
! Boyd when / was twelve years old and she
ten. l spent my little all in candy and pea
! nuts for her sweet sake; | wrote her a valen-
| tine aud made her a string of birds eggs
three feet long-a rosary of despair to the
| gentle birds l robbed; l paid for tin-type of
! her sweet face with my last copper ana a
| iackknife that loved like a brother; but she
refused me after all, though implored her to
! olope with me in the milk wagon. So as the
Yorkshire man said, only tother end first,
She wouldn't have he, dye see for why
now he won't have she A" The moral of all
which is, Rachel, don't snub Tom Green too
much now lest he should turn and rend you
! by-and-by."
II hate Tom Green" retorted Rachel.
Harry laughed. But Philip Norton could
not speak he fairly trembled with a relief of
mind almost painful in its intensity, Harry
did not notice his silence and Ruth went on :
"But l should think you would want to
marry her, Harry. She is awful pretty"
"Oh, loot awful pretty = and you talk
to me about slang My dear, your glass
house will become fragmentary in about five
minutes if you go on"
Don't you like her Harry ?" asked Rachel
always direct. Eyes, miss, like her, but
| don't want TO marry her"