Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1880-08-04
From " All the Year Rot
MY One CLEAN Of Romance.

hues of morning become lost in that Of the
+" light Of common day" which belongs to
the afternoon of life. For me it is a quiet,
cheerful, happy afternoon, with the music
of the voices that | love, the fragrance of |
the flowers | tend. / know, too, that for
me the bracing evening breezes will rise, |
and the evening skies be flushed with i'm |
mortal hopes. Once | had a gleam Of ro- |
nance, which grew, indeed, into a steady |
radiance ; and plain and prosaic as | am
now-and it is mainly the ordinary episode
of woman's life--I think it perhaps more
romantic than happens to most of the young
ladies of the period, and hope that they,
too, may have CLEAN equally propitious.
We were the six daughters of a country
vicar we lived four miles from the county
town, which was also the cathedral city.
We were very happy nest of girls, save
for certain unpropitious love affairs, which,
however, came all right before the end of
the third volume. Our squire's son was
very attentive to my eldest sister, aud our
squire, though very civil to u.s. was not sup
posed to like it, for he had trotted off his
son for long tour, and nobody knew for
how long it might be. My second sister
was engaged to my fathers curate; help
lessly, hopelessly engaged. He had only
hundred year, aud was not to think Of
marrying until he had at least another hun
dred. | came third. Three of my younger
sisters have become engaged to the series Of
subsequent curates. My father could not
afford to send US TO school, but we grew up
somehow, and, like flowers, we grew up
toward the sunlight.
The education our good mother gave us
was something like Shakespeare, taste and
the musical glasses :" butour father added
robuster fiber. He considered that boys and
| girls ought, TO certain extent, to have the
same education. Like Shakespeare afore-
said, we had little Latin and less Greek.
As far as Greek goes never got beyond the
| irregular verbs-those rocks which have
shipwrecked many young scholar-but in
Latin read several of the easier classics.
did not compose any Latin verses, because
my father very properly said that young la
j dies should not write verses, but have verses
written to them / had done the first three
books of " Euclid" and in algebra had gone
as far as quadratic equations, but not into
them. | do not mention these humble at
tainments boastfully, but because it will be
soon seen that they have something to do
with my little story.
but then l knew it was not home that
would last always. / did not see that there
was any necessity in the nature of things
that we six maidens should always be living
together. OF course, it is necessary that one
or two girls should always be at home look.
ing after the father and mother; but half a
dozen were really more than sufficient.
made up my mind thus should like to &c
out as governess. My father and mother
did not at all like the notion. The living
was fairly good one, and the notion haC
never entered their heads; but it had full,
taken possession of mine. was natural,
fond of teaching and had done even NOR,
than my share in teaching the younger ones
Moreover, should like to see bigger worlC
than that which our village made up, ex
cept that on Saturday we went to the neigh
boring city, where We did shopping anc
marketing, walked about, and went to hea
the anthem in the cathedral. Oae day
saw an advertisement which seemed to sui
me precisely governess was desired b,
country gentleman in the Midlands, Il
! ! teach three little boys Now it was tina
my boyish education came in excellently
, These boys were intended to go to Rugby
and it was discovered, after some little cor
: respondence aud comparing OF notes, that
should be able to educate them up to tn
point of entering Rugby even my fathe
|
sternly Just and particular in these thing:
: and would not for worlds let any one of hi
= children fly false colors. Then this gentle
: : man and lady wanted my photograph, and
was rather ashamed to send it, for | wa
/ only poor small brown little creature
: Those who loved me said that had lovin
; eyes, Just like our dog Pompsy, who al
! sure, had eyes that were simply magniticen
II only eyes do not come out very well in pht
j, tographs. However, the matter was ult
u u mately arranged between my father an
y these people. suppose few young ladie
u made so good start first off in the governe:
world as | did at nineteen, and all because
t. was able to teach the boys Latin and math
matics. was to have fifty guineas a yea
with laundress and travelling expenses,
=, that really should not have to pay ava
!, anything out of my salary. In fact I'll
Reverend Jones, who was engaged to n
sister Fanny, told me that / was gre'
u deal better off than he was. When he ha
y paid all his expenses he was hardly fiji
shillings to the good. If it had been gui
y eas instead of shillings he thought he migl
e be tempted to perpetrate matrimony on I'll
strength OF 1t.
L. In order to get my "place as we laug
n ingly called it, down in the shires, it WI
| L
"a cathedral city to London, and then go dow
a into the country by another line. Donnin
ton was very long way from the railwa
At this time our railway system was ST
= young, but even at the present time, thoul
- there are four or five railways in this neig
borhood, none come within four or five mil
of bennington. | was to go down to Ma
Ie ningham Road Station, which was ten mil
le from the market town of Manningham
h. self, aud then the village of bennington W
five miles on the other side of Manninghal
et II was late in September afternoon VIII,
ar came TO Manningham Road Station. III
j. station itself was in little village, but
le ambitiousy preferred taking its title fro
is the market town, which was many mil
S, off. The arrangement was that | should
e. met by one of the Wilmslows in their ira
be which should take me aud my belongin
Il over 70 bennington. Everything was tax
le out, But, unfortunately, the Wilmslows' co
Va veyance had not arrived. The porter kne
q them very well, and said that they we
X sure to be there before very long. 1t W
,y long way to come, and they might ha
business at Manningham. So after waltz
50 a rather long time left my luggage on I
~ platform, where the porter assured me
u u would be quite safe, and took a stroll abo
AZ tho Niiabt--a very Ateio ohct puN fiosohei'
e' two remarkable features. The churchya
u was very much timbered, almost grove-li
10 in character, and with an avenue of fl
.. branching elms. Moreover the church doc
"a were unlocked, with every appearance
e, that being the normal state OF things, al
"' the church was gently filled with di
suffusion of religious light paced tn
avenue, and sat quietly in that church, al
is my eyelds being heavy with little who
40 some crying IL is just possible-I admit ii
ne confdentially-that | may have slumber
it for few minutes in a most comfortat
it large square pew, which | gratefully rec
'o to the present day. At last the thought {
We Cured to me that | might in my turn
keeping the Wilmslows waiting at the 81
tion, aud so somewhat hurriedly retrac
he my steps.
d. When got once more upon the platfor
lie | noticed with dismay that my luggage h
or vanished.
n Well, porter" said "what about II
An luggageP / suppose you have put it in I
! cloak-room2"