Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-01-14
on THE TERANDA.

but Miss Hetherington thought that rather
depre eciatory way of speaking Of her country
resort, for the summers boarders lived there
The house might have been a very pleasant
one when it was opened, but in the summer
time it was virtually closed, because of the
hies, and heat, and DUST and sun, Mrs Fries
said. In the morning the bed in the board
ers' room was nicely made-too nicely for a
considerate person to disturb-the furniture
busted and put back against the WALL and it
was solid mahogany the blinds were shut
and indeed the windows too, and coming in
out of the sunlight one had TO grope ones
way all over the house. So Miss Hethering-
ton went out upon the veranda Immediately
after breakfast and remained there, if she
remained near the house at all, till bed time
Just now it was delightful She had just
left the breakfast table, but by the little
watch that hung from her girdle it was al
ready nine o'clock and the little watch kept
excellent time. All through the meal there
had been pleasant clckety music from the
neighboring field. John had told Miss Heth-
erington the night before that he would about
reach the middle of the field with his now
ing.machine when she left the breakfast ta-
BILE the next morning, and sure enough there
he was What Hercules was this young
farmer Fries and handsome, stalwart fel-
low, and a fine, frank, excellent nature, and
q gentleman withal. The Frieses had always
sent their sons TO a sort of a college for few
years to polish them up then, If they chose
TO go on with a profession, the money was
found for it. In fact, several of Johns cous-
ins were students of divinity. of medicine, of
law; but John chose to be farmer of his
own free-will his mother said. She was
nice, quaint, wholesome little woman, whom
Miss Hetherington liked very much, and Mrs.
Fries seemed TO return the affection, until
John
But that was a matter Of course. "Cela va
sans dire" Miss Hetherington said, and felt
sorry that those little hobbies of mothers al
ways interfered with their happiness. She
felt sorry, but not Sufficiently so TO let it in
terfere with her own. She had begun by
liking Mrs. Fries better than her son. She
amused her, and interested her; the old lady
had all that native ingenuity, vigor. simplici-
ty, and honesty of expression which the few
years of college had cured for John. But of
late Mrs. Fries had been very busy. 1t was
haying time, and she went to bed early. Mrs.
Fries did not Miss Hetherington, who dis
liked going to bed more than anything in the
world, unless it might be getting out of bed
after she had once gone TO it, As for John,
he liked the moon. But there he was, quite
in the middle of the field, as he had sworn to
be. The veranda faced the road running
the whole length of the house. Some fine
old horse -chestnuts shaded the lawn, which
extended down dozen rods or so to the road
then across the fence was the field of hay
where John was moving.
Miss Hetherington put up her glass. Her
sight was tolerably good by moon or gas
light, but deficient in the garish light of day.
Without her glass John and the mower look
ed one she couldn't tell where John began
and the mower ended. Miss Hetherington
put up her glass, and Just then the veranda
made a pleasant picture. A few vines had
been trimmed with due regard to light and
shade but the most of them had been left to
their own sweet will, just as the farming had
been left to John, and there is always some
thing delightful in the attributes of an un-
fettered will Humming- birds and bees,
darning needles and butterflies, and all sorts
of winged things, darted in and out of the
blossoms, and gorgeous spider hung mid
way in a magnificent palace made in single
night. The spider wore black and yellow,
the fashionable colors, and so did Miss Heth-
erington, who WAS not only handsome crea-
ture, but she had great respect for the ac-
cessories of beauty. The spider paused in
the construction of his palace to look at her,
aud so did John. All at once the music of
the mower ceased, and the fine figure at the
helm, or whatever the governing power of a
mower is called, took of its wide-brimmed
straw hat, and waved it in the sweet summer
air and Miss Hetherington, not to be out
done, took from her belt little trihe of lace
and linen, and also waved it. And Heaven
knows how long this little pantomime might
have gone on il Miss Hetherington had not
heard behind her peculiar cough-a cough
that begged 10 be excused for intruding-and
it came from Mrs. Fries, who was also look
ing at Miss Hetherington, but not like John,
or the spider, or the many well-known ways
of looking at a pretty woman. There was
something in the gaze of Mrs. Fries that
went to Miss Hetherington's heart without
elating it.
"Good-morning, said Miss Hetherington
-"Good-morning, Mrs. Fries. You tell me
without speaking that 1 must not interfere
with the shining hours of haying-time, and
you see that it is just as il I went within
doors-not bit of me to be seen, and l
promise you won't be till the tedious sun
goes down"
Miss Hetherington had put herself and her
draperies quite behind huge Japanese hon
eysuckle, and now sank into one of the big
red easy chairs, and reached a book from a
convenient and sheltered nook which was
cTammed with paper literature. She yawned
slightly. The compact mass of summer
reading took a somewhat wearisome shape.
"And how long does this troublesome hay
ing time last 2" she said.
Miss Hetherington looked up, and was sur
prised to see that Mrs. Fries had turned into
an old woman. From a comfortable middle
age she had shrunk and faded into some
thing quite pitiAble. The red in her cheek,
which had hitherto bloomed like that in a
winter apple, had suddenly fed, and her
eyes, which had always held the snap of vir-
ility, were sunken and dull
"It's too late to tell you not to interfere
with John" she said ''it's too late the
mschief's done"
Miss Hetherington was touched and inter
ested. The fault she had found with her
summer reading was that she couldn't get to
believe in it. Here was something before
her eyes.
She suddenly put up her soft white hands,
from which a shower of lace receded, and
catching the trembling, wrinkled hands of
Mrs. Fries within her own, she drew her