Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-03-04
TIE ILLUMINATED DRESS.

It's an awful nuisance TO be poor, that's q
fact. And to be poor and 10 be proud-hard
lines can 60 but little further, and l had gone
TO the extremity Of hard lines.
suppose you'll think no good OF me for
saying that was pretty. But didn't say 1t
first. The glass said it every morning. And
when one sees a cheek like a rosy down on a
peach, eyes soft and dark as a black pearl, their
dark fringes almost too heavy for the white
lids to lift, features like sculpture, and yel-
low hair shining like satin folds in its braids,
and all that sort Of thing, one would have to
be fool not to know whether the picture
was good, bad, or indifferent And so
knew that l was pretty but / didn't take
much satisfaction In it it never gave me
thrill Of what call vanity it was the source
Of almost constant modification, on the other
hand, and would rather have been as plain
as Susan Winckvorth, and have had plenty
10 wear.
Drab doesn't show the dirt, and so my
dresses were always drab. Remnants are
cheaper than whole patterns, and so my
dresses were combinations of two or three
remnants As for bonnets, don't believe
I'd ever had an entirely new one. / made my
own gloves-but it's no use going through the
category of my wants; l wanted everything.
And then you can't keep pretty girl shut
you put her in q convent people will find
her out and by people mean John Rokes-
by, and Paul Ventnor, and all the rest. 10
tell the truth, l didn't so much mind John
and Paul and all the rest, because they had
known me as a little rag-bag ever since was
born, and dear old John would have been on
ly too glad TO take me for better or worse,
rags and all and Paul wouldn't have had,
you know, 10 save his soul-besides Susan
was in love with Paul.
But when whole parcel of gay and wealthy
people came to the lovely little town for
two months visit, some at the Rokesbys', and
some at the inn, and some camping ont on ac-
count of the survey Of a line they were run
ming from somewhere to nowhere, then 1t
was different. 1 knew the first thing they'd
say would be, ''What pretty girl I" and the
next thing would be, But isn't she quite too
awfully shabby I" And couldn't keep out
Of their sight for 1 had to go to the mail,
and TO the store, and 70 the MILL and to the
station, and had 10 be seen outdoors, super
intending the boys in picking and boxing and
packing; for all the income we had, mother
and / and the children, was what we could
make from our strawberry beds and orchard,
and it was mighty little anyway, and mother
was delicate, and had to see to everything.
1t happened that was down at the station,
arranging with the freight agent. for my
strawberry crates, on the day these people
came and Isaw them, every one, and all their
gay hustle, and all Their pretty dresses-the
girls, mean and suppose they were traV-
cling dresses too-very likely the worst they
had, and their worst SO far SURPRISING my
best that they didn't seOm TO belong to the
same order Of things. had heard Susan and
the Rokesby girls talking Of the arrival of
these people, and of all the fine doings there
were to be but saw at glance that 1 could
have no share In the fine doings, unless II
should be in pillow-case party, or some
thing of the kind, where everybody looked
alike. They had never heard Of me, and so
looked at them with impunity that day at
the station, and decided that the tall dark
fellow was Mr.. Paget, and that frightfully
stylish tall sallow girl, in q dark blue foulard,
all puffs and ruffies and shirrings and laces
and ribbons, was his sister Miriam, and that
the blue-eyed beauty was Miss Mervin, and
the red-headed girl was Maria, aud the
straight young men were the surveyors
needn't have spent much time in guessing,
either, for my ears are as good as telescope
tubes, and couldn't help hearing what some
of them were saying as they stood waiting
for somebody TO classify their luggage
''Deuced pretty girl, with the red gold hair
there Say, Sammy, wager q case of claret
- NN@ee@' "AsA ASA DNASAS W
morrow"
you're regular heart-breaker, Meare
but take you up"
''She's one of us at any rate" said another.
There's John Rokesby going to speak with
her. What uncommon luck that fellow has
nothing to do, independent fortune, sound
health"
"And knows pretty girl besides, Mervin."
But didn't let on, when mamma asked me
II had seen them, that that dark blue foulard
had nearly smothered me with envy.
What sort of looking people were they,
Alice 2" she asked.
''Oh, city folks"
''Nicely dressed, suppose p said mamma,
timidly.
"Oh, beautifully :" And then mamma
sighed, and began TO speak, but thought bet
ter of it. / wouldn't have you think that
mamma was a silly or weak-minded woman
she wasn't but she had been young herself,
and knew how young folks felt But 1
guessed what she was going TO say, and ran and
threw my arms round her dear old neck, and
cried II don't care about their fneries, not
the least bit I'd rather have you and"
II reckons Of you was all rigged out too,
you'd look as scruhptious as any Of them,