The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1881-12-01

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! thought Of She vua~slsd . minute sn
: then 50, down on the fioor and rmoye
her tan-colored lnv ssitars.
. Then. with ssealtby tread sought N
1 press in Be,sey's room. II was a bold
desperate act, what viii no, a romanti
maiden venture, when love stands read
10 reward herr She gained the corner i
. which stood the press. she opened ia
door cautiously aud tel, for the dress.
. was hanging on the peg where she la.
left il, she rummarel round Ia the fold
, for tho pocket. the dress slipped from Il
, peg and came sliding down, the hooks an,
eyes on the waist scratching against la
side OF the wardrobe with noise Ike tha
Of rats working their way into Bctsey'
apartment.
Now q rat was the one thing ON eartl
OF which the stout hearted Botsey had
fear The sound Of . rat gnawing woul.
waken her when thief or thunder storn
would have come and gone unnotioed. On
this occasion she started up in great alarm
cxclaiming, .sTheres them rats again
Shooi" Maria held her breath, and IL
trying to escape Betseys sleepy, vacan'
stare. loaned too far backward and sa
down noiselessly on the floor Of the press,
mashing in the crown OF the coquetisl
bonnet and knocking IL forward on hei
head in most rakish way.
Fortunately Betsey was too much afraid
of rats to venture out on the Hoor in search
of them, so she m erely reached out aud
picked up one Of her carpet slippers
living conveniently near, and threw il al
the supposed intruders with warning TO
them to "Shoo' The missile flew in an
opposite direction from the object aimed
Mt or Mar las bonnet might have suffered
yet more severely, As it was, Betsey sup.
posed from the intense silence which pre-
vailed, that she frightened away the rats,
and after listening few moments to assure
herself that they were really gone laid
down again an was soon peacefully sleep.
ing. In the mean time Maria sat breath
less till assured OF Betsey's oblivion, when
she pulled herself ont OF her uncomfort.
BILE position aud mad de of with such haste
as was consistent with crampe limbs an d
utter silence, taking the palmleaf dress
W it'll her to the safety and seclusion OF her
own room. There by the rays Of the
moon which was now warning her OF the
lateness of the hour, she hastily searched
out the pocket and sec ured the teeth which
we're hidden in the depths. These she
placed in her mouth aud then replaced the
tan. colored CATERS and opening the door
into the entry. way glided ont, and passing
through the kitchen to avoid the watchfnl
Tiger soon found herself standing under
the blue CANOPY OF heaven in her best hat
and gown ready for flight
And hear let us explain. On the occa.
sion of his recnt call. after the tender
scene OF wooina described above. Deacon
Skeels had elected from that romantic
maiden promise to meet him At the end
Of tho .,cow pastnre" on the present NIGHT
and 20 off "quiet like" and be united in
the holy bonds in his own little sitting.
room behind the tin sbop. Wbetber he
was prompted to this course by the dread
OF encounterino Elizabeth. or of facing the
wrath Of some Of the other sister, in the
ne;obborbood who Ind Ind their eves IN
him since bis bereavement does not nm.
near Al all events be wished tho dead 10
be done ou;cklv and ouietlv and th;s mid.
night elonement 90 nleased Maria so far
exceeded her widest homes. her most ro.
mantle wishes. that she readily consented
In the nlan and bence we find her IN might
skippipe along the COW path TO meet her
waiting lover. with all the blithesome
aoilitv n not the grace of a vorno o;,,
The eniso1e NJ tha tea,h had de,s;,oa
her some time beyond tho bour anno;,,ed
by the impatient lover so she hurried
across the pasture so rapilly tba, when
rhe reoehed the ,rvstino nlace NV tbe lana
fence wher. tha deacon Tho cbo;.e and tho
old mara were ava ;,ino bor .be wos on.
t,rolv ont ~ breotb and had N Loan ooo;ns,
tbe fence for spnport wh;la be, ,over modo
severol pnsuccessfnl o,temn,s 10 on,hra.a
her through tbo rails He wa. loo old and
too fat to climb tho barrier with that ease
and grace one would bava w;sbod % a,s.
nlav hefore tho woman n, b,s adoration so
la cone,rdoa n na;, I'm Mari. caa o,o,
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