The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1881-03-31


"A iniroiaced 10 her, aud eomplimentod 0
in having such pleasant and accomplishe
ie young lady in her family; he hoped tha
e. he nigh. bare the pleasure Of seeing bot
the ladies present occasionally at hi
N church.
Il RosieSng again at the Baptist churcl
/ the ncr, Sunday. as the regular singer wa
q not well enough 10 attend. When sh
a rose In her seat, she had the satisfaction o
b seeing many Methoiists and Congrega
q ,ionalis,s in the audience. and .nlthougl
!, she felt certain pride in thinking tina
i. they came 10 hear her sing. she felt hap
pier at the thought that she was TO be th'
J. means OF carrying out her aunts scheme,
o Tha, evening the Methodisss had Sun
I day school concert and Rosie played theii
I organ. She was now on the best OF term,
. with oil the young people Of the village
: aud had no doubt that her party would bt
> success
And II Was More than fifty were in at
! tendance. which included every young
, lady and gentleman in the town. Aunt
, Betsey outdid herself in preparing the
supper Everything was perfect, even the
ice cream from the city, which was great
luxury to the villagers.
At twelve o'clock the party broke up,
and Rosie by her managing sent several Of
the Methodist maidens home with the
Baptist beauI, and otherwise miYsd up
sects and sexes at her will.
A few days after the party Miss Bailey
was surprised to receive a visit from Mrs
Bush, wife Of the Baptist minister. They
spent very pleasant hour together, when
they were interrupted by Mrs Deacon
Wilson OF the Methodist church, and both
ladies remained to tea. The ice was now
broken, and calling between the different
sects was as common as though it was not
q new thing for Bosworth.
Everything now working to Rosie's sat
isfaction she had time to think OF her own
troubles When she came to Bosworth she
was by no means happy girl. Her father
was very strict man and young gentle
man to whom she was quite partial had
not found favor in his eyes, much to the
mutual grief of the young people Her
fathers sickness had been quite long, and
so close was her seclusion till the time OF
his death, that she had not seen Edward
Bentley, nor did she see. him before she
came to Boswortb. She had written to her
acquaintauces but they only knew that he
had graduated from college and gone away
About this time Mr.. Bush's health failed
he asked for q years vacation, agreeing to
fill the pulpit during his absence This
leave was Of course granted, and the con-
gregation were waiting anxiously for the
new minister. All they knew was that he
was young man, and came from church |
in the city of AllistoN where he was the
colleague OF Rev. Dr. Howland, one Of the
most eminent preachers OF the Baptist per
suasion. OF course they expected some
thing OF more than ordinary ability. nor
were the disappointed.
But with the sermon we have nothing
to do. They wished to make good i'm
preston upon the minister SO Rosie was
sought out and invited to sing for them.
With her usual good nature she at once
accepted Her position was such that she
could not see the minister from where she
sat, but when the choir roso TO sing she
found herself face to face with Edward
Bentley
To say that she was surprised would
not half express her feelings. She turned
first whito, then red, and finally sank back
in her seat, powerless to sing note.
The minister OF course knew nothing OF
this little affair Of the gallery, for the sing
ers went on with the anthem after mo-
ment's hesitation, and by the time they
came to the solo, which Rosie was TO sing,
she was ready to go on with her part. As
her voice rang ont clear and soft, a look Of
startled surprise was noticed on the minis
ter's face, and few, at least, OF the con-
were aware that something ex-
had happened. Rose now
quite calm, sang her solo sweetly to the
end but when the minister arose to read
the opening exercises some thought they
observed slight tremor in his voice. Only
ono in the congregation knew why there
was such an earnestness in the prayer that
was offered for the bringing together Of
friends long separated, most OF them !
thinking he had reference to the long sep
aration OF the churches Of the town.
When the services we're ended he hur-
ried from the pulpit and met Rosie as she 9
came down from the gallery There was a !
greeting that rather surprised those Of the
who saw it, but few words
of explanation from the pastor set their !
minds right, and before night the whole
own knew that Rosie was the affianced :
bride OF Edward Bentley, the new Baptist
and that il was love affair OF :
ong standing.
Everybody went to the wedding which Q
vas in the Congregational church, and
everybody went to the reception at Miss D
3aileys which was the grandest affair Bos- G
worth had ever known.
At the end OF the year Rosie bade fare y
vellAo the little town to go to her home.
But even she, so far distant from the little y
-illage, viii ever have pleasant memories !,
II the assistance she gave in the religious V
evolution Of Bosvorth through the en- -
erprise OF sixteen old maids. v
There arc some very straightforward