Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-10-13

a story OF The Fresh Air Fund

a Story OF The Fresh Air Fund.
IT'S harum- -scarum idea I" said Miss Re-
lance Roxbury, as she stood among the cur
rant-bushes at the garden fence "a most
ridiculous idea l wonder what this gushing
American people will do next 2" and she gave
tn emphatic twitch to her purple calico sun
bonnet.
There was faint murmur of dissent from
a little woman on the other side of the moss.
grown fence
"No-of course you don't agree with me"
continued Miss Reliance, as the clusters of
ruby and pearl flew into the six-quart pail at
her feet. You're so soft-hearted that your
feelings are forever running off with your
common sense. You never say a word about
the national debt, or the condition of our ma
Wy, but let anybody start a subscription for
sending blanket shawls to Brazil or putting
up a monument to Methusaleh on the meet
ing-house green, you'll give your last quarter.
And now, you're going to open your house to
a lot of little ragamuffins from New York :"
The motherly brown eyes on the other side
of the fence were full Of tears and pleasant
voice replied
'It makes my heart ache to think how the
poor things suffer, crowded together in dirty
streets, with never a breath Of clover field
or glass of milk. If you'd Just read about
it, Reliance, you'd count it a blessed privilege
to give them bit Of our sunshine"
I'D as soon have tribe Of Zulus on the
place, said Miss Reliance, land if you'll take
my advice you'll save yourself lots of
trouble"
Mrs. Lane stopped her work for moment
and said
"Liakim and me are all alone now, Reli-
ance. One by one, we've laid Kate and Sarah
and baby Lizzie over there in the old bury
ing ground and Jack is in Colorado, and
Richard in Boston, and we get hungry some
times for the sound of little feet When
began to read about the Fresh Air Fund it
kind of sent thrill all over me, and Liakim
he reads about it every day, before he ever
looks at the Egyptian war, and he wipes his
glasses pretty often too. Then when We
heard the parson say that party would come
here if places could be found for EN-, 'Liakim
spoke right off for four, and they'll be here
next Tuesday, and I'm going to make it just
as much like heaven as l can"
You'll make yourself sick that's what
you'll do, Amanda Lane, replied Miss Re
lance, but if you want your garden over
run, and your silver spoons stolen, and your
nerves prostrated, why it's your own fault.
must 60 in and get my jelly started"
Miss Roxbury went up the path between
the sunfowers and hollyhocks, entered the
large, sunny airy kitchen, and set down the
pail of currants for Hannah the house maid
to pick over. Then she hung the purple cali
co un-bonuet ON the nail that for forty years
had been devoted to that purpose. and went
into the cool sitting to rest in her favor
ite chintz covered rocker. Miss Reliance
Roxbury had been for twenty years, with the
exception of a gardener and house maid, the
sole occupant of this ancient stone dwelling,
that had stood for more than a century be-
OIL 10 oil a,,1 Nkn Ia 80 h.,
village of Lynford She was a stern woman
who liked but few people, and had a horror
of children, dogs and sentiment The village
boys, with keen perception of her unsym-
pathetic nature called her "Old Ironsides"
She was proud of her birth and of the sub
stantial property that had fallen to her at the
death of her father, old Judge Roxbury.
She was a member of the Presby terian
church, and paid high rental for the Rox-
bury pew, but with that considered that her
pecuniary obligations to the cause were at an
end. As a general thing, she had not allow
ed convictions on the subject of giving to
trouble her, but somehow, ever since Sunday,
when the pastor stated the work of the Fresh
Air Fund and made a fervent appeal for
these little ones that suffer-" she had been
subjected to numerous vague but uncomfort-
able sensations. She rocked back and forth
in the spacious sitting room that no fly dare
invade, and noted the perfect order of the
apartment. From the china shepherdess on
the mantel, to the braided rugs at the doors,
everything occupied the same position as in
the days of Miss Roxbury's girlhood. There
was torture in the thought of having the ta-
BILE cover pulled awry, of seeing the shells
and prim old daguerreotypes disarranged on
the what-not, of having sand tracked in by
small feet over the faded Brussels carpet,
and her pet verbena bed invaded by eager
young fingers.
Surely religion and humanity could not de-
mand such sacrifices of her
''Please, ma'am, the currants is ready to be
put over" said Hannah at the door.
Miss Roxbury rose at once, glad of anoth-
er channel for her thoughts, but amid her
weighing and measuring, and her careful cal
culatons of pints and pounds, the strange
impression did not leave her mind.
After the rich crimson syrup had been
poured into the row of shining tumblers on
the table, she returned to her chintz covered
rocker and took up the Bible to read her
daily chapter. Opening it at random, her
eyes fell upon these words;
'Then shall he answer them saying, In
asmuch as ye did it not unto one of the least
of these"
Miss Roxbury read no further on that page,
but hurredy turned back to Chronicles,
which she felt was perfectly safe ground.
But mingled with the long genealogical ta-
bles she saw other words between the lines,
so that the Israelitish records read thus;
1.-The son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the
son of Azariah. ("Ye did it not.")
1.-The son of Tanath, the son of Assir, the
son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korak. ("Ye did
it not
Finally, the whole page seemed to resolve
itself into these four monOsy tables
She closed the Bible and put il in its acus-
toned place on the table, bounded on the
north by the lamp on the south by the match
box, on the east by Bunyan's Pilgrims
Progress" and on the west by bunch of
worsted roses under glass case. She was
restless, miserable, tormented. She endeav-
ored to read the Life of Napoleon Bona
parte," but even the thrilling story of the
Russian campaign was lacking in interest,
compared with her own inward conflict be-
tween duty and the cold sel6shness of a life
time.
She did not enjoy her dinner, although the
butterbeans were from her garden, and the
black raspberries were the first of the sea.
son.