Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-08-18
One evening there came letter to Mrs.

koN Ithul AbI nluls
every well" I replied.
Fred" was her nephew, Mr.. Drury-very
rich, rather eccentric, and quite distinguished
az a naturalist had heard enough Of him,
his merits and pecuarites being a standing
subject.
Next day he came. could bear his noisy
greeting stairs from where l was in the
kitchen, experimenting preparations for din
ner but il was ''none OF my funeral" as
they say, and calmly proceeded with my du-
ties
Mrs. Dartnell came down presently.
"Why don't you dress for dinner ?" she in
quired.
'I? thought after so long an absence
you'd want to monopolize him" said ], giving
the pudding final stir.
"Oh, shall see enough Of him before his
visit is over" she replied; ''and 1 want you
TO like him."
GOOD gracious I" I exclaimed, "you don't
expect him to fall in love with the house
maid?"
Don't go, Betty, for to put me in pas
sion, )" she cried, quoting from an old play
and upstairs she went in high spirits
just before dinner time, after giving final
directions to my Swiss lieutenant, FRANCHISE,
/ ran upstairs and freshened myself up bit.
l was anxious to see this paragon of nephews,
and determined he should not see me at my
HOEhbs bultItu Ahb IhiAbA ~ low homNhto
before we were summoned to dinner, and
Mrs. Dartnell said, quietly:
Miss Norman, this is my nephew, Mr..
Drury"
bowed, raised my eyes, and 10 there
stood the bug-hunter whom had met nearly
a year before.
But what a shock to my vanity He had
apparently not carried away any vague picture
photographed by the look he had given me
t. h. 20
me.
OF course sat at the table to listen. He
had great deal to say for his aunt piled him
with questions. He had been up the Amazon
river and its tributaries and had come home
with birds and insects, and all kinds Of oddi-
ties enough to stock q museum.
1.-The reason have not written you of late,
he said, in reply to a question, sis that was
away from all mails for six months, locked up
in the forests with savages. came near re-
naming there"
How was that 2"
IT got into scrape with the natives; Of
Tended one of their chiefs-innocently, of
course-and but for the influence Of an Am
erican engineer there, sent out by an English
company to survey grant, l should have
Jared badly. He is a fine fellow, and expects
to come home in a month. He had only just
heard of his fathers death when he came
| uOWu lue river Win lutt huu nave l6lleI
| from him for his sister, who, according to him.
| is such piece of perfection that tremble to
meet her. know the village where she lives
at least know all the beetles and butter
flies in that quarter-and l must go and hunt
| her up"
MAY ask the engineers name, Mr.. Dru-
ryT
Certainly; Grey-Victor Grey"
So he had letter from my brother, who was
| coming home.
'Mr. Drury, you will not find the person
you seek She has left Sealsford"
"Ah! You know where she is, perhsps?"
II can find her, and if you will intrust the
| letter to me L will see that she gets it."
II am much obliged, and it would save me
some trouble but, you see, l wish to deliver
it in person, in order to make her acquaint-
ance."
You will find her very ordinary person,
probably"
''Then she is very unlike her brother, 1 can
tell you; for he is one of the best they make
nowadays However, 1 shall meet her when
he comes home, if not before and you had
better deliver the letter, if you will be so
kind"
After dinner Mrs Dartnell, who was anxious
to show off one of her pets to the other, had
me play for Frederick, and in the evening got
me to sing. 1t soon appeared that Mr.. Drury
| Qnu q ulEnlN N-CnlllNhlGu baritone VOICE, anu
We tried duets together, to the great delight
of his aunt, who would have kept up the ex-
tempore concert till midnight, if 1 had not
robelled.
The nephew's visit extended from one week
into two, and then another, and finally into
month, during which he coaxed out his do
mestic aunt to divers places of amusement
and into a deal of unusual but harmless dissi-
patton. l was always one of the party, and
found it very pleasant, especially when 1 re-
flected that had entered the parlor by way
of the kitchen. 1t seemed like a dream, and
1 wondered what was to come next.
We were expecting Victor home-though
neither Mr.. Drury nor his aunt knew of our
relationship-when one morning our ento-
mologist brought in some music from new
opera, over which the town was running wild
Just then, and we were practicing it at the
piano, Mrs. Dartnel listening and knitting,
when carriage drove up.
1 started-could it possibly be Victor ?
The front door opened, and we heard
sharp voice say;
"Oh, stuff and nonsense she is here-I
know she is Show me into the parlor and
send her there right away"
"But tell you, madam"
''Stuff Do as 1 bid you !"
''And the owner of the voice opened the
parlor door, and marched in ON US.
She was an old lady, small, withered, and
with pinched-up features and twinkling black
eyes.
81 beg your pardon. madam-Mrs. Dart
nell, presume? learn you have my niece
with you, and 1 wish to see her. am Miss
Grey"
Mrs. Dartnell went forward, while l stood
in an agony of modification. This, then, was
my eccentric aunt, whom had not seen since
was a child bnt 1 remembered her eyes,
L.. ,sh; ob baa ~ oh
"Miss Norman resides with me, madam, "
replied Mrs. Dartnell with the stateliness she
could assume when required. 'Is it she whom
you wish to see 2?
Miss Norman, eh Ah, there she is;
would know her anywhere by her likeness TO
my brother Good notion it was for your
father TO put Norman into your name. Not
that he meant anything by it-he never meant
anything poor man. Do you know why I've
hunted you out? No, of course you don't.
I'm rioh-why don't you hurry to claim kin
Tm odd, suppose. Well, it wouldn't do you
any good, anyway, for intend to leave every
cent l have to Victor every cent"
bowed, to escape laughing.
Sarcastic, too Well, you have more spi-
rt than your father ever had, but you're just
as proud in different way. A pretty chase
I've bad all the way to Sealsford, and you
gone. The lawyers couldn't find you, so they
set the police on your track"
'Police !"
''Y,s-police. That was their idea.
went down myself Mr.. Bland wouldn't tel
me at hrst-no till told him my business
then he did, quick enough. jumped on the
cars. my coach was at the depot when go
to town, made George drive me here, anC
here am Not particularly glad to see me
are you?"
"Well, aunt, you know have not seen yor
since was a child, and your visit is SO uneK
pected-"
"Of course. Now I'll tell you why came
You were partly named after old Norman
sensible man lived and died bachelor. TIT
! man that gets married is the biggest fool il
, the world, except the woman that marries him