Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1882-08-21
S1onth's Column.
PUSSY WILLOWS.


PUSSY WILLOWS.
Cliff wanted new suit of clothes.
The trouble was he didn't have any
time to earn money for it. His time
out of school was used in just earn
ing his own and Bertha's board.
Bertha was his sister.
They had little room up in the
attic of Mrs. Nelson's boarding house.
Cliff had closet off from the attic,
where he slept.
Cliff built the fires, and carried
coal for the cook, and ran errands
for Mrs. Nelson and the boarders,
who sometimes gave him five or ten
cents as payment. He swept the
yards and the halls and the front
steps; he sifted ashes and split wood
and cleaned windows; in fact, he
was boy of all work. The only
time he had for study was only two
hours in the evening, and one in the
morning, by getting up an hour be-
fore it was time to light the fires.
But Cliff was willing to face pow
erty, hardship and shabby clothes,
if only he and Bertha could keep to-
gether. Besides this, Cliff meant to
be Judge Melnotte some day.
Bertha was older than Cliff, but
she was almost an invalid and could
not do much to earn her living,
though she did a little plain sewing
and worked button-holes for the
boarders. She mended Cliffs clothes
and spent much time painting. She
had taken lessons before they were
very poor, and she didn't care for
much else, else Cliff.
Bertha was as anxious as Cliff
about the new suit. She had been
saving up her odd cents, but it took
both hers and Cliffs together just to
get Cliffs boots and socks. So things
looked pretty black for Cliff. His
hands and wrists grew farther out of
his sleeves, to say nothing Of the
patches that didn't match. Indeed,
his clothes were so small he could
hardly get into them.
Mrs. Nelson began to hint that he
had better leave school and 90 to
earning a new suit. She was asham-
ed to have any one SO shabby about
the house.
But Cliff meant to keep at school
just as long as possible. For it
would make such a break in his stud
les, if he left now; and it would be
so hard to catch up with his classes
in the fall. If he could only get
along until the summer vacation, he
thought he could earn something
then.
Cliff was eXtravagant in one thing,
flowers. He bought them for Ber-
tina. They were so much company,
she said; and she could 90 on with
her painting and be sure she was
true to nature. Flowers, leaves,
grasses, twigs of trees-those were
Bertha's favorite studies. And when
Cliff saw her rouse up from a head
ache at sight of flower, and beam
with happiness as she began her
pointing, he determined that she
should have flowers, whatever hap
pened.
Bertha had been puzzling her brain
for weeks to find some way Of help
ing Cliff. She had tried to sell her little
pictures, but nobody would buy them.
She was almost in despair as one day
she sat dreamily looking up at some
old pussy-willows which she had kept
over from last year. AS she looked
she seemed to see kitten faces look
ing down at her out of the pussy-wil-
lows. They were running after their
tails and having a regular frolic.
The kittens grew smaller and smaller
up to the tops of the branches, where
they were just coming out and were
hardly turned into kittens yet. She
seized her brushes, and for the rest
of the day was very busy.
When her picture was finished she
took it to a store where she had new
er been before, and offered it for
sale.
eve cannot buy it," said the pro-
prietor, barely glancing at the pict-
ure. eve have so many offered
nowadays that really the market is
glutted.''
"But'' said Bertha, in trembling
voice.
The tears choked her voice. She
had been so sure they would sell.
She pointed with trembling fingers to
the kitten faces.
"Ah!" said the man, looking clos
er. every grotesque! Curious
But could not risk it. Might not
take, you see. We could put it in
the showcase for you; and if a GUS
toner should fancy it, we would sell
it for you for slight percentage
Bertha left the picture, and went
home to cry herself almost sick.
She needn't have done so, for she
had not been gone five minutes when
Mr.. Lathrop, publisher of Young
Days, sauntered into the art store.
ssAhi what have we here? The