Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-12-22
CHAPTER II

Tell yer what, honey, we snt dom right"
said Miss Ieclair's old servant, Aunt Hetty, az
she brought in tho wadlos for breakfast on
New Years morning. d" We isn't dom right.
Iiurn be fdlhs a comm Ter call on US an we'd
oughter he ready for 10 see en-
q" Oh, Hett5, nobOdyil come"
GlOng, Miss Marian, 8 Tong; yer knows yer
got heap o. friends sence yer come North.
Put on yer long black frock hOney--do."
Presently Hotty in triumph brought in bag
full of freali-cut flowers. When Bliss Leciair
read the card that lay within she sprang up like
a school girl, pressed her face upon the dewy
pillow of blossoms and declared thorC was never
anything lovely. Hetty chucklod softly to
herself, and set about rubbing and busting the
furniture in the little front rom. Is WAS very
pretty this little front room. a carefully chosen
dark wallpaper represented the price Of good
many newspaper columns. That was the only
outlay Marian had made. Whom the IRE was
bright under the mantel-pisee which was
cunningly drLped, and when the flowers wore
put in some dainty 70, one might easily forget
the cheap. common little house and the second
rate neghbOrltOOd. 1t was Adye's bower "
IN good Old English
Marian came in wearing dress of black
China Grape, which had moro Of history than
should belong 70 a costume, but which olung to
,hcr slender shape lovingly and fell into soft
tdeep folds Of drapery over which the guilty
trail OF plating aud rlfipg MACHINES had never
passed. She wore no jewelry (she owned none),
bat her white throat was bare and piece Of
curious odd lace VA carried down to her bosom
and fastened there with a few of the fresh,
white rusCbuds. Her bright hair, knOtted
loosely, was given little freedom on the fore
head. Her face was ---- But how empty words
are. Milais would have painted her If he had
seen her and we would have stared at tho
picture and wondered If such lovely woman
really lived
Before long a mountainous arrangement of
flowers was handed in, with Gordons compi-
ments
ats too big for the ROOM take it away" was
Miss Leclairs remark upon the offering.
Toward noon there were some calers-Old
Southern friends, and the editor who gave the
short checks for the long columns.
Later and just in a quiet honr when Marian
was alone, a young man who had no carraiage
at the door and whose overoOat had seen good
many New Years gave Hetty a familiar nod in
passing and came into the small pariUr with his
face all beamng. BY some strange coincidence
Miss Leoair's face seemed very happy too; and
when he said joyfully, "You wear my roses e.
she answered with an infection that any man
might interpret:
" OF course l wear them"
Mr.. Ford evidently mistrusted his own
| judgment ON reflection because he talked in an
abstracted way about all sorts OF remote things.
" Are you painting anything new7' Miss
| Lecar asked.
" Yes; | paint, to tell you the truth, very
much more than SELL
Marian laughed merrily. "Oh, the arts are all
alike; they don't pay-that is, in money. But
then Fdon't care for money nor for anything
compared to-
" Compared to what-tO 10 -
" To art l Was going to say Miss Leclair
suddenly found the room growing too warm.
Perhaps that made her color 50.
| Mr.. FOrd's VI &c was low and he came very
near to her to lay down very plain axiom
"You know there no art without the artist
| "Well ?n
"Then by process of logic (the logic made
his voice tremble) "yOu don't care for money
nor for anything compared tO-an artist. Ia
that true2 Marian, is chat true ?"
How still she was, how pale, and what lovely
light in her eyes All, if Millais could have
caught that look for a picture
"Mr. Gordon Old Hetty announced; and
that triumph Of matter over mind whose
diamond studs proclaimed his balance at the
bank, gave Miss Leclair a New Years greeting
and Mr.. Ford dangerous glance.
Others dropped in, shortly, until there were
half dozen in the ROOM Marian was over by
the windows when the last caller entered. He
stood against the door, which, with the most
careful good manners, lie closed behind him
and he looked about in the cheerful way that
always proclaimed Kinkel Peter was
very red and very clean shaved and shiny
That corpse Of q suit had come of the bed and
was ayenging the disturbance by refusing tC
look like anything but cerements-baggy, new
and horrible. The purple cravat stared out
ike an evil eye from the glacial eXpanso Of
shirt-front. The green-gloyed hands were
spasmodicaly holding on 20 vicious, slippery
hat that wanted 10 lie on the floor. Lie on the
AooT it did in amoment, and after an unsuocoss
fui lunge Peter gave it up and stood helpless
and cheerful as before.
There was a silence. The men drew avail