Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1882-06-14
Pussy willows.


board. Bertha was his sister.
They had little room up in the attic OF
Mrs. Nelson's clearinghouse. Cliff had a
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
yard and the halls and the front steps he
sifted ashes and split wood and cleaned
windows; in fact, he was boy Of all work.
But Cliff was willing to face poverty, hard
ship, and shabby clothes, if only he and
Bertha could keep together.
Bertha was older than Cliff but she was
almost an invalid, and could not do much TO
earn her living, though she did little plain
sewing and worked buttonholes for the
boarders. She mended Cliffs clothes, and
spent much time painting. She had taken
lessons in drawing and painting before they
were poor
Bertha was as anxious as Cliff about the
new suit She had been saving up all her
odd cents; but it took both hers and Cliffs
put together Just to get Cliffs boots and
socks. So things looked pretty black for Cliff.
His hands and wrists grew farther and far
ther out of his sleeves, to say nothing Of
the patches that didn't match.
Mrs. Nelson began to hint that he had
better leave school and go to earning new
suit. She was ashamed 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
break in his studies, If he left now and ii
| would be so hard to catch up with his classes
in the fall. If he only could get along till
the summer vacation, he thought he could
earn something then.
Cliff was extravagant in one thing, flow
ers. He bought them for Bertha. They
were SO much company, she said; and she
could go on with her painting, and be sure
she was true to nature. Flowers, leaves,
| grasses, twigs of trees-those were Ber-
tha's favorite studies. And when Cliff saw
her rouse up from headache at sight of
| flower, and fairly beam with happiness as
she began her painting, he would determine
| that she should have her flowers, whatever
| happened.
Bertha had been puzzling her brains for
weeks to find some way of helping 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 little kitten faces
looking down at her out of the pussy-wil.
lows. They were running after their tails
and having a great frolic. The kittens
grew smaller and smaller up to the top 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 store where she had never been be-
fore, and offered it for sale.
ave cannot buy it," said the proprietor,
barely glancing at the picture. ave have
so many offered nowadays that really the
market is gutted."
"But,' said Bertha, in trembling voice,
the tears starting to her eyes. The tears
choked her voice. She had been so sure
that it would sell. She pointed with trem
bling fingers to the kitten faces.
"Ah 4" said the man, looking closer.
avery grotesque Curious But couldn't risk
it. Mightn't take, you see. We could put
it in the showcase for you and if a Gus
toner fancied it, we would sell it for you
for a slight percentage"
Bertha left her picture, and went home to
cry herself almost sick.
She needn't have done so, for she hadn't
been gone ten minutes when Mr. Lathrop,
publisher of Young Days, ssuntered into the
art store
"Ah what have we here ? The very
thing Bless my soul Who is the artist ?
III give you ten dollars for that little thing
and the artists address. You see we've ad-
vertised to give series of tlower-stories,
and we want illustrations. This artist has
imagination. Blackstone is very good on
landscapes and figures, but owns up that he
hasn't any knack at flowers, much less any
fancy to add to them"
An hour later, Bertha, with very red eyes,
was telling the kindly, gray-haired gentleman
all about her supposed disappointment,
about Cliff and Cliffs clothes and Cliffs as
pirations For he looked so kind that,
somehow, before she knew it, she had told
him everything.
Just then, Cliff came in, and the gentle
man exclaimed:
"Why, you're the boy who ran after me
one day with my pocket-book and wouldn't
take reward. Come to me in your school
vacation, and think can put you in the
way of earning enough to help you through
another year. have a lawyer friend, too,
who, think, will take you into his office
after you graduate. AS for Miss Bertha, here,
I'm going to have her come out to my cottage
in the country this summer. She will give
my daughter lessons and We'll see what the
greenness and country air will do for her.
She's going to furnish a series of flower
sketches for Young Days. You didn't see
this, she says" And he showed Cliff the
pussy-willows. And by the way, must pay
you something in advance-to seal the bar
gain, you know" And he put into Bertha's
hand another bill.
So Cliff had his new suit. And | don't
know which was happier, Bertha or Cliff
Christian Register.