The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-04-13

SONl L vi llNt DttI 1lOlIlHT SIZE
stopped II moment with a little choke),
"yJu have b en- sister and councillor
and friend, bread and butter, and sun
shine, and life to us all, AMI while YOU
have been all this, what have YOU done
for yourself? Talk aboIt furnishing
talk about accompli 'hment ! Patty,
you're a walking encyclopedia AMI you
know it No, l won't stop. You
have not livel IN the top of the cars
to b. sure, but you can repeat more
Shakeeaspre."
l put my hand over her mouth.
"What good will Shakespeare do me
1t is you who ought to go in my place,
and you SHALL" cried L, springing up.
"As if could! Is my name Martha
Bates Perry? Was 1 the first born,
named from my g%reat-aunt Bates,
legally appointed her successor, to go
to New York on mytwenty-first birth
day, and receive in due form whatever
there might be-as you've very well
known all your life?" finished Nell,
springing up and spreading out her
hands.
And so, as the situation seemed to be
forced upon me, | couldn't do any better
tn IN to prepare for it. | mended my
black alpaca dress and sent for a pint
of ammonia to cleanse my old broad
cloth cloak. | gave Nell minute in
structions about household matters
how long to boil the beans for Satur-
day and how much salt to put in the
brown bread.
"Now, Dame Dueden, please DON'T"
said Nell, tossing the fifth pair of
mended stockings into the basket. q
will take cool care, You may be sure,
and don't you forget all about u.s."
cob, Nell, as if l eveI could!"
"Then forget all about the baked
beans and brown bread part of us, and
buy yourself a nice dress and be the
queen you deserve to be-"
| looked over at Nell. She had
coiled her hair in heavy puffs on the
top of her head and the f:ill around
her neck was as white as snow. She
had sac down where the gold from the
west window touched her hair to such
IA bronze. No painter could ever hope
to catch it, though l could well believe
he might almost wish to die for it.
After dinner the day beforeI was to
leave home, | went up into the garnet,
broom in hand, and busted. inside and
out, an old horse-hair trunk which had
done duty through two generations of
my ancestors. TO cleanse it from. the
dust of two decades and drag it to the
light of day, down a %tortuous, winding
pair Of back stairs to my chamber was
the work of an hour. | had folded Il
newspaper in the bottom and had
commenced the unique task of packing
when Nell opened the door of my
room. "In the name of all that's hui
man, what are you doing?"
"Trying to coax my six linen collars,
and as many handkerchiefs to adapt
themselves to the dimensions of this
paper box" l replied, squeezing down
the cover.
Nell stood a moment-as if undecided
what to do next, then she suddenly
collapsed in the doorway, and threw
her apron over her head, rocking her
self back and forth, and sending out
peal after peal of laughter.
"When you get ready or recover
YOURSELF 1 said, "perhaps you will
be willing to tell me what you are
laughing at"
"That trunk! horse-hair in New
York Why Patty, it was that iden-
teal trunk that Mrs. Noah used before
she went into the ark, and it has sur
vived to this day!'
(which l regard as a clear illustra-
tion of the survival of the iitte It," l
replied, laying in a dress.
"But you know I hive a better one,
at least | have n that does not look
quite so much like a mummy case as
that, and to drag that trunk in here,
and lay it fguratively speaking at
your feet, shall be my first"
planted myself firmly against the
door. "No, Nell, that trunk is yours,
not mine, you picked berries for that
trunk in the broiling sun, while /
"Staid at home and cooked us some
thing to eat over a broiling stove. 1t
belongs to you as much as to me and
you shall take it,"
"No, Nell, l will not; l am a perfect
goose. | know. but | will not be a per-
feet sham-I will go down to New
York, neither the one thing nOr the
other-only just what | am. | will
take no borrowed tinery and no Dor
rowed trunk
"But couldn't we manage to pull
out those horrid brass letters on the
side:" Marian will know you when
she sees YOU"
"And l mem she shall" cried I,
haring up. M. =. stands for Martin
Perry; it also stands for Martha Perry,
that's my name, aud I'm not going
back upon it until | do something to
disgrace it. The b. in the middle
needn't make any great difference that
| can see."
"Wait till you get back from New
York, and then tell me what you think
about the b. in the middle. you un.
worldly creature" laughed Nell, as
slammed down the cover, and she
helped me fasten the old strap.
"And now" said l, zone more thing