The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-12-17
Gbe firesioe.
Charlotte's Fancy Work.

fan herself and rest; 3" to think of my
devoting all my spare time to making
tidiesl shall never touch crochet |
needle again"
Dom say that, Charlotte, )" returned |
her mother. Many poor baby will |
need sacque next winter whose mother |
will have no time for making one"
What is your objection to crochet?" |
asked Jane Todd, a cousin who had
called in to say goodbye. "You used
to be crazy about it,"
"Well, dare say it was silly in me
to mind it," returned Charlotte, but
last summer l worked some of the love-
liest tides as a wedding present for
Cousin Sophia Luttrell you know we
could not afford to give her anything
really expensive), and after all my
trouble, here came palavering note in
reply, written in copper-plate hand
Gas unlike Sophia's as possible), thank
| ing me for the beautiful quilt / had sent
her. | didn't know what to make of it
at first, but mamma suggested that she
| probably had so many letters of thanks
to write, that she attended only to the
most important ones herself, pressing a
friend into service to answer the rest,
and the friend got things slightly mixed
up"
"That accounts for the letter | re-
ceived from her" exclaimed Jane.
sent crazy quilt that had spent many
a week in making, and she was thank
full for those exquisite tides And
that wasn't the last of it, either When
| went to call on her in her own house,
she said she must thank me again for
my elegant present; and went on to in
form me that it appeared on her tea
table oftener than any of the others she
had received"
" A crazy quilt on tea table," ex-
claimed Mrs. Stanley.
. think she must have referred to a
tea-set," returned Jane. 8" She received
half dozen of them, understand, and
more silver than she will ever be able
to use.'
"To her that hath shall be given"
said Charlotte. " An heiress like Sophia
would be sure to have more wedding
grateful for, and | wish hadn't wasted
so much of my time on her when it
could have been more proftably oc-
cupied."
Yes" reioined Jane. You might
| udNt SNull3 III ii lldlllIllOCh anu
your mind by reading Seaside novels.
| suppose that is what you will do this
summer"
Z" shall do nothing of the kind" re-
turned Charlotte. 81 have materials
enough in my trunk there to keep me
busy all the time | am in the country,
and | am going to give presents this
year that will be properly appreciated. p"
:" hope you haven't spent money
on Them" said Mrs. Stanley, signing.
" You know we have to make every
dollar do the work of two; and though
we do get cheap board in the country,
still it costs more than if we were to
stay at home"
"I'll show them to you when we
reach Maplewood," returned Char
lotte, " and am sure you won't find
fault with me-"
On the day succeeding their arrival
at Maplewood, as the rain was falling in
torrents, and there could be no going
out of doors, Charlotte unpacked hel
trunk, and brought out her fancy work
materials.
What do you think of that?" asked
she, as she exhibited two remnants OF
dark gray merino, and a great pile OF
bright colored knitting wool
"What are you going to do with il
all?" asked Mrs. Stanley.
81 am going to make the widow;
heart sing with joy" was the reply
Don't you remember that poor, lame
Mrs. Thompson who mended the parlo
carpet last winter? Well, she has two
little daughters who are cash girls a
Stevenson's, and one of my Sunday
school pupils, who is employed there
tells me they dress so shabbily tina
there has more than once been some tall
of discharging them because they ar,
considered a disgrace to the establish
ment. | went to see their mother, ant
found her embroidering slippers a
twenty-five cents dozen. That was tn,
reason that / had my old gloves cleaned
instead OF buying new pair. The dOla
- and half | saved in that way bough
! cheap stuff enough to make the littl,
Thompsons comparatively decent 70
the summer, but next winter | inten(
them to be quite stylishin merino dresses
and warm stockings"
4 That is kind in you, my dear, bu
as you can hardly afford to keep decen
yourself, | am afraid we shall have tC
pinch and -n
Don't say we, ," interrupted Char
lotte. "The pinching has all beer
done, and did it myself. You know
| calculated that could give six dollars
and a half for trimmed hat. Well
instead of doing that, l studied hat il
Mrs. Frisbie's window until | knew i
by heart, and then went in, bough
the materials and trimmed one for my
self, saving two dollars and half by it
Then | saved four dollars more by hay
ing my old shoes mended instead OF
getting new ones-they look just as
good as new, don't they? Then l saved
little more by concluding not to buy
new satchel; and so had more than
enough for my purchases. | wish
knew as much about knitting as l dc
about crochet, but | dare say that old
lady who sits opposite to us at table
will take pity on me, and teach me how
to narrow and turn heels. Those chill
dren must be nicely clothed if | work
my fingers to the bone"
Charlotte was not mistaken about hel
old lady neighbor, who proved to be an
experienced knitter, and the most pa
tent of teachers. The old lady's niece
also lent hand, or rather two hands
to Charlotte's good work. and ran the