Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-04-04
ont PHGN1x AND RECORD AND FARMER FRIDAY

Twice she made attempts to bring some
cheerfulness into their home She worked
her husband a pair Of slippers for Christmas,
and placed bunch Of snow-drops on the Ia
bic at Easter. He gruflly told her to take
'em away, and not inkeridge the scarlet wom-
an by bringin SIGH popsh notions into the
haouse." The country fences, barns, taverns,
rocks and landscape were once abaze with
flaming posters announcing the coming Of q
circus and menagerie. She gazed on those
pictured wonders-on the monkey parodies,
pathetic camels repulsive serpents, leaping
tigers flying figures, compliment fat women,
bushy -hared frauds, dissatisfied Albinos, sun
shiny giants, pompous dwarfs, the sacred COW
of Burmah and the Behemoth OF scripture
Her very soul ached with an intense longing
to behold those oriental animals from far-of
tropical countries of which she had read in
the Bible and in Little Henry and his Bear
err" Was II possible that those huge, ungain-
ly elephants could stand on their heads, planks
and barrels, play tunes on hand-organs and
do other undreamed.of things perfectly un-
natural and unpleasant to an elephant2 Was
it true that horses waltzed and dogs hung
each other2 That woman could be shot
from a cannon, and tattooed man walk shiv-
eringly about clad only in his own cashmere
skin, and gauzy beings fly through hoops of
fire over the backs of horses that had TO make
up their minds to standit? 1t WAS wonderful
"A fairy tale, myth, perhaps. Everything
was reversed-the toes of the rider, the clown
in the ring the ideas and trunks of the ele-
plants Seeing was believing, and she want
ed, oh, how she wanted, to go It would be
the one great pleasure, the one grand epoch,
Of her dreary life. Only those who have been
forced TO live in an unvarying routine of hard
work, care and unending monotony can APP
Y,raaiata tho hnps,fpaeu - xpou1d ha could fa
down-trodden little Yankee woman go to the
circus. She read on the brilliant posters that
pulpit, press and people commended this
great moral show, unparalleled in grandeur
and magnihoence, and that nothing was said
seen or done that could offend the most moral
and fastidious person" To be sure, the
lions Herald had not advertised it, and she
had not yet heard it endorsed by their own
minister from his pulpit but one minister
diifereth from another in opinions, and If even
one attended the circus, surely she could
She had no money and was afraid to ask for
any, or to breach the subject to her husband
fearing his opposition. She laid awake at
night, wondering if She was a wicked, de-
signing woman for not mentioning her de-
sire, and how she could obtain means to ac-
complish it. This was the first time she ever
plotted-the first time she ever dared to strike
out for herself. 1t showed how keen was the
yearning for little brightness to come into
her cold and cherries life She knew il was
useless to ask for any of the egg butter, milk
or cheese money that she had earned She
arose two hours earlier than usual one morn
ing, did most of her Homework, and while
her husband was drinking molasses and water
in the hay field, she slipped away on pretext
and winged feet and under the burning Aug
ust sun, with hands trembling and heart beat
inc with bnna and avcitap,ant ha v,iolrrI 60,
quarts of berries that were sold at the hotel
in s.. The next day, with the coveted
money held tightly in her ungloved hand, she
hurriedly climbed into the wagon of neigh
Dor who had called by her request to carry
her with his wife and children to the circus,
all joyful at the unusual holiday How her
heart beat, how her limbs shook Once off
and out of visw of the bayfield, sho would
breathe freer. One taste of pleasure, and it
was hers forever, no matter what happened
afterwards. They turned the corner, and a
man appeared upon the dusty road 1t was
her husband, sent there by one of those mali
cious chances that sometimes thwart the wills
of mon and women. He stopped them. Ex-
plantations followed 1T is my money; did
not take it from the house, earned it yester-
day, she faltered, holding up her toil-worn,
thorn-scratched hands. 1t was her only APP
peal, and it fell upon closed ears as he stern
ly ordered her to 'get down" She ought not
to have got down, and am sorry to have to
say that she did but she is meek and good,
and she 'obeyod' with her eyes and heart full
of tears. He walked unrelentingly by her
side to the house He took her hardly won
bits of silver he said thoy should go into
the contribution. box next Sunday to atone for
the henous sin she had committed in wishing
to enter unholy places. He entered the closed
sanctuary of his parlor. He removed the to-
bacco quid from his mouth and placed it on
the mantel. Then he prayed. Kneeling in
the centre of the floor, on the biggest yellow
est, most unfaded horn Of plenty that be-
spriukled the carpet, he asked the Lord, in
nasal tones to chasten the worldly spirit of
his wife, TO withhold her from the snares of
temptation baited by the devil, and to keep
her from the flesh pots of Egypt and Vermont
She never complains. She suffers vaguely,
not fully compromising the servile position
she holds in her husbands house. We are
glad she does not. In her case it would make
no difference if she did understand it,
This is only one womsn's life out of thous-
ands, under varying conditions and circum-
stances, to be sure, but true just the same.
Yet there are unthinking men and women
who say that Justice and equality are not
good for women they have all the privileges
that are necessary"