Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-12-12

was not for himself he wanted the things
But he goes on, feeling happier after his
purchase. They will see now that he is not
30 bad after all II Is long since he has felt
such craving TO be thought we'll Of by some
body.
A little further on he comes to row of
| people, mostly women and tradesmens boys,
standing on the ourbstone opposite man
who is seated in a little wooden box on wheels
drawn up close TO the pavement. He is par
alytic and blind, with pinohed, white face,
framed in an old-fashioned fur cap with big
ear-lappets he seems to be preaching or
! reading, and Rolleston stops idly enough to
listen for few moments the women making
room for him with alaority, and the boys star
| ing curiousy round At the new conner with a
| grin.
He hardly pays much attention to this he
is listening to the poem which the man in the
box is recitng with nasal and metallic snuff
flo in his voice.
There's harp and a crown,
For you and for me,
Hanging on the boughs
or that Christmha treeW
He hears, and then hurries on again, repeat
| ing the stAnzs mechanically to himself, with
out seeing anything particularly ludicrous
about it. The words have reminded him Of
that Christmas party at the Gordons next
door. Did not Ethel Gordon ask him partic-
ularly to come, and did he not refuse her sui
lenly2 What brute he was to treat her like
that II she we're to ask him again, he thinks
he would not say no, though he does hate par
| ties.
Ethel is a dear girl, and never seems to
think him good for nothing, as most people
do. Perhaps 1t is all sham, though-no, he
can't think that when he rememb bers how pa
tiently and kindly she has borne with his
senseless fits Of temper and tried to laugh
away his gloom.
Not every girl as pretty as Ethel is would
care to notice him, and persist In spite Of ev-
erythng yet he has sulked with her Of late
Was it because she had been kind to Lionel
He is ashamed to think that this may have
been the reason.
Never mind, that is all over now be will
start clear with everybody. He will ask Ethel,
| too, 10 forgive him. Is there nothing he can
do to please herr Yes some time ago she
had asked him to draw something for her.
| (He detests drawing lessons, but he has rsth-
er taste for drawing things out of his own
head.) He had told her, not too civilly, that
be had work enough without doing drawings
for girls. He will paint her something to-
night as q surprise he will begin as soon as
tea is cleared away it will be more sociable
than reading book.
And then already he seeo vision Of a warm
his color box and sitting down to paint by
lamp-light-for any light does for his kind Of
coloring-while his mother sits opposite and
Lionel watches the picture growing under his
hand.
What shall he draw He gets quite ab-
sorbed in thinking over this his own tastes
run in q CORY direction, but perhaps Ethel
| being girl, may not care for battles or des-
| perate duels. A compromise strikes him
| ba yviI MS ehf - ,vil ho a-sN
rate, with the black flag flying on the main
mast and the pirate captain on the poop
securing the ocean with big glass in search
of merchantmen; all about the deck and
| rigging he can put the crew, with red caps
and belts stuck full of pistols and daggers.
And ON the right there shall be bit of the
pirate island, with 6 mast and another black
hag-he knows he will enjoy picking out the
skull and cross bones in thick Chinese white
and then, if there is room, he will add
cannon, and perhaps palm tree. pirate
island always has palm trees.
He is so full Of this projected picture of
his that he is quite surprised to find that he
is very near the square where he lives but
here, just in front of him, at the end of the
narrow lane, ia the public house with the
coach and four engraved on the ground glass
Of the lower part of the window, aud the
bottles full of colored water ranged above.
And here is the greengrocers-how long is
it since it was a barber's surely very little
time-and there is the boot makers, with its
outside display of dangling shoes and the
row of naked gas jets blown to pale blue
specks and whistling red tongues by turns as
a gust sweeps across them.
This ia his home, this dingy, old fashioned
red brick house at an angle Of the square,
with small paved space rallied in before it.
He pushes open the old gate with the iron
arch above, where an oil lamp used to hang,
and hurries up to the door with the heavy
Georgian porch, impatient to get to the
warmth and light which awaits him within.
The bell has got out of order, for only q
faint jangle comes from below as he rings ;
he waits a little and then pulls the handle
again, more sharply this time, and still no
one comes.
When Betty doee think proper to come up
and open the door he will tell her that it is
too bad keeping fellow standing out here in
the fog and cold all this time. She
is coming at last-no, it was fancy 1t seems
as if Betty had slipped out for something,
and perhaps the cook is up stairs, and his
mother may be doing by the fire as she has
begun to do of late.
Losing all patience, he gropes for the
knocker aud, cropping in vain, begins 10
hammer with bare fists on the door, louder
and louder, until he is interrupted by q
rough voice from the railings behind him.
Nov then, what are you up to there, eh p
says the voice, which belongs to burly po-
liceman who has stopped suspicously on the
pavement
why" says Rolleston, 81 want to get in,
and can't make them hear me- / wish
you'd try what you can do will you?"
The policeman comes slowly in to the gate.
81 dsresay," he says jocularly. "Is there
anything else? Come, suppose you move
on"
A curious kind Of dread of he knows not
what begins to creep over Wilfred at this.
"Move on !" he cries; "why should move
on This is my house don't you see1
live here"
Now, look ere, my joker; don't want
job over this, says the constable stolidly.
You'll bring crowd around in another min
ute if you keep on that 'ammering"
mind your own business, says the other,
with growing excitement
That's what shall have to do il you
don't look out" is the retoEt, "Will you
move on before make you2"
''But, say" protests Rolleston, I'm moi
joking give you my word Pm not. dc
live here Why, I've just come back from
school, and can't get in"
pretty school you come from" growls
the policeman; Handles on to your lessor
books, If l knows anything. Ere, out you
go!"
Rolleston's fear increases. 81 won't!
WON'T" he cries franticslly, and rushing
back to the door beats upon it wildly. Or
( the other side of it are love and shelter anC
it will not open to him. He is cold and hun
t CRY and tired after his walk why do they
3 keep him out like this?
1 ''Mother!" he calls hoarsely. 'Can't you
hear me, mother? It's Wilfred let me in =
= The other takes him-not roughly-by tn
shoulder. Nov you take my advice" h
S says "You amt quite yourself your
q making mistake. don't want to get yol
8 in trouble il you don't force me to it. Drol
: this ere tomfool game and go home quiet t
8 wherever it Is you do live."
T II tell you live here, you fool !" shrek
q Wilfred, in deadly terror, lest he should b
forced away before the door is opened.
=, "And l tell you you don't do nothing o
, the sort" says the policeman beginning I
o lose his temper mo one don't live ere, no
f amt done since I've bin on the beat Us
your eyes il you're not too far gone"
Q For the first time Rolleston seems 10 Sc
= things plainly as they are he glauoes roun
o the square-that is just as II always is on fo(
L gy winter evenings, with its central inclosur
J. q shadowy black mass against q reddish gliu
f; mer, beyond which the lighted windows {
It the houses glow in yellow bars Of varyin
! nd M