Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-12-25

10 HioIe' hhS Us lurhed IN an dfaWed her last
breath an left OF Iopmuck lone, lorn wid-
rer wunst again. Ez tn wa'n'tno will ez any
body knOw'd on, an tn wilder hadn't no
blood relations b'gosh Balaam and Jinny lis
sot right down in butter tub, so 70 speak,
inr all o the widder's property WIS their'n,
shckern pigtail gre ser. an consekently
from that time on Betsey Fassett foun' the
sleddin' heap rougher thin ever.
" Bout this time Beverly G. Frcdenbaugh
dropped down in the Holler an bought hoop
pole farm. He were a strappin young teller.
an twa'n't long fore il got missed round that
he paid cash for his hoop-poe tract and had
roll o. bills, b'gosh, ez tn must ha' ben forty
or NIFTY dollars in, Fust thing folks know'd
oil BALKAN had the young Teller TO his house
TO dinner, an jimmy got sweeter'n 'lasses
suck on him Then everybody noticed ez he
were keepin mp pOOty regular streak o. visit
in at Balaam's, an it looked ez il jimmy had
SHARED him, sartin ez flint. Bimeby folks
didn't hey no doubt b ut it,, fur OF Topmuck
built new log house and moved inter it. an
sol the old un to Beverly G., long wi some o.
the Wilder Wigs things q were in 1t.
Thl be weddin match at the Wilder
Wiggs's, fore long. said folks, an VEIN durn
sorry for Beverly c.
"Wall. the night afore Christmas Eve. that
winter, the hull o Big Camp HOler were shuck
up wussn an earthquake by the news that little
Betsey Fassett han ben druv outn the house
by oil Topmuck an jimmy, without no more
warnin., bgosh, than hornet gives We wen
he backs mp agin' We an dumps his load o.
pizen 'twixt yer eyes. An tn were sumpin'
bout Beverly q. Gredenbaugh being mixed up
IN the night, an folks went TO work TO GIT the
head an tail o the business. 1t didn't take
more'n coon's age to dig it ont.
IT pears that 'arly in the evenin' Beverly
had dropped in at OF Balaams. AFTER talkn'
spell about hog KILN, an the right time O.
the moon to do it in an gossipin' little bout
the beehn' the brindle steer, Beverly had
switched of an said
"'Wall, Mr. Topmuck, said he, now, ez
I've got house, I'm agointer git me wife to
put inter ii, said be.
Gwen he had said this, jimmy she simpered
an snickered, an put her han up an said -
"' O-h-h Beverly Or
Then the oil man had Clipped in.
" I've ben spectin' this h'ver fur some time
said he, but it comes ruther suddint fur all
that, said he. But We kin hev her Beverly
SAID he. She'll make We a wife ez won't let
nothln' go to waste, l kin tell ye, jimmy will
Then Beverly G. bad riz up an said
" But hop on, Balaamv said he, an he call
ed the OF man BALKAN. 'Hor onp said he
liant jimmy it's Betsey Fassett Me an
Betsey's gointer hitch, comm Christmas Eve
said he
Boys, 1 s'pect tn we're torable lively
circus up at Balaam Topmuck's fur a few
minutes that night. Beverly were 'bleeged to
set BALKAN out in the snow through the winder
TO cool him down, an wen Betsey Fassett left
the house she tuck wi her more hair thin
blonged TO her, an it were ist the color o
Jlnny's.
"Wall, tn we're quite party from the Hol-
lar gethered at Beverly G.'s Christmas Eve to
see the wcddin'. Ye member. boys. how in
the oil times II tn we're Teller 'roun' the clear
ms ez fell inter the habit o helpin hisself to
his neighbOr's wood pile, an the neighbor got
to mssin' his wood, it we're more'n likely that
the neighbor'd ind out who were takin' it by
jlst BORN holes in some nice big sticks, film
EN- wi powder, pluggin' EN-, up ag'in, an
an then iayln EN- whar the fellerd be sure to
git EN-. Ii tn were any one 'roun' the peel
IN ez didn't heY no roof on his cabin mex
mornin, or were short windor or two, or had
his kitchen tXn's mixed up roun' the floor.
the heft o ev deuce were that he wer- the fell
Ter, b'gOsh, that the neighber were lookin' fur.
Course ye all member that. Wal, OF BALKAN
want to Beverly G.'s weddn an no more
were jimmy; but jist bout the time the domi-
ME were hookn' Beverly an Betsey together
OF Balaam sneaked down to Beverly wood
pile an played the oil time trick O loadin the
back logs vi powder. He loaded the ones ez
| they'd be mote'n likely TO use through the ey-
enin', and then sneaked back agin.
"Ili give EN- blowout they haint count
| in on, says he 'durn ther Urinary pjcturs
''rhe dominic had got through with the job
an ev'rybody had smacked the bride till they d
/ almost raised blister, an the party had set
/ tied down to gnashin' inter the passin's which
u
| brung In fresh log an slapped 1t on the fire.
| Ey'rybody were havin' a bul y time, wen
Bang went the new log like a cannon. and the
next second 'twere 'scatterin' OF itself 'roun'
the room oacommon permisc'us. One ,olable
] good sized CHIP p unked inter little Billy COTS
! bread basket an doubled him up like a boss
| shoe. Another chunk. ED give the car ner
/ job II itd a met anybody on its way. tore
/ crosst the room an landed agin poor Wilder
| Wiggs's oil clock, ez had stood thar agin the
u =. I "A
/ pizzle-ecnd ards quicker'n flash o heat
1 lightnin'. Tn were a heap o screaming an
1 lhollarin fur minute or so, an then It come
| to all of EN- what were the muss, an ev'rybOdy
know'd who had more'n likely loaded the log.
/ Three or four o the telers was fur postponin'
furder perceedin's till they went up an give
OF BalaSm dressin' out, but jis' then the
dominic picked up a paper ez had tumbled
from ahiud the clock, an thar, bgosh, lie held
in his han the Wilder Wiggs's will made ont
ez reglar an bindin' ez n mar'ge kit, eav-
in eyIy durn inch o. Ian an passed. o worldly
goods e2 were her'n to little Betsey Fassett
II amt no use O. tellin' ye, / s'pose, that tn
were a few tears shed, an heap O huggir'
did an s'picion o. some whoopin' an hollerin'
in an Hroun that cabin, bgosh, fur some
leet spell.
"Wall, mex day OIL Balaam an jimmy were
sarved wi notice to quit the Wilder Wiggs's
plantation IN short order, an il the OF sim
didn't hey the cheek to ask Beverly g. 10 paw
him hundred dollars fur loadin the log that
busted an onkivered the widder's wi /. ye kin
knife me Bat he didn't get it, sea 'cely, an
the last We ever herd why, o'cou SO, Shurf,
ocourse Same as afore. landlord. Why, I'D a
cut her short long ago II somebody'd UNI said
sumpin'l Make it hot an sweet, Ian 'lori
That's the ticket! Wall, boys, hyer's a merry
CHRIS mas for all on u.s. Hyers down wi all
Topmucks, durn EN-! An may we never hev
no Wuss luck, k'gosht'lmighty than Beverly
q. an little Betsey Fassett did! "