Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-02-20
poor WHITE TRASH"
A Character study IN the Georgia
MoumuoHma.

Mountains.
tFrom a New York Tribune correspondent1
They were rafting along over the noun
tains-the blue.eyed young lady, the blond
young man, the preacher and the preachers
wife. The mules were of the slowest, the
hack Of the roughest, and the roads Of the
worst that North Georgia could furnish.
That decision was unanimous, except for the
preacher, who declared that long ago he had
travelled all through these mountains, and
that this road was boulevard compared with
some he had seen. His wife looked at him a
little apprehensively at this, doubling il his
wits had been joted out of him, and the
other young people began to sing, to cover
the painful pause,
They were bent upon a visit to aunt
Fanny Smith, who kept a hotel hard by
Sinking Mountain-or Sinkin Mounting, as
the natives called it-which was one of the
curiosities Of the region where this party was
sojourning. After many thump and batter
and bang the mules took wild leap around
a steep and sudden turn the hack and its
occupants pitched after them, and were
brought up suddenly before a small weather
stained, high.roofed house made of undress.
ed lumber. Half of the front of the house
was wide old piazza With sagging floor
the other half was room. The piazza il.
self was NEARLY filed by boxes Of plants,
chiefly geraniums, in vivid bloom standing
out against the soft deep grays and browns
of the old walls that made the background.
Two or three old slat- t-bottomed rockers, soft.
ened also by time, stood in front of the door.
way, at which appeared, az the mules gave
their last vicious jerk and almost succeeded
in dislocating every vertebra Of their helpless
load, two women, who proved to be Aunt
Fanny and her oldest daughter.
IN a 4 II. AZ 4
out Them mules must be powerful hard
travellers. Come in an hev some butter.
milk, do"
Aunt Fanny came forward to possess her
self Of their shawls az she spoke-s tall,
brown, pleasant faced, shrewd looking wom-
an OF one would say fifty, il there were not
Martha Jane beside her, who was forty five il
she was day. The latter led the two ladies'
into the room, which should have been the
rest OF the porch but which was instead the
most curious sleeping apartment that these
two had ever seen. There we're four or Ave
bedS In it. few feet apart from each other,
with heads against the wall Between each pair
Of beds, out as far as the foot, ran thin
wooden partition about az high as a maus =
head. The rest of the room evidently was
held in common and il Que could not see
ones neighbor's bed, one was supposed to
be in the strctest privacy. The first alcove
was the maiden shrine Of Martha Jane. The
walls and partitions we're hung With clothes
aud adorned With old fashioned plates, wood
cuts from The Police Gazette and one or two
antique tin types framed in straws.
"Chese yere ain't my bes' coes, " said Mar
tina Jane apologetically, as the blue-eye
young lady stood before the tiny cracked
glass giving an extra fluff to her tawny bangs ;
~ in gen'ally keeps my Sunday cloes up at
tic I've got powrfu fine dress up thar
as nice as yourn" with an approving glance
at the blue-eyed young lady's null aud lace,
which was, in fact, too fine for such an e1.
cursion-"hit amt quite so thin as yourn,
but hits got q whole dollars wuth of em-
broidery on il, an when / jerk out them
plats hits pow'rful pretty frock,"
my backs wsak's water sometimes" she
con6ded presently, settling herself on the
bed by the side Of the preachers wife, IAN
lately I've just plum quit expectin' of it to
git any better, an I've took to wearin galluses.
Hit seems quare to you uns, s'pose, halt
repeDting her confession but know some
resl nice ladies that do it. ] know one lady
she's an exception, she's such lady her
husband runs on the train-an' she wears
galluses. She's been a-wearin' 'em nigh on
to two year. But Ia! you uns don't know
nothin' bout galluses. / s'pose ef we uns
quare things-jes' as Gurus you uns think our
things is-leastways, l s'pose you do. But
of your hairs fixed, let's go up attic an see
my white frock, an some shawls msde-I'
les a. lief sell 'em as not Do you uns think
bangs is becomin' TO me 2" she demanded
suddenly turning square upon them AZ they
followed her to the porch
The blue-eyed young lady gasped little,
but the preachers wife, who had seen an
oddity or two in her day, looked calmly at
the tough leAthery face, reddening dsrkly in
it's anxiety, the small, black, close-set eyes,
peeping out defantly on either side of the
high, thin ridge of nose, and said smlingly /:
I'VE haven't seen you without them. you
know; put them back"
"Oh, eVer 30 becoming!" exclaimed the
blue. eyed young lady, reaching up to put
the thick blsck locks in place again. You
don't know how young II makes you look !
And how pretty and thick aud glossy your
hair is, she went on, to redeem the dubious
ness Of her first remarks; "wouldn't you
like me to show you how to do it in twists on
the top Of your head? am sure you'd like
it,"
"Well, happen would, said Martha Jane,
highly fattered. "We'n go into my room
after dinner; but come up yon now"
They passed through the porch into large
h1uhTe HNluB Win u NAut Olu uft
place, more beds, more clothes more pic
lures from Cooley and The Police Gazette,
the additional features being a sewing ma.
chine, and, suspended from beam overhead,
an almost interminRble row of sun -bonnets,
Of every hue under heaven. From this room
flight OF steps, devoid OF banisters, led
''up attic" where were stored great piles of
dried ''yerbs, strings of onions aud peppers,
bed-quilts, home-spun counterpanes, several
pairs OF huge brogans, and two or three bat
tered old trunks. Martha Jane approached
one Of these reverently aud raised the lid
the "pow'rfu fine frock," however, was not
on top, and her solemnity relapsed into
shTewdness.
ever made" she said, spreading the
goods out on the ladies' laps, IAN hits plum
the prettest piece made in this SETTLE nent.
too, Of do say it, I'd sell it cheap to you
uns-bue an yaller-hits kinder quiet like,
an nd look pop'rfu nice for a preacher
wife, or might happen that ar tow-headed
young feller down stars 'ud like to buy II fer
you l seed he was sweet on you afore be
got you outen the hack"
"Marthy Jane! You Marthyl Yere it's a
half hour to dinner an that ar chicken ain't
even dead You uns mustn't pay no 'tention
to me-" added Aunt Fanny as the three sp-
peareu AT the head OF the stairs, out et
Marthy Jane don't pearten up an thrash
round yere lively thar amt goin' to be nc
dinner, an men folks 'thout dinner is wusseu
wild steers."
As the linen folks" had gone out to ex
plore the country the four women went into
the kitchen together. A stove, a long table,
and an enormous fireplace were here, few
| sparks OF fire visible on the hearth among
| the ashes
''It amt luck to have the FIRE on the hearth
60 out" said Aunt Fanny, vigorously sitting
aour into the bread-tray, that thar fire..
ben burnin' sense Marthy Jane was ba.
by"
"Marthy" Jane here entered with the de
voted chicken squawking in her hands. She
wrung its head of calmly and tossed it out oi
DOORS dropping the chicken on the kitchen
floor, where it Topped aimlessly while Mar
tina Jane poured little hot water into tin
| nan Than ahe picked the headless chiokeT