Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-03-12

Some Russian girl in sieep-robes white,
| Making her peaceful evening prayer,
That Heavens great mercy meath It's care
would Keep aud cover him tonight?
-AHhong AOrehead in March Ccnturg.
!
PLANCHETTES PRESCRIP TIOM
O.her people have different smiles for oh.
| stinacy. but in our family we have always
said ''As obstinate as Aunt Eliza" Let an
idea, no matter how preposterous, once get
good foot hold in ny aunt's brain, and
there was an end Of the matter; argument,
entreaty, opposition, ridicule-eaoh one made
a worse failure than the other Yet my Aunt
Eliza was the kindest best-tem pered soul
| living. II was the to whom every one al
ways ran in case Of sudden trouble or sick
ness. The sight of her comely aud ample
| person, and handsome, fresh tinted face, the
cheerfulness OF which her widows cap soft
ened aud dgnihed, but could not shadow,
WAS better than medicine to the patient The
! poor blessed her in dozen languages Aud
the departing clergy man regularly commend.
| ed her to his successor as a pillar to the tenn
| pie. Aunt Eliza being thus obstinate and
lovable, we, her own kindred, took care not
to run our heads against her whims. There
! fore, five years ago, when she f-hed a
belated planchette out OF some rubbish in the
garret, and took to consulting the little
wheeled monsters scrawls we merely looked
on in respectful neutrality. When she and
her circle Of wonder workers made the
scrawls into communications from her late
husband, my Uncle Eldred, we discussed
Aunt Eliza's new freak dubously among our
selves, but in her presence we were silent.
We even tried to keep Basil Ferris quiet, be-
cause he was in love with Aunt Eliza's only
child, Lyde, and We wished him we'll. be be.
ing capital fellow, Of good family. who had
inherited one Of the largest foundries on the
Ohio river.
give her her head, BASIL aud she'll come
out all right" oounselsd my father, who
came from Kentucky, and carried his fond
meas for horses into his metaphors.
It's Just because she's so lonesome and
misses brother Edred, my mother pleaded
Tim and |, both youngsters then, thought
Planchette great fun, aud, to our own proper
shame be il spoken, were not above getting
Uncle Eidred TO advise birthday freaks aud
circuses with reckless liberality.
But Basil would no. be chsckel h de-
rided Planchette openly, told Aunt Eliza that
she was being swinded and called Uuce El-
dr.d's messages ''twaddle" That put the
cap.sheaf on his iniquties An insult to her
self, my aunt said. she might have pardoned,
but one to her dead husband-uever She
Informed Basil that the engagement was over
and told Lyde that il she married that ''sacri.
legious young man" she Aunt Eliza would
die of a broken heart and move out Of town
and never see her again. Lyde was q slim
mer and younger copy OF her mother, with
out the obatlnacy, therefore the sweetest girl
in the world. She was devoted to her moth
er, and she besouRht Ferris to be patient.
He was patient at first but as time went by
relentessly, and the day that WAS to have
been his wedding day drew near, without the
least abatement Of my eunts rancor, he be-
gan to feel the bitterness Of his fate. Then
something happened awful enough to scare
away even lovers impatience. 1t happen.
ed in this wise. We live in a little Ohio
town in the iron country the town is hard
ly more than a cluster OF foundries and their
dependencies, the forlorn cabins OF the ne
groes aud the operatives, the cottages Of the
better class Of workmen, the manufacturer
villas and square. spacious piaZza-surround-
ed houses built in the southern fashion. and
the shops which supply such popuace. All
day the sky is smirched by the heavy black
smoke, all night it is painted by the flames
that pour out Of the large ohimueys. The
place is so far south that summer fingers
long aud flowers thrive IN the dingy air. NV
aunt, who bad travelled, used to say that there
was no loveler roses in Florence than ours
OF all our roses the most beautiful grew in
Pirate Haines's garden.
Pirate Haines was 80 called on account of a
grim legend current in the town, which was
rendered the more credible by his morose
temper and mysterious wealth. He lived
alone in big ugly brick house on a high
bank overlooking the river. The piazza,
which was az large as ships deck, was dec
GRATED In grotesque and sinister manner by
two carronades. A negro man and his wife
lived in a cottage on the grounds, and served
the pirate, and there was a savage dog to
guard the garden. What the pirate cared for
roses l can't say, but there was a wonderful
quantity of them. Certainly it was not to
! give his townspeople, since he had bought a
field trsversed by foot path from time i'm
memorial-and he guarded foot path and
field with his dog. Now my aunt had a pc.
cular fondness for roses, and she had heard
Of q certain new variety possessed by the pi
rate, and hourishing this year in a luxuriance
exasperating to all other rose cultivators. II
don't believe they are so fine, said my Aunt
Eliza one day I've mind to go in aud
see" We we're close by the held-we three,
Aunt Eliza, Lyde aud /. Aunt Eliza insisted
that Snap, the dog, was dead, and no new
dog had come. Lyde was afraid. happen.
ed to have my first revolver, a secret treasure
which was carrying to show the boys, so
said valiantly that l was not afraid OF any
dog. We entered the field, strutting ahead
with my fingers gripping the handle of my
weapon. We examined the roses without
misadventure (my aunt said their merits had
been much eIaggerated), and turned to go
home. Halfway an ominous sound smote
on our ears-a loud deep growl.
''Oh, Rem, it's the new dog !" gasped Lyde.
ely for the fence, ma !"
Never you mind, Aunt Eliza" said /,
though my legs were shaking; I'm protect
you" Out came the revolver, and | faced
the dog. He was great yellow aud brown
beast big as lion, thought, quaking, and
with horrible mouthtul of cleaning white
teeth, He dashed straight after hs women.
Too excited to take aim, fired twice.
don't suppose that came within yard of
him. The painting creature, with his ayes on
fire bounded past, and the next second
heard bark and a crash Lyde had drag
| ged Aunt Eliza to the fence which they both
had mounted. The fence was frail and Aunt
| Eliza was stout hence, when the crash came
all that | could see was a cloud of dust
through which twinkled Cousin Lyde's red
stockings, my Aunt Elizt's black stockings
and the yellow dogs four legs in the air. A
second later, abreast of the catastrophe
had vision OF two gowns tumbled together
on the grass, and the yellow dog before me.
| Then it was thst l fired again. Probably the
beast himself was not more astonished than
l, when he leaped high in the air, rolled
over, gasped, and was dead. Half frighten-
cd at my own victory, l approached him. ly-
ing in the little puff of dust made by his
| fall He lay on his side flakes of foam
dribbled from his dreadful jaws, his tongue
| protruded, his eyes glared. 1t seemed TO me
had made discovery but should not
have blurted 1t out so quickly had not a
distinct picture in mind OF the creature leap
| ing over the two women.
i've killed him." ! shouted, ~ guess
| he's mad "
My aunt turned white. "Oh, laws !" she
screamed, holding out her arm "he bit me,
Lyde, I'm a dead woman"
There WAS a jagged tear in the silk and
Grape OF her sleeve beneath was the msrest
ppnetuTe Of the skin