The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1888-02-23


Rides by and shouts his stern behests,
And with swift answers echo him.
-[Hamlin Garland.
MISS BECKY'S HOME;
Miss Becky was going to tho "Old
Ladies' home" at last. 1t was sorry
fact, but there was nothing else for her
to do, it seemed. Who would think of
offering any other home to poor,
almost helpless old woman who had
.outlivcd her usefulness. Having passed
her days in other peoples houses, so to
speak, she might not mind it as much,
perhaps, as more fortunate being.
eyes" she said, "theres a vacancy
in the 'old Ladies' home and the
hundred dollars that Parson Amory left
me will pay my way In, but it wouldn't
last long if l began to spend it, you
know, and shall have warm bed and
my regular meals without worrying
about where the next ones coming from.
I'm most tired worrying about the ways
and means. Seems as though l had
been about it all my life; ever since
father was taken with heart disease
hearing the class in algebra. Now that
the rheumatism has got the better of
me, so that l can't work in cold
weather, and the doctor says it'll draw
my fingers up so that / can't use them
soon, it doesn't seem as if there was any,
thing left for me in this world but the
home-and ought to be thankful for
that"
Miss Beckcy had had other expccta-
tions in her day, when young Larry
Rogers met ner and carried her basket;
when his strong arm padded her down
the broad river to church on Sunday
mornings, when they sang together in
the choir from the same hymn book;
when they loitered homcward in the
fragrant summer dusk, and heard the
whip poor-will complain and startled
the fire-fies in the hedges as they
brushed by. 1t sometimes seemed to
Miss Becky as if all this had happened
in another planet She was young then,
with bloom on her cheek; but, al
though the rheumatism had bent her
figure and rendered her more or less hope
less at times, yet her dark, velvety eyes
looked out like soft stars, and the ghost
of dimple still fickercd on her cheek
and chin in spite of her sixty odd years.
Miss Bccky's father had been the dis
| trict school teacher in those far-off days
of her gir!hood. IIc had taught hcl
the simple lore of his command, but i;
was Larry Rogers who had taught hel
music hour after hour il the empty
schoolhouse; they had practiced together
while he wrote the score on the black.
board.
But all this had not suliiced to enable
her to earn livelihood Her educa-
ton, musical and otherwise had stopped
short of any commercial value. Il
those days she never expected to carr
her living by the sweat of her brow
Larry was going to give her everything
How trivial the little quarrel seemed to
day which eirtumvented this final re
solve of hi,. But what magnitude i
had assumed at the time. Ol his re
turn from trip to neighboring cit.
some nusybody had whispered to Larr.
that Miss Becky had been seen drivin!
with Squire Eustis' son, behind hi
trotters. Sam was just home from col
lego, a harum -scarum fellow, they said
-i-wAc. made love right and left an'
sambled bit; and when Larry re
preached her with it she had not de
MED; she had simply said: ''What then
If you choose to listen to gossip rathe
than wait till you"
'But you didn't tell me, and Pv
been here week"
II had forgotten all about it till yo
reminded me-" said Becky.
'It's such an everyday affair for 20
to drive with Sam Eustls" which 10
credulity so stung Becky that she woul
rot cond to explain that she ha
carried some ncedle-work up to SOUR
Eustis', which sho had been doing fc
his wife, and that as she left to wal
homa Sam was just starting off with b
smart chai,c and new dapple grays. an
the squire had said, Take Miss Beck
home, Sam, and show her their PAGES;
and how she had been ashamed to r,
fuse their kindness, although prefer
. ing to walk thousand times; an
how, once in the chaisc, Sam had bee
the very pink of courtesy, and begge
her to drlv, over with him to Parse
Amory's, three miles out OF her wa.
THAT Lucy Amory may see you didn
disdaiu my company. For you see,
said Sam, who was not as black as
! was painted, or as many liked to SUI
pose, Lucy can make me what 81
3 will; without her shall be nothin
and nobody; but they've told her q
kinds of wild things about me; they
i told her she might as well jump int
!: the river as marry such a scapegrac
, And, perhaps. if / made her a lit
jeslous-you know there's no harm