Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1888-10-26
4 FAMLLY AFFAIR.

| OF meadow sklrting ClaYsville on the south
| Their high set beads of eyes gazed calmly
| from their slim heads on the September
| brightness of nature, and the cackles which
at times parted their wide orange hued bill,
denoted satisfied state of body, if not ol
mind. Presently, however, the head gan
der uttered an indignant hiss, spread his
wings, and swung himself angrily out Of
the path. His followers made after him
| slavishly, and the whole company ranged
themselves in wrathful line to voice their
opinion of the ntruders who had put them
about
Two women we're coming toward each
other in the path One Of them was built
on lavish plan. and had rocky kind Of
face, set in gray hair that was riveted round
her ears in iron gray twists. As she sight
ed the other woman she ierked in her chin
and stttened her throat: her eyes were lift
ed clean over the others head as they came
close, and she thrust her skirts aside, but
stuck to the path as if dsdaining TO turn
out hairs breadth. The slighter woman
gave way readily swerving TO one side and
qulckening her gait as If anxious to have
the encounter over with as speedily as might
be. She never raised her face as she slip.
ped by, small shadowy creature in a limp
black calico gown, the hem Of which turned
with her heels at every step.
" 'Taint cause | dassent look at Liza Ann
that | hold my head down when we run
agin each other like we done Jest now, she
said to herself, as if replying to some men
tai voice which accused her of cowardice
II amt skeered of her no ways, but it
pears like haven't got the heart to look
at her when she churns that cold glare onto
mean VEINS both sisters, though don't
hold to the kinship nohow; I'm right
ashamed that the same blood runs in me as
runs in Liza Ann Clinkenbeard ~
She whipped up her head, but the straight
lashes of her dull dark eyes were clingng
together in wet, ragged points. By this
time her pace had increased to almost a run,
which shortly brought her TO her own gate,
the latch of which she undid with trembling
fingers. No house had been built in Clays-
vile for eighteen years the two which Hi
ram Wade hnd given his daughters upon
their marriage were the newest structures
in the village, still standing the last cottages
in the street, as they had long ago when it
was thought that business 'ud grad'ally
take TO creepin' out to'ds Hogginss woods ''
The houses had never been painted, and
their gray boards were fringing off in feath
cry threads like fraying hair, Between the
gardens ran a slight picket fence, which
| had some time had a coat of paint like skim
med milk near the street four pickets were
off, dark spaces showing where they had
lain against the top rail- each bereft brown
square with a forlorn rusty nail hole yawn-
ing in it.
Ellen Loves stopped for a second as her
eyes lighted on this rent in the fence, and
the tears stayed themselves as if dried by
the heat of suddenly reused anger. She
had thin face with flesh of a waxen vel
low, which suggested flow in her veins of
some thick, colorless fluid instead of blood
her eyes looked brown, and the color seem
ed to show through the stretched lids, tint
ing them pale russet.
81 wouldn't churn my hand to hev one o.
them thar pickets put on, not eff | wuz a
drawin' my last breaf, she thought bitter
| ly. Then she pushed on to the house.
Name o sense, Ellen, what are yeh
thinkin' of to slam the door like that
reckon it's no use to say anything EFF wuz
| dyin' it would be Jest the same-no respec
for my feelin's.'
Adkins Lowe fetched long sigh as he
| spoke. and leaned back in his wooden rock
er with look of suffering submission He
was a man well on past middle life, with
traces of bad health and habitual bad tenn
per clearly marked in his face His nose
was merely continuation, in a perfectly
| perpendicular line, of his brow at the nos
trils it widened abruptly, with something
| like an air Of surprise at finding itself a
nose at all.
His wife began to apologize 81 didn't
/ 20 TO do it, Adkins Likely done it thro
bein' so illustrated | met Liza Ann down
street, right plumb face to face.
How d yeh treat her E. asked Adkins
peering little anxiously from under hi,
wrinkled brows.
Treat her !-humph We done Jest lik,
we've always done for the las ten year
went my way nd she went hern.'
No speakin or sech =
"Well-I-reckon not | Jest look ed
straight ahead o me, ez stern ez | knoweC
how | hev an Idly thet Liza Ann ha,
found out thars more sperit in me n wha'
she thought for,
Il hope yeh're keepin some'eres near tn,
facks, Ellen, " observed Adkins with an i'm
perfect belief in his wife's assertion of hel
stern carriage. Il don't know as anything
could rile me worse than TO hear that you
ms had showed signs of givin' in to Mis-
Clinkenbeard. 1t 'ud look weak minded t,
me-"
Ellen looked at him with sort of dul
wonder in her face. "Ef yeh ha Dor an,
sech curyus notion as that, she began in
hurried way, ''yeh orter hev hearn me talk
in to Mis- Wenzle this mo'nin'. Bein
newcomer hyere, she hadn't got the right
of it, so she asst me how t was. | told he
how some un knocked off them four pick
cts, nd Liza AIMS hens conserkently ken
steppin' over into my flower beds one day
and how Liza Ann Lowed | could hev tn
| la.I af 1 lal
hens an arterwords how she found
spreckled pullet dead, an wouldn't hev
no other way than that he'd poisoned it
an how we he'd high words bout it, n
hevn't ez much ez passed the time o da
with each other for ten year come the 2ls
o this month.
IL hope yeh told her yehr husband back
ed yeh up in this matter - suggested Nj
Loves.
Yes made mention of it, said Ellen
rather slowly. Perhaps she was wonder
ing in sort of formess way if her hu'
bands rigorous uphoding of her side of tn
quarrel had not changed it from an atfai
of trifing moment to this family matter il
volving so much bitter feeling. She hardl
knew how often she had been stung to r,
newed indignation against her sister'by til
small pin-thrusts of Adkins's i'll humore
illusions. He had no special dislike fc
Liza Ann, but preferred TO keep his vii
10 himself as far as possible. He fancie
himself an unbiased observer of the aifai
and always spoke TO his sister with studie
politeness.
As the winter wore on, things in I'll
Loves family began to show a dreary con
plexion. Adkins had not been well fC
some time his habit of regarding himse
as the continual victim of this or that dis
order perhaps aggravated his condition
but there was really some physical bas
for the airy structure of foreboding whic
he was now rearing. "When them maple
in the side yard gifts green agin | won't |
hyere TO see 'em, he said one day in Eel
ruary, the strain of weakly sentiment
,, his withered old form giving him Il kind {
pleasure in the thought. "lll be sleepil
, calm an still by the time robins gifts hyer
may ez we'll go | amt skesly ever alb
10 git TO work no more, an sence you'N
been taking in sewin' I've noticed that ye
, hevn't treated me like yeh uster do, Ellen
lie looked TO see how his wife was touch,
by this remark, but she went out of d
room so hastily that he was unable to judl
of her feelings. She hurried into the bac
yard, and sat down on a wash bench b
hind the wood-shed, her apron thrown ov,
her head, her whole bony frame shakir
with emotion.
n He's goin' to die-oh, | know he's fixi
, TO die ~ she groaned AN yit thar
I nothin the matter 'ith him, eept jest 10
o sperits an tech of agyer, He nee,
u strengthenin' things 10 eat, somethin' tast
an we're most out of ev'ything in the W,
of eatin. Adkins wouldn't hyear TO d
e borrowin' nothin', an | can't seem 10 <
a no more SEWN, Oh, l wish I'd never b.
n born, of twuz on'y TO lose Adkins A
me bad frien's 'ith all the kin got in d
world -