Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-02-10
LITTLE MRS. HAYNES.


renting the light, airy, southern chamber Of
our old brown house to n young portrait
painter, who was about becoming n resident
in our village during few weeks of the sum-
Yner. Never before had an event so stirring
and exciting in its tendency broken over the
monotony of my existence. Never before had
my childish Imagination been furnished with
so wide field of action, or my little heart
.hrobbed and palpitated with such a strange
mixture of wonder and delight. A portrait
painter under our own roof within the walls
of our own home-what a rare chance for my
inquisitivc eyes to draw in new fund of
6nowledgel What an object of envy should
be to my little mates, and how daintily would
I mete out to them what learned from day
TO day of the wondrous man of the wondrous
employment
had heard Of portrait painters before, it
is true, but only Us had heard and read Of
fairies in my little story books, or listened to
nv father as he talked of kings and courters
In the great world ufar off. Upon our par
Tor walls from my earliest remembrance,
had hung portraits of my grandfathers and
.s,randnothcrs, but | had no idea how their
faces came stamped upon the dark canvas, or
when or bv whom their shadows had been
fixed within the heavy gilt frames. Like the
trees that waved before the door and tho
llacs that blossomed every year by the old
gate, they had to me always been so.
But now my eyes were to rest upon the
face of one whose existence had been like n
myth, a fable. What u wonderful parsonage
ne would bel What a dark visaGe he would
boast and what monstrous, giant like form!
How entirely unlike every person that l had
.pver seen or known would be this portrait
painter!
er,NDrloticpc Of t,nir
height in my busy brain the hero made his
appearance scattering them mercilessly to
the four winds There was nothing giant
like in the little graceful figure that sprang
from the village coach, or dark in the pleas
ant boyish face, shaded by masses of brown
loir, and lit up by merry pair of blue eyes,
''unning over It'll mi til and mischief. His
namo, too de generality of names, had
nothing .yrr:i or striking to characterize
It. lie y. simply rank Haynes, nothing
more or '.y. and VIII y, with pleasant, easy
grace, h sought to " 3d.. childish favor, |
should l'vr been quit homo had not the
stunnhl, Knowledge ut mis- art overpowered
ne. II va, strange .reak for child of ten
summers, oMI somehow ii crept into my baby
brain that / must not like him, although the
while, in spite of myself, preference for his
opinions, ways and looks grew up strong
Nllnlli me IL he SPOKE 10 me Wntn any one
vas Observing him | was silent and shrank
away from him timidly; but when we were
alone ] chatted and chirrupped like young
robin. think he must have noticed this,
and from it have taken into his head the boy
ssh idea of teasing me-
To him. he said, was little Phebe Lester
no longer, now that he knew how much l
cared for him. For the future he should call
me Mrs Haynes-little Mrs. Haynes-and
should be very angry if everybody in the
house did not follow his example. l must
not ever have any little beaux among the
@choolboys now that my name was changed;
but 1 must be prim and proper like any mar
.ried woman who is faithful to her husband.
would l agree to this?" he asked.
/ glanced up from the hem of my white
muslin apron, which l had been twisting
about my finger, to meet my mothers eye
liked laughingly upon my face. In moment
my lips were closed rcsolutely, while he,
seeing at once the cause of my silence, reached
out of the window and plucked rose from a
running vine that crept nearly to tho messy
caves.
Little Mrs Haynes must wear the rose, ~
he said. at would never do for her to toss
her head and throw his gifts carelessly by.
All married women wore flowers which their
husbands gave them. Would | wear the roseP'
/ glanced about the room again. Ny
mother was nowhere to be seen, and so said
that would wear it if he wanted me to.
"And would l consent to be called little
Mrs. Haynes
yes | would consent"
"Then it was all right. He would never
look about for wife, nor should look
about for husband. We were Mr. and
Mrs Haynes Did that suit me?'
"Oh, yes that suited me- | like that"
'Well, then, he should have to buy me a
little gold ring to wear upon my third finger,
20 let folks know that some one owned me- VI
"No, didn't want ring"
Tut tut, tutl That would never do
People who were engaged to be married al,
ways gave such pledge. He should speak
20 father about it, so that it would be all
right. II he was willing, would | wear the
ringP
mo, didn't like rings"
"Wouldn't 1 like the ring that he would
buyfn
"No / wouldn't like ring at any rate.
During his stay, which was protracted tC
months, instead of weeks, he strove in every
way to change my determination about the
engagement ring, as he termed it, | was in
rxorable. A ring | would not wear. MOI
even when he made ready for his departure
and told me that IN few weeks he should b(
thousands Of miles away from me, nor wheI
he piled up before me pictures that he haC
drawn at his leisure during the long summer
hours that hung heavily upon his hands
would l revoke my decision. | would taxi
the finely executed drawings, the prettily
framed portrait of himself, but would hav
no rings.
At last he went from us, / shall never for
get the morning, or how cold, dull and cheer
less it seemed to me How dreary and desc
late everything looked because he was goinI
away. 1t was not every day grief that Dor
down upon my young heart, no childisl
promise that assured him, as he kissed m
,quivering lips, that would never forget him
and that l would always be his little Mrs
HAYNES