Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-05-24

! little glrl was taken away.
Maria smothered her grief, as she did ev
rything else and went about quietly with
| a broken heart.
Then there came another trouble. Right
across the way lived Mrs Brewer. a hand
some young widow, the belle and heress of
Compton Elms. Jake took to spending his
evenings at Mrs. Brewers lie looked
| little sheepish when he came in at twelve
o'clock at night, and found Maria doing the
very things other women do at twelve
o'clock in the day, because Mother Hobbs
never gave her IA moment to do anything
| for herself until midnight. He sometimes
| wondered how she kept things SO nice, and
found his expenses instead Of increasing,
rather decreased, after his marriage, while
his comfort perceptbly increased. For
this he was mildly grateful
Mrs. Hobbs, Of course, teased Maria
about the Brewer matter
Jake seems ter like that widder might
| ly. Maria, why don't you notice her, and
try to do like her p Mrs. Hobbs would ask.
But at a certain point the worm turned.
Mother said Maria, standing up, white
as a sheet, while her meek eyes took ON
| look no human being had ever seen before,
don't say that to me again. Nobody's
got right to taunt woman on account of
Mother Hobbs neither tainted nor scream
ed but she very nearly did both.
Land sakes Maria, are you crazy =
"No, | amt crazy. But | mean what |
say And if you say that another time, or
anything like it, III go away and leave
| you"
If a sheep were to voluntarily assault a
hungry wolf, the sensations of the wolf
might be compared to Mother Hobbss But,
unlike the wolf something like fear began
to creep upon her Maria never had done
that way before and suppose-heavens
alive that, after all, Maria had spirit
Of her own This appalling possibility
| kept Mrs Hobbs silent for at least a good
half hour
Meanwhile Sophy Smith, Mrs Hobbs's
| sharp-eyed niece, had come in, and with
out knowing of the stand Maria had taken,
settled herself with her bonnet on for gos-
sip with Aunt Hobbs. Pretty soon the
| Brewer subject came up.
Have you seen the widow Brewer late
ly - asked Miss Sophy of Maria, who sat
placidly sewing by the window.
NO" said Maria, shortly, stopping to
thread her needle.
81 should think you'd be neighborly, be
ing so close"
That don't signify" said Maria, coolly.
you're closer to Squire Weston's than |
am to Mrs. Brewers, and never heard the
Westons was neighborly with you
Miss Sophy almost fell off her chair with
amazement. What ON earth would hap
pen next She gazed blankly, first at Ma
ria, and then at Mrs Hobbs.
The old lady did not mean to give up her
empire without a struggle. Here was a
show for her "Marias touchy about Mrs
Brewer" " she said Il don't know why
Il think | can guess, said Miss Sophy,
archly, although everybody says she has
behaved beautiful. Taint every woman
that would behave like Maria. y
"What do you mean Z" said Maria, a
faint pink color coming into her cheeks.
Il mean Jake Hobbs bein' always at
Mrs Brewers - replied Miss SOphy, boldly
The patient Maria laid down her work
This was too much for her, even.
''Sophv Smith" " she said in a voice which
shook slightly with nervousness, but not
with fear, edo you know what you are
IA saying, Do you know that you're in
Jake Hobbs's house"-she longed to say
"my house" but she was not quite up to
that-"and YOU are saying things that
would take Jake's character away among
respectable folks You amt never been
married Yourself this was IA cruel stall at
the unlucky Sophy), ''and you can't know
how married woman feels when folks say
things like that to her But, Sophy Smith,
I've made up my mind that nobody sha n {
come and fetch me tales about my husband,
That's all. -
Mother Hobbs forgot her rheumatic back
50 far as to sit bolt-upright in bed. 'What
air we a comm to - she screeched.
Sophy rallied at this. 'Now, Maria,
don't 90 to givin' yourself airs now. We
all know you was Maria Jessup, and
THAT don't make any difference, and
I'm Maria Hobbs at present
And you cant expect us to forget you
were Jessup and when come in spirit
of kindness to tell you of your husband :
short comm 5, and you act in this extrord
nary way-when everybody knows that
Jake and Mis- Brewer is as thick a
thieves
Maria rose. "Sophy Smith, this is Jake
house, and am Jake's wife, and you ough
to be ashamed of yourself and after thi'
don't you dare to speak to me at all. III
have no acquaintance with you or anybody
else who comes to me and abuses my hus
band behind his back.
Just at that moment Jake himself walke'
in. Cousin Sophy," said he, marching
straight up to her, 1--WE been in the kitch
3 en-. and Eve heard every word YOU womel
, have been sayin Maria's right, and In
very much obliged to her. Do you jus
walk out Of this house the way you KEN in
and stay out of it till you can treat m!
wife with proper respect"
Miss Sophy meant to protest, but tn
words died ON her lips. She Went out a
/ meekly as Maria herself might have done.
Maria, said Jake, ''come with me il
the other ROOM"
| Maria, who by this time was weeping bit
, terly, rose and followed him.
Maria" said he, taking her hand, -
don't expect I've been very good hus
| band, but amt been a very bad one. Ii
} a going to try to do better, and | amt e
e ing to give Sophy Smith or anybody els
n chance to be sassy to you. BY goLly
/ he exclaimed with a sudden burst G
; laughter, chow you did stand up to her =
+ tellin her she hadn't never been married
e believe you'd have got the better of he
5 if hadn't come in at all.
Il Maria smiled too, through her tears, an
g. returned to Mother Hobbss bedside chane
e ed woman. That old party was so paralyze
bv the turn things had taken that she I,
= manned perfectly mute.
Maria's expectations that affairs woul
4 be much better with her after that wei
. slightly disappointed. 1t is true that Cousi
y Sophy ceased to trouble her about the pre-
- tv widow, nor did Mother Hobbs ventul
d to intrude upon forbidden ground, and JaE
It really left off gallanting the widow aroun'
V But vet her life was dull and gloomy on
is and when she reached her thirty y-fifth brit
y day hope had almost died within her, Mot
"a er Hobbs was apparently one of the immo
D, tails. and bade fair to last forever, viii
l. whispers went about that Jake was not
" prosperous as formerly, and had lost a pi
re of money by various schemes in which
J. had embarked, to the neglect of the farl
,e jake himself from being the gayest al
N most stylish fellow anywhere around, h'
X got to be care worn and somewhat shabb
One night, while Maria sat knitting
v the fire, Jake came in with troubled fac
as He ate his supper without word, and S
be down gloomily by the fire.
an whats the matter Jake ~ asked Mar
d timidy, after she had cleared away t
If things, and seated herself by the lam
ed with one eye on her sewing and the 9th
tn ON Mother Hobbs's open door.
i'm "Want of money" answered Jake, hri
n ". Maria said no more, That was o
ia thing she could not help him with She h
r. never had ten dollars of her own IN i
<, life
uJ Alter Slttlng Tor long llllle, 'ahc Put
a hand in his pocket and tossed her lett
so From your Western relations, dare say
oil he remarked referring thus to Uncle j
as sup, out in Minnesota, who wrote regular
as once "A year 10 inform Maria that his ere
Ter were failures, his cows were dying oi
m my sterous disease, taxes were heavy a
e: getting heavier, and he expected to end
ny days in the poor house.
ly. Maria noticed it was not in Uncle j
to sups sprawhng handwriting, hut be
,ht quiet and undemonstratve, opened it, O
she spreading it ON her knee, read ii careful
ow Ten minutes afterward Jake turned d
the saw her sitting in exactly the same n
me tude, with her eyes fixed ON the open lett