Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-05-01

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Mr.. Marsh heard the words going on and
on over his head. He felt as if lac were
cropping in horrible darkness. All the time
he was saying to himself
go Go /. let herllvc! o COL. let her live /!
/ can't live If you take this one. too
He thought he coull not live. But that
one. too was taken. and still the sun con-
tinuel to rise and set on Reuben Marsh.
And still Mrs. Marsh hectored him from
morning to night. and occasionally remind
ed him of what a mother suffered in the
loss of a child. She said she s'pOsel faith
er had some feelings. but how could faith
er know a mothers heart?
Evidently there was no answer to this
question. Certainly Mr.. Marsh attempted
to give none.
Mrs. Marsh talked a great deal to her
husband and to the neighbOrs generally
about the fact that all her children had
been born without any constitutions. She
didn't know why it was. for all her folks
were ma L. of iron. She often inquired how
a child without no constitution at all could
be expected to live. She told Reuben II
was too much to ask. She gave every one
to understand that Reuben seemed to be-
leve their chill lrpn ought to live. but she
knew they couldn't
As the years went by she made Mr.. Marsh
keep those little graves, and their head
stones. and their lettering of "DOrinda.
daughter of Reuben an | DORM la Marsh,
more and more "lriggcl up When Mr..
Marsh was not AZ home, nor at the store. l.
was well known that he must be "tO the
GENE 'ry trggin' up them graves
1t was mil day in winter that Mr.
Marsh put on his overcoat and his rubber
boots. He said lac was going down to the
store and guessed he should just stop in at
the graveyard before he came home. The
hill slopel to the south there, and it was
warm and sunny. almost like a spring day.
The man had it in his mind that there
was Just chance that some snOwlropS
might be blo,somod. or at least bulded.
But if he should find bloom he was not
so crazy. he told himself, as to take it to
his wife who would only consider it as
some kind Of litter He should stop at
the store. rs he said. and he should proha-
bly, see Tom Ryder fOrlorn little girl shiv
cring about. ana hc should give the flower
to her Then her small, pinched face
would su llcnly tighten, and she would
smile in that IA liant way that always went
like a knife to Reuben Marsh's heart. He
wondered if any of those Dorindies, if any
had lived. would have had such a face and
such a smile As that. If they took after"
their mother they surely would not.
Once after Mr.. Marsh had seen this
transformation take place in the face of
Tom Ryder's daughter when she had re-
ceived a kindness he had ventured to
speak about her to his wife, with wild
hope in the bottom of his heart that they
might adopt Rydcr's child. for Ryder was
only drunken wretch whose wife had long
since died of broken heart and too much
work
Mrs. Marsh made it very plain indeed
to her husband that she had no opinion
whatever of that nasty Belle Ryder
Mr.. Marsh had fallen into his ordinary
home mood of dull, cowed silence. He sat
with his slippered feet on their wooden
cricket, and hung his head. pulling his
beard slowly and wondering what he was
living for.
He supposed men never hated their wives
He supposed there was no man in the
world whose wife was such good cook
who kept her husbands clothes so well
mended and so clean as D'rindy did, but
he said plainly to himself that ''he'd ruther
be- logged than to be where she was.
Often, as he sat there, pulling his beard
anu illlE - llIltIN as SIf ever
thing painfully clean. he told himself that
he must have been even more of a fool
than most young men to have fallen in
love with girl who coull turn out TO be
such woman as that. He also asked of
his own soul how it would be with him if
it were possible for man to hate his wife
When he walked slowly through the mud
OF the main street he was conscious that
81 IL a. 1
in his heart. He stamped down his heavy
feet with an air of bravado when he reach
ell the store. lie took i'm a large quantity
of mul, and he talked so loudly and spat
SO emphaticaly that the stOrekeeper wink
ed at the man next to him and said in a
whisper that D'rindy must have been car
ryin' an uncommon high hand with Reu-
ben that day.
But for all this extra Swagger Mr.. Marsh
was aware that he was greatly depressed
1t did not seem to cXhlarate him to have
his heels on the stove He did not under
stand himself today. and he left the store
much earlier than was his custom. One Of
the men actually got up from his broken
backed chair and went to the window to
watch the retreating figure.
Something or others the matter of
Reub' Marsh, he said pityingly. II new
er seen him miss his aim a-spittin' before,
N he missed it every time today
The storekeeper was chopping OFF piece
of tobacco. He nodded his head He said
he was sorry for Reub He s'posed he was
goin up to them graves now. He hoped it
want wicked, but he did think 'twOuld be
jest as well if there was sixth grave in
that row, and D'rindy was laying in il.
For his part he'd like to help trig up D'rin-
dy Marshs grave. whether twas wicked or
not
Then they fell to talking about Tom Ry-
der, and of the fact that he had been gone
week, nobody knew where, on a worse
spree than ever.
Il guess they'll have to take the little
one to the poorhouse this time, and no mis-
take Somebody ought to speak to the Sc
lectmen, n have her seen to-
Mr.. Marsh walked on mechanically up
the road. He did not know why it was
that he could not throw off his wife's infu-
ence when lac had left her, as he was usu-
ally able TO do.
Some strangely desperate mood was upon
him. He put his hand to his head. and
said if he didn't know better he should al
most think he had been drinking
just before he reached the cemetery he
passed by the house where the Ryders lived
an old place with low caves that looked as
if they would always drip with unhealthy
moisture, Some of the windOw-panes were
stuffed with rags, cat walked with osten-
tatious misery among the puddles near the
front door.
Mr.. Marsh wished he had bought some
bakers cookies from the store, but as he
had nothing he want IN etarinc, ,,,;,,l,.