Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1892-12-23

deeper recess of the orgsn-forest another
voice awakes.
1t calls back to the pleading voice with
joy and courage.
Then another and another wakes and
sings, and soon the place is full of music
and fragrance and beauty, and the tree
tops shake it out upon the air, like dewy
drops.
Now the echoes murmuring the last ca
dence over and over, to get it by heart, die
away themselves, and all is still
That's very good, Davy," said Draxy,
tired of being a princess chained to the
wall, and stretching her active little limbs
in brisk walk up and down the stage.
Suddenly she trotted off down the steps.
and Davy, looking after her, saw her talk
ing to a poor old woman who was cleaning
the floor.
What you doingl" piped Draxy, in her
friendly way.
Faith, darrln'," said the old woman,
strengthening up, and holding one hand to
her back, It's claiming up a bit l am,
shure."
'Oh!" said Draxy, peeping into the bas-
ket of torn scraps, II suppose you are the
jantress."
Jinnethress is itl Faith, then, perhaps
that's it, l schroob the hures and stairs be-
yant outside, and l pick the stool they
throw down in here-bad luck to'em, in
toirely 1t breaks my poor ould back. Oh,
wirra, wirral"
With a groan, the poor old creature
stopped again to pick up the bits of cara
mel paper, reserved-seat cheeks, husks of
cardamom, and other relics of last nights
audience that were strewn about the aisles
and seats.
Draxy looked at her thoughtfully. THAT
is too hard, she said, at length, in deci-
sive little tone. ''What ais your poor
backl"
God bless you, darrlin', an kape you
| long from the same-'tis rhumatiz, dear,
and me ould bones are crackin' wild it.
livery tonne l rise meself from pickin' up
these little cards"
Poor womanl Who makes you do such
hard work! You're too old to do it," said
Draxv, beginning in another aisle, to pick
up torn checks and programs.
Me ould man is bed-rid this five year,
and the little childther-the grandchid-
Their, darrn', wild the poor mother in hiv-
en-God be merciful to her swate soull-I
works to kape the little childther."
ooh, I'm real sorry for you, " said Draxy,
coning back to the basket, with her skirt
held up like an apron, and filled with
scraps
"Ah-God bless herl What's this, at
ala Is it pickin' up the cards We are,
darrlnl Look at that, now. Ah-go and
sit down wild We, miss, dear Shure, we
mustn't be doin' the loikes of that. Sit We
down, dear"
mo, Pun just going to help you, l was
here last night, and so YOU see | made part
of this litter" said Draxy. Il never
thought what a lot of work it was going to
make for some poor body if tore my pro
gram and Clipped my check into little bits. D
"Why!" she exclaimed again, directly,
they stick into this mating so! And it's
miles and miles up and down these rows Of
seats"
And away went Draxy, kind little heart
picking up scraps for dear hfe and saying
to herself that she would never tear up and
scatter checks or programs again as long as
she lived.
So the poor charwoman and the kind lit
tie maid went up and down, hard at work
while the soft Christmas twilight fell with
out, and the great fugue rolled and thun,
dered from the organ.
Oh, what thing it was to hear the
mighty rumble of that giant bassl You
could feel it shake the floor beneath your
feet. 1t made the balconies vibrate and
tremble, and, sometimes, the great hal
seemed almost to rock and roll with sound
Then, when it ended, there was such ST
lence that the slow ticking of the great
clock seemed like the heart beats of the
place, which you could hear because it wa,
so still
Davy had finished practising, and his lit
tie sister, halfway down the hall, wa
wondering why he did not come out anC
call her. She began to look often TOWARD
the stage and then at the great clock face
on the balcony.
Harkl Could that have been strain o
musicl Or was it the sad, sad voice o
, some one grisvngl
} DraXy and the old woman turned at tn
, first sound, and looked toward the organ.
: They had scarcely listened while tn
great fugue was rolling through the hall
3 But something drew them nearer to thi