News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1893-06-01

answers. "Ill risk 'em. They can't
be wuss AN meazles and hOopin'
cough, and all them other diseases |
should haf ter contend withif she was
younger. She's got through with
all them long ago, and Pm thankful.
But as for beauX-why, young girl
without beauX would be a monstrOsi-
ty!" says |.
"Oh, wall, Car'line amt much of a
monstrosity, take it, says Hanni-
bal. Hes awful proud O. Car'line.)
Before l say any more about Car
line, | wanter stop and relate the
trunk eppersode, becauseit's connect
ed intimit with her hist'ry.
When Hannibal and me come home
from our weddin' toor, his trunk got
changed somehow. Mine was mine
all right, but his'n was somebody's
else. He and the depO'- master
couldn't make nOthin' out between
'em, only that the strange trunk had
followed mine from New York, and
| there want no name, nor any way
ter tell who it belonged ter, nor where
he lived-nothin' 'cept the initials r.
|. G., in big letters.
| Wall, we concluded it was a swap,
and II. |. G whoever he was, had got
Hannibal's trunk with his name and
address tackled onto it in plain let
| ters, and we materially supposed he'd
know enough ter write and have the
| thing fixed proper. But we waited
week or more without hearin' a word
and we begun ter think we never
! should, so, come Saturday night, Mr.
| Hawkins fitted key to the trunk,
and says ter me and Car'line:
Come, let's go'n open Mr.. r. l.
G.s trunk together"
Did you ever open a trunk that be-
lOnged to an unknown person? A
trunk whose contents you knew moth
in about, whether male or female,
rags, or silks and satins, dynermite
or sassages! tell you, never eX-
perienced a queerer sensation than
what did settin' on that trunk, try
ing to spunk up courage to let Han
nibal open it, And Car'line felt jest
as narvous about it as [ did. But
much as we hung back, we was dyin'
ter know what was i'll it; and so, we
said "Open it," though we both felt
we might be blowed ter atoms the
next minute. Sech is woman's curl
osity. Not but that Hannibal was
every mite and grain as curious as
we was.)
Wall, he put in the key, give it a
turn and lifted the lid. We all held
our breaths and looked, and | know
| couldn't a felt fainter il I'd seen r.
|. G. himself laid out there in that
top tray in his grave clothes! But,
massy sakesl There want nothin'
in the world ter hurt anybody! Only
| a pile O. clean shirts, all done up
/ spick and span. We took them out
and found underneath a complete
/ outfit O. mems clothes, the incest and
| nobbiest we ever sat eyes on. Mr..
| Rig-as we'd concluded to call him
whoever he was, had good clothes
/ and plenty of them.
There was other things besides the
clothes in the trunk, things we didn't
| know the name nor the use on. What
\ 'tracted Car'line's 'tention was a red
leather box, full of queer little tools.
Some was ivory and some was steel,
but they all looked tew small and
dainty for a man to work with.
Car'line showed them to me and
! bIushed and laughed.
He must a meant them for pres
ent to his girl says she. "See, her
/ name is on the kiver" And sure
enough, there it was in gilt letters,
Manicure.
"Too bad she can't have her pres
ent,'' says Car'line; if we only knew
what's her other name, and where
she lives, we could send them to her,
and find out about Mr.. Rig. l sup
pose that is just her given name"
! She said it over kinder soft to ber-
self, Manicure, Manicure; pretty
name, amt it MARI" says she.
Wall, them clothes was all tew small
for Hannibal, and tew young-lookin'.
They evidently belonged to some rich
city chap, for there was no paper col
lars nor overhalls nor checkered
shirts. Everything was costly and
regular go ter meetin', ye know.
Uar'line thought they was tew cute
for anything. ooh, myl" says she,
holding up a lavender kid glove and
a little shiny boot, wouldn't the
Punkinville boys stare ter see Mr..
4 Rig with these on"
There didn't seem to be anything
else to do, and so we put the trunkin
the spare chamber and left it. Han
nibal said he reckoned he had got the
best of it, even if he could not wear
the clothes, for he didn't value his
own trunk so great, there wasn't
much in it; and he said Car r'linecould
have Mr.. Rigs things for a wedding
present to her husband, if she'd git a
feller they'd fit! -.
| Car'line was crazy to have pian-
ner. She were of a notion that she
| could learn to play on one real easy.
She'd picked out some tunes Already
on one O the neighbor's seraphims,
1 and now she wanted pianner of her
own. So her pa he came to me and
asked me what | thought, and if |
would play on it any myself if we had
one.
Me play on a pianner!" says l.
"No, Hannibal, I'm bleeged tew ye!
Once when | was a girl was stoppin'
down country with Aunt Harri't, and
she coaxed me inter takin' some les
| sons. l begun and took just three
but that was a plenty l remember
to this day howl felt settin' there
histed up on to that stool afOre that
instrument Half an hour to time,
four times a day, | set there, with
nothin' ter occupy me, but Jest put
tin up fust one finger then t,other on
them inanimated iV'rys. What tor
ture | suffered. How my fingers
ached and how my back and my head
ached. And how at the end of them
two hours L tried ter think I'd com
plshed somethin', when | knew all
the time | hadn't. How Hooked for
ards and see nothin' but the same
eternal misery, and how discouraged
and appalled, was. | stood it three
weeks, and then | went to my Aunt
Harri't and says |:
Aunt Harri't, Pve come ter the
conclusion that if | must play on
somethin', III git me a hand-orgin.
can turn a crank as well as anybody.
but | can't learn ter play "A pianner."
And couldn't
When | see girls practisin' from two
to four hours a day, | wonder what
they're made on. They must be con
stitooted altergether different from
what be; in pint o fact | know they
are. And Car'line was.
Why, I've seen her set down ter the
pianner as eager as she would to a
good meal of vittles when she was
hungry, and touch the keys a sort o
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