News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1894-11-08
SELINDA'S SATCHEL.
BY SOPHIE SWEET.

ooh Selindy, wish you could go!'
Little Miss Kittredge elevated hel
seamy forehead in a way that sht
had when she was worried, until hel
eyebrows reached almost to hel
widows peak"
Selinda gave the finishing touch tC
the pink waist she was ironing anC
set the iron down hard.
''It's no use to talk, mother.
never can go anywhere" she said
"And I do wish you wouldn't call me
Selindy."
The unironed things went into the
clothes basket with a sweep and a
toss, and the basket went into the
closet with thump and Selinda ran
up stairs to her own room and buried
her head in the pillow, 1t was only
Abolish little seventeen ar-old head
although its owner taught the Bend
school and sang in the church choir,
and was an officer of the Village In
provement Society. Miss Kittredge
dropped the boys blouse she was
mending, and folded her little knot
ty toll worn hands in her lap her
glasses had grown suddenly so misty
that she could not see.
poor little Selindy-da 1t does
seem too bad," she murmured. eff
Enoch would only pay me as he said
he would, for keeping house for him
and nursin' him through that rheu-
matte fever. more'n a year ago. l
can't bear to say anything-'mongst
relations so-and Enoch is terribly
nigh. And if l do speak it'll only
make him cast a slur upon Amasa,
his own brother that's dead and
gone, because he didn't have more
faculty and leave US better off. But
then ! Selindy does feel so bad now
that the Pritchard girls and Naomi
jerks are going to the Worlds Fair.
And it does seem kind of providential
that Enoch will be goin' by here home
from market this afternoon"
The little woman arose, slowly,
but with resolution, and took her
mending out to the porch. But the
mending was neglected, and she peer
ed anxiously through the futtering
hop-vine down the dusty road. She
actually trembled when a tall, gaunt
figure, upon the seat of an open farm
wagon came suddenly into view.
'Enoch, I want to speak to you
Jest a minute" she called, hurrying
out to the gate.
Enoch was thin.lipped, and dried
like leather. He fecked a fly from
his horses back without looking up
and with a distinctly discouraging
air.
''It amt any use talkin' to me
about Rufe," he said, before the little
woman found her breath or her cour-
age to speak. "He's got to make
his own way, jest as my boys would,
if had any. l don't care anything
about machinery or Electricity, or
any of the fol-de-rols that he's got
his head full of. don't expect he'll
ever amount to as much as Selindy
does"
"It's Selindy that l want to speak
to you about" said the widow hasti-
ly. "You know | don't like to say
anything about it, Enoch, but you
said you'd give a little something for
takin' care of you when you was so
sick, and now Selindy she wants so
bad to 90 to the Worlds Fair. ex.
pect you'll think it's extravaganza,
but she worked hard keepin' school
and Rufe he's dom real we'll in the
mill, and seems as if now was just the
time if you did think of given me
anything"
You want me to give it to Selindy
do you ?" The grim mouth relaxed
a very little. If Uncle Enoch had a
weakness it was for his niece Seinda,
whom all Carmel accounted smart. !"
81 did think she had more sense than
to go galivantin' off to Chicago, a
squanderin' money, but mebbe III
give her little somethin' to help her
along. Pm goin' over to B. day
after tomorrow, and I'll stop on my
way home"
"a little somethin' to help her
along" did not sound like enough to
pay Selinda's expenses to the Fair,
but there was one good thing about
Uncle Enoch, he was apt to promise
something less than he meant to per-
form and Selinda's mother remem-
bered hopefully how he had said, after
she had nursed him through these
long weeks of illness, 'I'll remember
you handsomely, Mira, handsomely"
That was, indeed, after he had suf-
fered very severe twinges of rheuma-
tism, and Rufus had said it would
stake more than rheumatism to take
the kinks out of Uncle Enoch so
they'd stay out" nevertheless, Mrs.
Kittredge's worn face was aglow as
she called to Selinda who was still
PROSTATE and fearful, and told her
just what a hope Uncle Enoch had
held out. Selinda was sanguine also.
She dried her eyes and ripped the
skirt of the "changeable" silk that