Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-02-06

Gardens. fur's I know" Holman's wife
Thought the house rather inconvenient,
hut il WINS sunny and had pleasant out
look. Corinna was happy because 1T
was not long walk to the ferry which
connected the village with the city;
and If is certain that Herbert Jennison
spent his substance on riotous commu.
tntion tickets. at the landing he some
times found Corinna waiting for him,
and they enjoyed the stroll up the hill
10 the house, which stood on the crest,
bristling with rocks and bushes.
Corinna's parents liked the young man;
he was clean and honest, eager to learn
and to make his way in the world.
1t was all smooth sailing until Aunt
Drusilla blew up q gale. She was
formidable power as she lay in her bed
in the ground-hoor room which she re-
served for herself. This was intended
by the builder of the house for an ofi1ce
Miss Drusilla's father had been a law
yer. 1t was one-story room, project
ing from the southern side of the
house. Nothing i'ourished there but
q few stalks of gauntand hoary mullen;
even in June the heritage gel
lowcd-somebody had said that
Squire Brockways law was so dry that
IL made hay of the grass. Near the side
window stood birch tree: it had
grown up impeded by sharp splinter
of granite so that its roots were quite
out of the GROUND. clasping the rock
like skeleton arms. This tree, in it's tat
tered shroud of white bark leaned
toward the window as if to peer in.
From the other, the front window, Miss
Drusilla peered out; nothing that
passed along the road could escape her
notice. Neither did anything that took
place in the house. Your aunt has got
an extra sense, more than the rest OF
the people," Sarah Brockway told her
husband. She heard every step, every
fall of crockery; she shifted every over.
baked loaf, every scorched kettle holder.
She would have all things go on in her
own way, which was that of her parents
before her-curious sparings and par
ings; unwicldly stores of vegetables
kept in the cellar, to be constantly
culled over, or else breed diseases. a
certain yellow and white striped pitcher
was devoted to yeast, which she called
"emptins" and would have homemade,
with much pains and with potatoes; n
blue platter, dedicated to none else than
n billed dish" would to her mind have
been desecrated by a burden OF dough-
nuts or of cookies. Seems as though
Aunt Druslla thought all the :hings in
the house were foreordained and predcs-
tinated to just 80 ard no other way"
Sarah mildly lamentcd 81 can't get the
hing of her notions nor remember half
of EN-; I'd be glad to suit aunt, for it's
real hard 70 be bed-ridden, she that's
that l have some set ways myself; we
all have"
From morning to night Aunt Drusilla
issued her orders through the half-opcn
door of her chamber; Sarah found it
10 sinecure to be the lieutenant of an
old-fashioned housekecper. The longer
that Aunt Drusilla was confined from
contact with actual work, the harder
she was to please; she expected the i'm
possible and criticized with lavish vigor
and homey sarcasm. But as yet she
had not spoken of Herbert Jennison,
because his visits were always made in
the evening, and she had taken the
habit of eating her supper early and be-
ginning her nights sleep at twilight.
10 balance accounts, she awole before
the cocks had begun to halloo from
barn to barn-and when Aunt Drusila
was once awake, there was no more
sleep in the house. When the neighbors
praised Sarah Brockway for being
ready to sit down, in n white apron. 10
sew at ten o'clock in the morning, she
modest,y replied: you know have to
get up an hour and more before day
light and | get ahead more than / care
to, sometimes" But she said it with
patient smile on her kind face. She
admitted, however, that "now an then
l get all nerved up, an then Aunt Dru-
silla's voice goes right through my
hcud."
After time, Corinna, having come to
understand the tremendous will and
the active veto power of Aunt Drusilla,
began to dread lest the old woman
should wish to interfere with her in
tended marriage. If the aunt called
her, Corinna started and turned pale.
The dreadful old creature, from her
bed, ruled the household. She became
always crosscr, more dismal, more en-
acting; one could but pity her, yet she
was not good TO live with.