Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1900-02-16

"THERE's TO BE wEDDiN IN THE NEIGH
BoRHOoD."
said she, land | know all about her
from A to lizard; not that she's told
me much herself-Letitia never was no
great hand to talk; she's a close mouth
ed woman, especially when it comes to
anything ccncernin her own affairs,
but you can't help pickin up mite of
information as you go along, Twin so
close-that is, if you've got any eyes
at ALL"
She worked awhile in silence before
she began again.
"Letita wore her Grape a good long
time for such a pretty woman, and it
was a long time, too, before she began
to notice, as much as a year or more.
So when Tom Jones took to seem her
home from meetin and hangin over the
gate with her till the moon went down
nobody was much surprised. Even If
Letitia amt as young as she used to be
she's a mighty pretty woman-mighty
pretty! And smart! There amt
smarter woman in Plainville then Lett
tia Kinsman."
Seems like, even If them widows
amt pretty, they're kinder takin some
how or other" put in Eliza. "They
allus catches the eye of the men,"
Tabitha nodded assent as she ran her
long needle through every other stitch
in the diminutive latticework she was
weaving in the spot where the heel of
the stocking had been.
That's true enough" said she, "and,
as | say, it begun to look like Letitia
was havin things all her own way. She
was widow and pretty yet and smart.
There never was church sociable but
what Letitia had every man in the
room around her a-splittin of their
sides laughin at the funny things she
said right off plank down, while the
rest of us thought of what we mought
have said after we'd got half way
home"
She slapped her hand over her mouth
in the effort to conceal a slight yawn.
Eyes" she concluded, "she was
smart-there's no denyin that-about
most things But there was one thing
she want smart about"
"And what was that" demanded
Eliza.
"When everything was goin her way
and Tom had popped the question or
was about to pop it, and that'-here
she grasped the stocking more secure
ly and looked cross eyed as she ran the
needle back the other way, the point
toward her-"was one thing | never
could quite make out. whether he ever
asked her in so many words to marry
him or not. If he didn't, all I've got
to say is that he was mighty near 1t,
sendin her little sweet smeilin bokays
and settin out on the front porch with
her till all hours of the night and, as
said before, hangin on the gate; not
only that. but comm sometimes early
In the mornin before I'd had time to
get my dishes washed; so early that II
you hadn't known better you'd thought
he'd been hangin there on that gate
the livelong night"
Eliza was in a spasm of suspense.
"What did she do that want
smArt?" she begged to know.
Tabitha had finished darning the
stocking. She laid it across her knee
smiled complacently at the deftness OF
her own handiwork and slipped the
darning ball into its mate.
"She brought that big girl of hers
home out of the boardin school, sh'
announced with an intonation OF dis
gust. That's what she did"
"And Tom fell in love with herr
"Of Counsel What else could sh'
have expected, I'd like to know2 Lett
tia's pretty, but her daughter is pref
tier. Besides, she is II years younger
and that makes a good deal of diner
ence with a man."
tom Jones is every bit and grain
old as Letitia Kinsman," declared oil
"a Indignantly.
She snipned off q stray thread wit