Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-11-21
THE BUTT0NHoLER'S PARTY.
A Good Thankseivina Story.

5000 thanksgiving story.
The boys were born of poor but dis
honest parents, and they lived in the
Pocket of the street.
They were small and ugly and Irish.
Some day all the world may see their
pictures by going to a certain gallery
called Rogues', | think-they will be
considered very interesting studies In
criminology. But that time is long
way off.
You slipped into the Pocket by little
narrow neck, opening between two ware
houses. 1t was quite dark along here,
and little inconvenient-as dress
pocket sometimes is-but In second you
were in tiny court shut in fast by the
backs of the high warehouses and on
the other sides by small shanties.
The Pocket was a fine place TO I'VE
in The courtyard was boarded over
and the boards were old and loose. When
by chance anything was dropped 1t was
sure to roll away into the cracks, ana
then there was the excitement OF rip
ping up "A board or two, and seeing the
black beetles and terrible things with
many legs scuttle out of your way. Then
there was too, the fun of hiding by the
neck at dusk time, and suddenly spring
ing out at II passerby, and say boo!
at him. and see him jump and then swear
at you. But best OF all. If you happened
to have "A policeman after you for any
cause whatever, you could get out of his
way three times out of ten, by slipping
into this Pocket.
Oh. there was no mistake, the Pocket
was the prize abode of the street. There
was always some one ready to move into
one of the shanties when some one in
there was Obliged to move out TOT lack ol
rent.
OF course, it grew dark pretty early
| in winter time. The high warehouses
| seemed to take all the sunshine High
| houses often do. And there was damp
| green mould which grew very well over
| everything. 1t was very pretty, TINS
| moss-mould All winter the water never
stopped dripping off the ends OF the
| houses, and long into the summer you
| heard 1t, DRIP, drip, drip
There were some clods of earth turned
| up in front of one of the shanties.
| Some one had ripped up few of the
| boards and attempted a garden. 1t was
stuck full of sticks of varying sizes.
| The woman who made buttonholes had
| planted these sticks. Sometimes her
| patrons gave her flowers, and she al
/ ways carefully trimmed of the leaves
| and planted the stems. They never
| grew but then they might any time
| You can never tell when "A plant may
| take "A notion to grow.
This woman had lived in the country
once and knew the smell of the fresh
| ploughed held-knew the country WheT
| NAV was there, and you could smell the
new sweet green things everywhere.
Nobody ever disturbed her stems, they
stood through rainy days and summer
days, upright in the green mould. Some
times after a hard rain, when it turned
warm quickly, the wooden floor of th'
Pocket sent up clouds of vapor
| Its the deevels own as is under us
and him a hissin' up hot steam sale
| one of the Pocket jewellers to little Mag
vol. NJ
cross the court for weeks, save on thu
dead run.
| You're another" said another boy
| dis amt hot. Dis amt steam.
| yer tink de deevil can't make anything
| but hot steam, yer left. Dis here
cold steam. Like fog. II fog ain
cold steam, and steam amt hot fog
| I'd like to know what is.
| His listeners could not tell him
But oh, you should see the Pocket II
the summer time. when the window
| were all open and the sewing machin
belonging to the woman who took II
work was buzzing, and the sparrow
were chirping and fussing, and the lit
tie woman who made buttonholes al
day hummed to herself. II was onl
a little note, like the one "cheep" of tn
/ sparrow. And when Mrs Tooley drag
ged the washtub into her doorway an
, splashed great bubbly suds around. an
the square of sky over the Pocket wa
| one dazzling blue!
oh, you should see II then!
One of the little buttonholer's should
: ers was higher than the other. fror
always sitting onesided so as to be clos
to the light maybe, and the forefinge
of her left hand was rough and ugl
and needle-scarred. She had soft, del
cate face. and the children approved c
| her Their own mothers did not sto
at home.
This was the day before Thanksgiving
and great rows of fat turkeys were hun