Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1903-05-15

ing her lesson very readily.
rhe miliner came forward, smiling
ly, Tor though she eXpectd no enrich
ment, she knew and liked her custom
er.
Il see you have your spring bon
nets in the window, and | suppose it is
time / was thinking of mine she said,
easily, as if a new bonnet each sea
son was the natural order of things.
How much is that one?" indicating a
tasteful bonnet ON one Of the stand
ards.
THAT is six dollars. The straw is
fine and the ribbon extra quality
oh" said Miss Lavinia in dismay,
haven't you anything cheaper?'
i've got a bonnet here, somewhere,
that we trimmed for the doctors wife,
last spring. Then she went into mourn.
ing for her brother and didn't want it"
Rummaging among her boxes she
produced a gray straw trimmed with
soft silk and volets. There, that
mi ght have been made for YOU" set
ting IT on her customers head and
deity tying the shining ribbons. 1t
suits you to r, and she turned her
around to a mirror.
Miss I.avinia looked and could not
help seeing how perfectly the modest
bonnet framed her pretty gray hair
How much?" She asked in a very
small voice
well, seeing it's you, and the bon
net is a little out of style, I'll call it
three dollars.
To Miss Layinia, whose one bonnet
had been worn with few changes for
ten years, it seemed radiantly fresh.
and she promptly took out her worn
pockctbook When she reached home
she carefully busted stand by the
window. set her new bonnet upon it,
laid the gloves beside it. and sat down
and toasted her eyes How pretty
they We're. and how perfectly they
suited each other, This was the first
aesthetic qualification of her life, and
she had a sense of being fed more than
by her good dinner.
That night she lay awake a long
time, bordering fearsome step. 1t
seemed like flying in the face of Prov
idence. but the nibble she had had
whetted her appetite. The next
morning she took a trolley for the city.
some ten miles distant, and returned
with a large box.
On the beautiful May Sunday follow
| ing the congregation of the Cranfield
| Baptist Church experienced a distinct
| shock. for as people turned after the
| benediction there came from Miss La
| vinia's humble sitting under the gal
! lery well dressed lady in quiet gray
| suit. with irreproachable bonnet and
! gloves. Was it? No, it could not be,
| Ii certainly was Miss Layinia, Church
etiquette forbade surrounding her and
| demanding the how and when, but ii
! did not prevent sundry nudgings and
! smiles and raised eyebrows. \ good
| many people shook hands with her
and on her way home several dropped
behind her to inspect her at leisure
1t was really a triumph in a small way
over their Sunday dinner the doc
tors wife told him about it, And
how she managed it beats me- she
finished. FOR everybody knows she has
the merest pittance. Either she has
| come into money or she is losing heI
mind and using up what she has
Somebody ought to look into it,
L knew man once" remarked the
doctor mildly. reaching for another
biscuit. who amassed a fortune by
minding his own business. Its worth
trying. My dear, don't believe
there's another woman in town who
can make biscuits like these
One of the keenest sorrows of Mis-:
Lavinia's poverty had been its loneli
ness. The chill barrenness Of tn,
little gray house and her anxious fac,
had not drawn her neighbors. and a:
she could not invite others to he
table She had declined her few invita-
tions. She had nothing to give
Even her small friendly services haC
their material value and were pait
for in one way or another.
But now things We're changed. Sh,
occasionally asked a neighbOr to tea. o
carried a loaf OF bread TO some poor
overworked mother. The lunches o
, sage and spearmint from her little gar
den, which heretofore she had sold
now she gave away. and she often dil
little neighborly kindnesses, for whicl
she would take no pay. She suit
scribed for religious weekly. and in
stead of the dollar a year which on
of her poverty she had given TO mi;
sious. she now gave five. Peopl
wondered. for it had become known +
: some mysterious way that she wa
! using up her principal, but the on
man who understood made no sign.
. one day. driving his rounds. he Owe
took Miss I.avinia little way out c
the town and brought her in. Il don
p see any one who seems to enjoy lif
more than you do" he said, looking a
, | the peaceful face beside him
Il am just finding out how good If
1 can be-"
DO you find it SO pleasant that yo
o. would wish it prolonged?'
h If it could be as it is now. Bat
. be old and poor and dependent-Oh,
e would rather die today
$ He did not answer at once, and
! terrible fear seized her. You don
d mean she gasped,-"you don't mea
t that have got to have an old ag
k after all?"
d He marked her huttering breath an
t the veins throbbing in her temple, an
t said gently, Il see no reason, Miss l.
vinia, to change the opinion | gave yo
a a year ago. May / ask if you hay
V enough to carry you thrOugh?"
e Il have three hundred dollars lei
a I've spent a great deal of money tn
n year" She looked at him as if eXpec
?, ing blame but the good mans smi
d treasured her.
q The money has been well sper
You know what it has done for 20
If and | often find traces of it among n
e poor patients. When you need mo
y. | coDoa 70 mo I will land vC,, tho Va In