Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1905-08-25
rHE spuR oE nae MoMEMr-

| most unlnteresting street She had
turned her back to the large room, as
If all the books and pictures, which we're
badly enough lighted that day, only
| filed her with impatience. At the end
of the room there was a cheerful fire.
1t looked as II the lady had just been
sitting in low chair beside It; there was
a book dropped face downward on the
rug.
Il never was so tired of myself in all
my life!" grumbed the watcher at the
| window and then smiled, as If she must
| recognize those who would be sure to
| protest at such a speech If they were
| only present.
The public square outside looked coun-
| try-like that winter day, with fresh snow
outlining the trees, and the broad walks
| quite empty of those figures which usually
came and went and gave an air of hurry
which belongs to the centre of a great
city. The sloping ground, snow covered
and deserted might have been a part of
some large rural estate there were no
| foot tracks and you could not see, for the
misty weather. the buildings that stood
| beyond. The lady at the window was not
| fond of the country for its own sake, and
| liked to see plenty of figures in all her
| landscapes; 1t was very seldom that she
was left to pass a dull winter afternoon
alone.
Now and then a carriage plodded by;
| the snowstorm was fast turning to rain,
and the clogged wheels left black tracks
in the thin snow and spattered mud into
the white cutters Across the street stood
a poor looking cab with a dreary white
horse that kept noddng his heavy head
| down to comfortess sleep and being de-
tected by his driver, who sat miserably
on the box and jerked the reins as IL he
had nothing to do but keep the poor
creature broad awake. There was a roof
Of snow on the cab and on the drivers
hat; once happily he fell into a doze
himself and swayed about dangerously,
until he walked with a start and pulled at
the reins again and looked anxiously at
the opposite houses.
The lady flushed with dspleasure as
she watched, and then suddenly awaited
herself with satisfaction of even so poor
and unrewarding occasion of interest.
"Horrid, hard-hearted mani" she said
aloud. why can't he let that poor horse
Sleep? Then she rose and went step
or two closer to the window to see if
there were any prospect of a customer
for the waiting cab; she wished that the
poor appealing establishment would take
itself or Sometimes people came hurry
Ing across the square and chartered this
cab to carry them the rest of the way
TO railroad station back of the hill:
but it now occurred to Mrs. Dartmouth
that such patronage was never frequent
In either the best or worst of weather;
the cab seemed to on its stand much
oftener than it was absent on its brief
errands
Nobody would want such a poor look
ing thing for visits" she thought; she had
never really given two thoughts to the
matter before. That has been a good
horse once" Her vague grievances and
sense of dullness were fast giving way to
this new interest.
why doesn't the foolish fellow get
better turnout Why doesn't he try what
little varnish might do? A trig little
brougham would tempt dozens of persons
that pass him by. I'm sure that | never
should get into such thing unless l We're
in some strait or other-caught in a
shower perhaps l dare say he's poor
enough, but he must be a slack cabby
too y little varnish certainly wouldn't
ruin hinton, don't jerk that poor horse
so; you hurt his mouthD" She fairly
stamped her foot with impatence but
she could not stop looking. Il wonder
where he lives. Why doesn't he go home
out of the rain? They'll both be stiff
with cold; there's not a creature in sight
Oh, dear, this is worse than thinking
about nothingi"
The white horse dropped his patient
head again. The cabman was either
asleep himself or in a Respondent brown
study; at any moment he might twitch
the reins.
Il cannot bear this another moment"
exclaimed the watcher, who raped such
impatient. determined blows with her
paper-cutter on the window that the
driver heard them only too easily, looked
up touched his dripping snow topped
hat with smart air, seized his whip
and turned across the street toward the
high, handsome house to take a most
welcome order.
oh what shall l do with him? Dear
ha nd of tlof
moment a man-seryant came in to mend
the fire.
mo don't move my chair. jerks" she
said. please light the gas; it was really
growing too dark to read there" She
crossed the room to the writing table and
opened a drawer "Will you take this
money; there is cabman at the door,
ask him to go-to go to Miss Peets, Is
Blight street, and see If she has any
errands for an hour or two"
Miss Poets, IS Blight street." re-
peated jerks who promptly disappeared.
The mistress of the house gave a sigh of
relief and seated herself by the fire.
Dear mel! she exclaimed again with a
sigh of relief, IF that wasn't the spur
of the moment! But what an after
noonr'
Miss Peet was sitting by the window
all this time in quite an other part of the
city. Everybody had called her old Miss
Peet for at least 20 years, and she was
hardly 20 yet Some persons always
look out of place in spring and summer;
they seem to belong only to winter, as If
they were the dried stalks of what had
once been growing, but one might feel a
reasonable doubt as to whether poor Miss
Peet had ever really been in bloom. She
had an unhappy way OF telling you more
things to other peoples disadvantage than
to their credit and when she had told you,
and you saw fit to join in the blame,
she looked satisfied at first and then grew
severe and prim and reminded you that
one must endeavor to be charitable. But
somehow she never liked to hear others
praised; she would say, "Oh, but she has
so much money!" or, "Oh, it's very easy
to make use of such opportunities as
hers" or, Il have heard it said that he
is very close about little things and does
something large now and then because
he likes to have 1t known" Nearly all
the really generous and kind actions of
her old friend Mrs. Dartmouth had been
at one time or another arranged under
one of these three heads In short, Miss
Peet was one of those sad, unhappy souls
who cannot help looking upon the pros
perity OF others except as some injustice
to themselves.
She was now grumbling at the weather,
and with some reason, for 1t was certain
ly bad weather. and was also preventing
her from going to a funeral. 1t might