Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1909-01-22
ApoprlNo A oRANpMorHER.

troubled eyes down the WiihBe street
He was so full of his own thoughts that
little Jane Morrow waved her small hand
at him twice before she got the answering
smile and nod she expected. Every child
in Bethel felt that DR.. Matt belonged to
him. And every child knew too, that the
big, silent doctor had peppermint drops
tucked away in the pockets of his over
coat.
The doctor squared his broad shoulders
and waited. They were manly shoul-
ders but the dropped somewhat with
| the burdens Of lives besides his own.
Bearing other peoples burdens was Sc
| cond nature with Dr. Matt The strong
lines about his mouth were set firmly.
He had known that this would be no easy
| task but he was finding 1t harder than
he had expected. The. small, dropping
| figure in black seemed so utterly hope
| less and pitiful.
Il can't seem to get reconciled," she
said. "Ive lived here for almost so years,
| Dr. Matt. Your father was the only doc
| tor in Bethel when we came Later on,
l helped to start Ingleside. l was only
girl then, II / was 20, and married. It's
| a good, comfortable home for old women,
and i've always been interested In It,
| But / never thought / should have to go
| there myself How much easier 1t is to
| give, DR.. Matt, than It is to take charity.
| Seems as If 1 just couldn't do It, But
there's nothing else left me; not rela-
. ! tive In the WOfiO, anu / 10 tbiht NhiAoN~
masl I'VE outlived my usefulness, and
I'm willing to go. There's not soul in
the world needs me. Why couldn't / have
been taken before this came? Some of
those old women out there are so meddle-
some and quarrelly, seems like they d set
me Wild Most women talk to much.
She was a tiny little woman, with keen,
bright eyes, in spite of her 76 years. Her
quick birlx-ilSe movements reminded me
Of a small wren. DR.. Matt beside her
looked more huge by contrast, than even
his six -feet-three warranted.
ITS this way, Grandma Silvers' he
said as patiently as if he were explain
ing something to a child, you'll have a
warm, comfortable room out there, and
you can be with the rest of them as much
or as little as you like. 1t will take more
than nine old ladies, all of them over
20, to make you quarrel, or gossip, either,
/ guess. Besides, you haven't outived
your usefuness that's a mistake The
Lord has need of you here yet / was
never able to talk my religion much but
If any mans daily life gives him faith
in God a doctors does Things will
come out all right for you somehow,
Grandma Silvers. His children are never
forsaken-that's the promise-and you
come under that head. I'm going to take
you home with me for over Sunday, and
! Monday I'll drive you out there. It's fine
at Ingleside as spring comes Another
|
and of birds too. l never saw such a
place for birds"
"And did you ever notice the flower
beds? Glove pinks and marigolds, lady
slippers and four o'clocks, and all those
old-fashionBd flowers my mothers used tC
have" he added cheerfuly And then he
paused for he seldom made SO long 8
speech.
> In his heart Dr. Matt agreed will
Grandma Silvers-most people did tall
too much. She looked at him half ques
tioningly.
! Does Martha want me to come? Ar,
you sure l won't treble her?" she asked
1 hesitatingly.
= "Oh, yes-sure!" said the doctor hasti
e y., And Grandma Silvers knew that thu
hearty welcome in his own voice was t
make up for the lack of interest Martht
i shad felt il, the matter DIR. Matt haC
been making up for Martha's lack of in
e terest in anything but her own plans
p: ever since he married her. You go ge
, your bonnet" he added cheerfully,
h told Martha we'd be here in time for sup
= per- We always have fine supper Sat
J. urday nights; baked beans, brown brea'
), and buttermik. That's sure to suit you
= Boston ideas"
/, 1--WE been away from here so long tina
e hardly know what they have" she said
/. trying to enter into his mood. but 1t 1
kind of you to ask me, DR.. Matt; yol
grow more like your father every day
"Thank YOU" said the DOCTOR smilin
:, down at her. But this was purely sci
q fish; it will be treat for us to haY
you"
But after she had gone to get her bon
. net and shawl, the worried look cam
. back to the doctors face II only hop
to goodness Martha will pet her up some
r, when l get her there" he thought
g That's what she needs most, poor lonely
little woman. She's one of the kind tina
e breath of life to her, and she misses
d now. She isn't going to bother anybod
very long, not with that heart. 81
months, year, two years, maybe, an
she'll go to sleep some night, and wake u
in heaven. If Martha would only con
o sent to having her with us-but she say
1t wouldn't do Martha is so capable tina
h she's into a lot of different things now
and she says she can't have her energie
. divided. She's had every minute take
since she's been President of the Wo
mans Federation; then there's the Clvi
% League, the Shalkspere Club and the high
y er development club, besides. They d
lot of good, too; Martha says Their
e won't be a street or road in town tina
= won't feel their influence and be mad
better, and there won't be a schoolrooI
lie without pictures on the wall. But 1 won
1t der sometimes if some of these littl
e commonplace things aren't going to b
left out, and sdetracked by all this clu
IF business and he sighed, half uncon
Il sciously
IS In the Bradley pew the next mornin
20 Grandma Silvers in her best black dres
a with the bit of old lace at her neck, sa
a up primly beside the big doctor. He
ar sweet. old face had a more resigned eS
preston, and her waves OF white hal
-, with the stiff little curl behind each ca
in the Widows bonnet, framed a face ths
more than one person turned to glanC
- at again.
BLESSED is the man whose God is I'll
- Lord, and the people who trust in Him,
= chanted the choir
- "He shall bring forth fruit in his oil
- age, his leaf also shall not wither, an
- - whatsoever he does shall prosper rea
"a the clear voice of the minister. 9TH
- is my text, although l might have chose
e a text from almost any book in the Bibl
= so full is 1t from cover to cover of pre-
a misses to the aged whose hoary heads al
y. crown of glory / have chosen 1t t.
: day because / have come to believe thu
. we too often think of old people-ar
~ they too often think OF themselves
~ having finished their work; 'outived the
20 usefulness is an expression we frequent
~ hear.
But we know that this must be
mistake, when we stop and think of
God takes a soul to Himself, when H
N earthly plans for that soul have been a,
n compished AS long as we are permitte
81 to stay in this beautiful world God hs
! given us, with its springing flowers, 4
A. glad sunshine, its singing birds, it tree