HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Signal, 1908-12-3, Page 5.. c
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Meidow Brook
CHAPTER I.
Far away amort the New F.nglan
hills stands a large • old-tashroned
them-beusa, around whose boarU
atone not many years ,gone, a band
of merry, nosy children played, m
self the merriest, noisily of them al
It stood upon en emiaenee overlook
ing • brad strip of robing made
land, at the extremity of which was
the old grey rock, wthe golden
cid end sassafras grew, where • the
peen ivy crept over the crumblin
wall, and where, under the shadow
et the thertralis tweeze, `we built ou
pia s. m'tatnag oar tea from
the acorn �ropo�ftoOgle fame the rod juice o
poke berries. which grew there i
great abundance.
Jed opposite our hoose, and scram
the green nessdow. was a shady grove
where. In the eprwg-Qme, tae aingtu
birds meds their nests, and where
when the breath of winter was on
me snow -clad hill'. Liu*, Carri
Oar I. and otaller. strongr broth
ors dragged our sleds, dashing swift-
ly down the steep hill. and away eve
she ie►oovcred valley below. Truly,
can was a joyous childhood, and
am a happy home; for never else-
where
fell the summer's golden sun
light as softly. , and never was muse
wester than �aa_ the murmur
the denan water -brook which ran
past ear door, and down the long
Min
losing itself at last in
be din - old woods. which stretched
Sway t the westward. maiming to my
ehilaah imagination the bound try
line between this world .. the next.
In the deep shadow of 'eels
T ham eat alone for many heor,
watching the white feathery cl • ods as
Obey enamored through the .cone
foliage which hung above my
I •careely knew d wh
. anise filled my brain
ottentmies. as I sat there in the hazy
light ef an autumnal all rnoen, there
came and talked with me capriole
e l iiwe people, unseen, it is true.
bat dfll real to me, who knew and
celled them all by name.' 'llhere. on
• mosey bank, beneath a wide -spread-
ing grapevine. with the running
brook at my feet. I felt the first long-
ings fee km, � I did not thus
designate A then. only knew that
I vented a name which should live
when I was gone -a name of which
my mother should be proud. It had
been b me a day of peculiar trial.
At school everything had gone wrong
Accidentally 1 had discovered that I
Dceeessed a talent for rhyming; and
es, homage I preferred filling my
rate with verses, instead' of prrmng.
an B that four times twenty were
eighty, and that eighty, divided by
twenty, equalled four, my teacher
utast needs And fault with me. call-
ing me "lazy," and compelling me
to sit between two hateful boys, with
warty hands. who for the remainder
et the afternoon amuse themselves by
sitting inconveniently near to i ie,
and by telling me how Sig my eyee
sod feet were. I hardly think I
Wioeld now mind that mode of pun-
ishment, provided I could choose the
'boys. bat I did then, and in the
want of brooms, 1 started for home.
where other annoyances swatted me.
Selly, the beesernaid, scolded me for
upsetting • pan of milk on her dean
pantry sbelf, calling me, 'the care -
young one she ever Paw." and
predar irtg that "I'd one day rome to
ttbeys �alfae" if I didn't mend my
-set, my efdiAt sister. scolded me
for wearing without her c nsent her
shell side -comb, which, in climbing
through a hole in the plastering of
the .ehoofhonae• I accidentally broke.
Grandmother scolded me for mount -
ung to the top of her high chest of
drawers to see what was in them;
and to Brown ell, when, towards sun-
set, I mime in from a romp in the
tarn, with my yellow hair flying all
over my fere, my dress horst open.
my p ntalet split from the top down-
ward, and my man -bonnet hanging
down my back, my mother reproved
one severely, telling me 1 was "a
sight to behold." This was my usual
style of dress, and.I didn't think any
one need interfere: so, when she won-
dered if there ever was another such
child, and bade me look at myself
in the glass. asking if "I didn't think
1 was a beautiful object," my heart
came up in my throat. and with the
angry response that "1 couldn't help
my looks --I didn't make myself," I
started through the door, and running
down the long lane to the grape -vine
my favorite resort 1 threw myself
upon the ground, and burring my
- time In the tall grass, wept bitterly.
wishing I had never been born, or
being born, that the ban of ugliness
were not upon me
Motherdoesn't love me, I thought
--nobody lama me; and then I wish-
ed that I could die, for I had heard
that the first dead of a family, no
matter hew unprepossessing they had
been in life• were sure te be the beat
beloved in the memory of the living.
Ps die than. that I might be loved
was all I asked for es I lay then
S!seping alone. and for,
in my
•��.�tdairaabn
Piet that never Ware was
• girl. nine maniere old. se wretch-
ed as myself. And then, in my imag-
ination, I went through with a men-
tal rebmeasl of my own obsequies, f
fancying that I was dead, bat still
Possessing the faculty el knowing all
that paned around me
noosed m hin�volnnrery shedder, I ,
7 poo my bosom.
stretched myfeet upon the mwsq
k' and my eyes to the fed -
Mg sunlight, which I was never to
fee innthee pan. rlorkind y forehead lay
m
1 feat the gentle broom as it earns T
%rough the even window, ling the
folds of the muslin esylate which h
Shaded it. 'lnreogkaat the house was
• leap hush, and in my Mother's T
vela there was a hem:Woken too•, a
whish I bad now heard breee, sod
whisk tingled me with joy, for it 0
••d that I was bed at last. Then 1
I thought bow lonely they would be of
al th
eases no
weal then.mem ming • and 1'beyl
ed
will leder ib UW* ugly ties,' 1 said.
an a lop �k my owe hat bars
asthought hew Lisle would
moan for me in the dart night Woe.
'phig that I w• not by iter dda.
t asi gilg in a nose, eek, wbies
aepatl would be a haodsmM as
� •alit brdfarr. tr .I that MIR
at the funeral -of a rich neighbor's
fair young . bride. I dict not want
d them to strew qty pillow with roses
as they did herr-for 1 knew they
1- would not accord with m thin, plain
face. In the distance I beard the
7- sound of the tolling bell. and I saw
1. the subdued expression on the faces
- of my school companions am they he-
w
tonedhe breathlessly, counting at last
quick strokes, which would
tell to a ptranger that 'twee only • 1
child who was gone.
g Than cams the funeral, the roll
of wheals, the tread of many Leet,
r the bum of voices, the prayer. the
hymn, in which I longed to join, but J
dared not for appearances' sake. and
thsn, one byone, they stole up for a
n last farewell, lifting my baby brother
anhe would do never look knponu�sav the by th
grassy mond where they would tell
g him she was buried- I knew when
Lizzie bent over me by inc convulsive
sob and barring kiss which she Press-
e ed upon my hps, and divining her
inmost thoughts'. 1 fancied she was
wishing that no harsh word tad ever
between pe. In lay heart 1 -
orged to tell her how freely I ter -
gave her, but ere I bed time to do
• so. she stepped aside, while an older,
a wrinkled band was laid upon my
forehead, and my aged grandmother
of-
ter that r should die, than that she,
so yang, should be laid in the loos -
some grave." I
Instantly the dark grave loomed up
beforeane, so dark and dreary that I -
shrank'froan being put there. 1 could i
not the; t was afraid 10 sleep with
inc silent dead 1 would far rather
live, even though 1 lived unloved for-
ever, and then, softy in my ear, •
spirit friend whispered, 'Be great and
good --get to yourself a name of which
they shall beproud-make them love
you for your deeds, ratter than your
look., and when, in the future,
trangera shall ask concerning you. i i
'ho is she?' let it be their pr.de
war, 'thy daughter,' or 'My inc-
Older and wiser heads than o
d have said it was Am-
i
lar
1 THE SIGNAL : GODERICII 'ONTARIO
er's lip, 'while my hair and drew
were so wet that I fancied j.'d been
out in s drenching shower. Every-
body was so kind and spoke so softy
to me that, with a vague impression
that something had happened, 1 be-
gan to cry. . Just then, father, who
had been sent for, appeared, and
tatting me in his same. started for
home, while Lizzie followed with the
basket and my sunbonnet, which
-looked -sorryand-droopthe iii ire
owner. At the door father asked of
mother, who met us, "Where shall I
put her?" but ere rhe could reply,
1 Said, "On grandmother's bed."
And there, among the soft pillows
and snowy linen on which I had often
looked with almost envious eyes, and
which now seemed so much to rest
me, I was laid. Of „tate weary weeks
which followed, I have only a confus-
ed recollection. 1 know that the room
was darkened as tar as possible, and
that before the window at the foot
of the bed, grandma's black shawl
was hung, one oorner being occasion-
ally pinned back when more light
was needed, After a while it seem-
ed to me that it was Lizzie, instead
of myself who was sick, and the ph),
sician said she heti a fever, which
had been long coming on, but was un-
doubtedly hastened by her aleepiinngg
on the wet grass ui the night. And
so we all trod softly about the house,
speaking in whispers, and lifting the
door-„ptches�arefully, while Liszie,
With my cap and night dress on. lay
all day long in bed, never speaking,
never muting, except when the long
clock in the corner struck oft the
hour., then she would moan as if in
pain, and once when somebody, who
looked like Liazie. but was still 1,
Rosa, stole on tiptoe to her side, with
a bouquet of flowers, which Mena
had brought, stir put her arms; around
my neck, and pointing to the cheik,
whispered __"lt Itueps saying '},tn•'e
dead " - 'She's dead” - She's dead!
Won't you tell it to be still?"
Then we knew that it disturbed her,
end sn the old clock wRA stopped, a
thing which grandma said "h,.,t
ing-Ruse, a wedding gilt to my grand
mother, and with the teaseling
mark that "I ,wouldn't always loo
co," *waited the result. i lm older
than 1 Wa* then, but even now I. ran
-snot repress a smile me i bring bolo
my mind the shorn head, the wasted
face with high cheek -bones. and th
big blue eyes, in which there was
look of "crazy Sal." which met id
view. With the angry exclarnatlon
"They'll hate me- worse ihia[1 _ ever -
I'm so ugly." i dashed the mipor u
on the floor. breaking it in a thousand
pieces. Liaie knew. what I mean
and twining her arms about my neck
she said. Don't talk so, Rosa; w
love you dearly, and it almost killed
us when we thgsight you couldn't live
You know big ?nen never cry, and pa
the least of all. Why, he didn't shed
a tear when lit"
Here she stopped suddenly, as
on a forbidden subject. but soon re-
suming the conversation, she continu-
ed, "But the day hr. Lamb was there
and told us you would die, hei,was
out tinder the cherry tree by ou
play -house. and when Carrie asked him
if you'd never play 'here any more
he didn't answer, but turned his facie
toward the barn, arid cried so hard
and-ro loud, that grandma came out
and pitied him, smoothing his hair jus
like he was a little boy. Brother
Charlie, too, lay right down it# the
grass, and said he'd give everything
he'd got if lic'd never called you
'bung -eyed,' nor made fun -of you, for
he loved you best of .all. Then there
was poor Jamie kept calling for
'Yosa' „--
Here Lizzie broke down entirely.
saying, "I can't tell you any more,
don't ask me."
Suddenly it •occurred to me that i
had neither• reen nor heard little
Jamie, the youngest •of us ell, the pet
and darling of our household. Rapid-
ly my thoughts traversed the past,
and iii a moment i saw it all. "Jamie
was dead." i did not need that Lizzie
'should tell me so. 1 knew it was
true, and when the first great shock
was over. I questioned her of his
T.,ututaA7, December 3, 1808 e'9
as,
- in my armchair, steady sot stiff, In
re- my heavy satin and silver gay, while
k my oldest son, • man. jest my ta-
ttlelr's size, should render me all the
homage and respect dna to one rf
re my age., By myself, too, I'had s,+ver-
al tidies tried on grandirm's clothes,
• spectacles, cap and all; and then,
a seated in her chair, with the big
y Bible in my lap, I had expounded
, ,eripture to the imaginary children
around -ma, _frequently reprimanding
p- Rosa for her inattention, asking her
what "she thought would become of
t her, if she didn't stop wriggling so
in her chair, and learn 'the chief end
e of man." Once. in the midst of my
performance, grandma herself appear-
, ed, and as a 'natural consequence, 1
was divested of my fixings lin a much
shorter space of time than it had
taken me to don them. From that day
it up to the period of my illness. 1 ver-
ily believe grandma looked upon me
as "given over to hardness of heart
and blindness of mind."
But 1 am wandering from my sub
✓ ject, which was I believe, the Thanks-
giving succeeding Jamie's death and
my own recovery from sickness. For
this ocesaion great preparations were
made, it being confidently expected
that my father's brother, who lived
t in Beaton, would be With us. together
with his wife. a lady whose reputa-
tion for sociability and suavity of
manners was with us, rather below
par. She was my suite's-seeond• wifep
and rumoiNiaid that neither liiniself
nor his home were as comfortable as
they once had been. From the same
reliable shltrcw, do°, we learned .that
_suiLt-deet
seems that 1 with first taken with
scarlet fever, which aeon assumed an-
other form, but not until it had com-
Y mutucafea iseelT-i- fie, whho, after
a few days' suffering, had died. 1
had ever been his favorite, and to the
last he had -.called for me to come;
my graudmother, with the euperati-
tion natural to her age, construing
it into an omen that I was soon to
follow him.
Desolate and dreary seemed the
house; and When 1 was 'able to go
from room to room, oh' how my heart
nerved as I missed the prattle of our
baby -boy. Away to the garret, where
nn one could enc It, they had carried
his empty cradle, but 1 sought it out;
and as I thought of the soft, brown
curls 1 had so often seen resting there,
and would never see again, 1 sat down
by its side and wept most bitterly.
The withered yellow' leaves' of au-
tumn were falling upon his grave ere
I was able to visit it, and et its head
suwnd a simple stone. on which was
inscribed, "Our Jamie." to f lean-
ed against the cold' marble. and in
fancy saw by ite side what had well-
nigh been--anotker mound, and .n-
nther atone, bearing upon it the name
of _ftoha;" I involuntarily Phudderid;
vi -)h from my heart there went up a
silent thanksgiving, that God. in his
wise Providence, had ordered it other
wive.
From that sickness 1 date a more
healthful state of mind and feeling,
and though i still shrunk from any
allusion to my perennal appearance,
1 never. again doubted the love of
those who had manifested so much
solicitude for me when ill, and who
watched ovcr me so tenderly during
the period of my convalescrihce, which
wan long and wearisome, for the snows
of an early winter lay upon the froz-
en ground, ere i was well enough to
take my- sr, unturned phare in the ohf
brown echoolh,, -c at the foot of the
long hill.
been in fifty odd years," exeept the
time when grandpa died, and then.
with the going out of his lite. the
-clock itself ran down tit the-n1gth
through the lamp burned upon the
table where stall the vials„ the Do-
ver powders, and the cups, while Liz-
zie, with her great blue eyee ee, much
ike mine. wide open, lay watching
the flickering shadows on the wall,
counting the flowers on the paper
bordering, wondering it there ever
were blue rouses, and thinking if there
were that they must emelt as the din-
ner did beneath the chestnut tree.
At last, when the ramie were wear -
ed out with watching, the neighbors
were called in, and among them our
school -teacher, who seemed to 'tread
n air, so light and notselees were
er loottepe; and Lizzie, when she
saw how kind she was, wondered she
had not loved her better. Then came
other watchers equally kind with
Miss Phillips, but possessing far less ,
tact for nursing; and even now I
have a vivid rememhranee of their
annoying attempts "to fix me so I'd
be more enmfortable." Was I lying in
a position satisfactory to myself, I
must be lifted up, my pillows shaken,
turned over, and my head placed so
high that my chin almost tou'ehed
my chest. Did I fall into a .little
I dose, I muet 'rouse up to tell who-
1 ther 1 were asleep or not. qnd did
i I get into a monad slumber. I must
; surely wake enough to sax whether
I wanted anything. • ,
I Again, i faneied that another be-
side Lizzie was sick, for in mother's
room, enntiguioue to mine, there was
low hum of voices. agoing in and
, a careful shutting of the door,
gradually i- got the impression
amiss my beautiful baby bra
eonnec•ted with all this, for
1 bear them talk of scarlet fever,
-sad it's irrg ltard wtth hint. - taut T
had no des a Or power to ask the why
or wherefore' and so time wore on,
until there c
ed that the rev
vine wait coming
same roll of wh
many feet, ani th
(loore 1 heard a mon
by trembling voices, w
1 caught the notes of n
I was much alone that de
for more than an hour, the
she breakfasted in her own room at
ten, dined at three, mule or reeeit•ed
calf until six. went to parties„, soi-
rees, nr the theatre' to 'the evening,
and seldom got tie bed up{til two o' -
"clock in the morning; 1t diode of liv-
ing which was pronounced little bet-
ter than heathenish by grandma. who
had long been ruihi,nls for an oenor.
tunity of "giving Charlotte Ann a
piece of her Iniad."
Mother, who was more discreet,
very wisely advised her not to inter -
daughter -in-law. "1t- would do no
good." she said, "and might pxteibly
make rnatters worse." Unlike most
bIW fico-ITe. grandma was not veru 1C -
much set in her own way. and to
mother's suggesiiyn, she replied that
"Mebby, ahs a]souldn't Pay any-
thing- 'twoul etend'bn how • many
airs Charlotte 'Mitt on."
To me the ezts"ted visit was a sore
trial; for, notwithstanding my cheeks
and neck were rounder and fuller
than they hal ever ben, my head,
with its your* crop of short, stiff hair,
to
tel.
mine
bition, which thus counselled with
' me. bat , motioned her not of her
name, I , . y knew that her words
were sweet ..d soothing, and I tress-
, tired them ' • my heart, pondering
upon them an 1 fell asleep, unoon-
mioae that the , . light was fast de-
clining, and that heavy dew was
falling titan my • covered head.
Meantime at home many inquiries
were being made -,seeming my
whereabouts, and when, last, night
came on and I was e - away, my
oldest brother was aent ' •. quest of
me down the long lane whe, I was
last seen by Lizzie, who • at-
tempted to follow me, but had • . ' t-
ad thrnagh fear r,f being called
I was just dreaming that the Arum
of fame was sounding forth my
when, alas, I awoke to find it was
only my brother Charlie, mating the
woods resound with 'Rosa Lee!
Where are ,you? Why don't you an-
swers' an
Of course I was disappointed -who th
woeldn't be? -and in a M. of Actin- the
acy 1 determined not to reply, bat
to make him think I was lost-fben
see how he'd feel' But on this point
I was not to be gratified, for inning
of finding me in the lane, he made
straight for the grape -vine, where he
stumbled over me as I lay, this time
feigning sleep, to see what he would
do. Seizing my by the shoulder, he
exclaimed, "You are a pretty bird,
sexnng us out of a year's `,.,..th.
Mother'll scold you well for this.'
But be was mistaken, for mother's
manner towards me was
changed. The torn psintalet end
,chewed bonnet -strings were all foe -
rotten, and in the kindest tone she
asked. "If I were not cold, and why
i went to sleep on the grass " There
were tears in my eyes, but I winked
hard and forced them back, until
Lizzie brought me a pieoe of custard
pie (my special favorite) which, abs
said, "she had saved for me. beeanae
she knew how much I loved it."
This was too much, and sit{-
down in Caddie's little chair. I cried
aloud. saying in ,reply to the oft -
repeated question ae to what ailed
me, that "I didn't know, only I was
so glad."
"Hystericky as a witch," was Sal-
ly's characteristic comment on my
strange behavior, at the bathe time
she suggested that I be pot to bed.
To- this 1 made no objection. and
pushing aside the pie which, to Lis-
r,ie's disappointment, I could not sat,
I went to my room, a happier, and
1 believe, a better girt; so much- ire
fluence has s kind word or deed upon
a desponding, sensitive child. That
night I was tired and restless, turn-
ing uneasily upon my pillow, puah-
a -
t
at
r,
ing Lizzie; arm from my neck, be-
cause it kept me from breathing, and
lying awake until I heard the long
clock in grandma's room strike the
hour of twelve, Then I slept, but
drea4ed there was • heavy pain in
my head, which made me moan in
my sleep, and that mother, attracted
by the sound, came to my side, feel-
ing my pulse, and saying, "What ails
you, IC' "Then was nothing ail-
ed me," I said; but in the morning
when I woke, the pain was still then,
though t would not acknowledge it,
or scarcely anything mild tempt me
to stay away from school; so at the
usual hour I started, but the road
was long and wearisome, sad twice I
sat down to rest, leaning my forehead
hon the handle of my dinner -basket,
and wondering why the smell of its
contents made me sick. Arrived at
school, everything seemed strange,
nd when Mania, the girl who shod
y desk, produced a love -letter from
om Jenkins, which she had found
on my side of the desk, and in whish
e made a formal offer of himself,
reeks and all, I did not even smile.
eking my book, I attempted to
Indy, but the words ran together,
he objects in the room chased eseh
ther lir eiretes, the little Abecedar-
an, shouting the alphabet at the lop
his voice, .oma like distant
under, and at last the Member map-
le, our clam in "Oolbnn." she
seemed to be a mei way aA, while
between her and me was a gather-
ing darkness which sem shut out
every obinel from my view.
Per a few moments all was roofs -
ion, and when at teat my f emelhs a
1 wasm Ibs reeMdlan
off old "Ill` Mari
e a day when it neem -
e beneath the grape -
true. There was the
Is, the tread of
ntigh the closed
ul strain, sung
de from afar,
tolling bell.
and once,
1 was nn
one with me excepting gran
frequently removed her'epeeea les to
wipe the moisture which gather- • up-
on them. •
From that day f grew worse, a
they sent to` Spencer for Dr. T mb,
who, together with Dr. Griffin, held
a council over Inc. and said. that I
must die. I saw mother when they
told,• her. She was Standing by the
window, from• which the black shawl
had been removed, for nothing die-
turbed the little girl now, and the
window was wide open, so that the
summer air might cool the burning
head, from which the matted yellow
heir had all. been shorn. She turned
pale as death, and with.* cry- of an-
guish, rresecd her hand upon her
ode; but she did not weep. I won -
doted at It then, and thought she
cared less than Lizzie, whu rat at
the loot of the bed, sobbing so loudly
that the Lever burned more fiercely
in my veins, and the physician said
it must not be; elle must leave the
room, or A'erp quiet. - --
it was Monday, and a few hours
afterward, aa Sally was passing the
door, grandma handed her my dirty,
crumpled sun -bonnet, bidding her
wash it and put it away. Sally's
voice trembled as she replied, "No,
no, leave it as it is, for when she's
gone. nothing will look so much like
her as that jammed bonnet with its
.chewed up strings."
A gush of tears was grandma's only
answer, and after i got well, I found
the bonnet carefully rolled up in a
sheet of clean white paper and laid
away in Sally's drawer. There were
days and nights' of entire unconscious -
nese and then with the vague, misty
feeling of one awakening from a long,
disturbed sleep, I awoke again to life
and reason. The windows of my room
were closed; but without, I heard the
patter of the September rain, and the
nnund of the autumnal wind as it
Swept peat the house. Gathered at
my side were my father, mother, bro-
thers, sisters, grandmother; and alt.
as my eye rested upon their fame.
1 thought, were paler and mnre care-
worn than when 1 last linked upon
them. Something, ton, in their dress
disturbed in.; but, before i could
epeak, a voice which 1 knew to be.
Dr. Griffin's, said "She is better --
she will live."
From my mother's lips there brnkc
another cry -not like that whieh 1
had heard when they told her I must
die -but a cry of jc • and then she fell
fainting in my fa.r'it *rine. 1 never
doubled her lnve for me again. but
in bitterness of spirit, I have many
a time wept that 1 ever distrusted
her, my blessed mother.
The fourth day after the crisis 1
was alone with Lizzie, whom, for a
long time, 1 importuners to give me
mirror that I might Pee mywelf men.
mere. Yielding et length to my epi
tees*•, abs heeded me a scall 1t>at-
CHAPTER if,
Thanksgiving', Ilnw many reminis-
cendes -of the olden time dome that
word call op. alien enns and danght.
era, they who have wandered far and
wide, shote Ineke, ranee brown and
diming with the sunlight of smith,
now give tokens that the autumnal
frosts of life are falling slowly upon
thein, return -once phare to the old
hearth -stone, and, for it brief space,
grow young again aphid the festive
'canes of Thanksgiving Day. To you.
who, like me, drew your first breath
among the New England hills, and
o have strayed away from your
en y home, in the busy world in
w-bi you are now mingling, mimes
there of necapinnally pleasant mem-
ories o the, olden time, when With
eager h you hied you back to the
roof -tree t rich sheltered your in-
fancy? .40 though, perchance. the
snows of 'ma • a winter may have
drifted across t•e'graves of the gray-
haired man yon called your father,
and the mild -eve woman who Sore
the h!eaced -Blame- mother, ran you
not recall them to nit , as when with
tears ot-joy and word, of love, they
welcomed their chit en home,
thanking God that as yet cit one of
their household treasures miss-
ing? And ifAfter Yeanhr
there came a time when theoung-
est of you all was gone, when the
childish prattle you loved so we to
hear was hushed, when through tat`
house was no more heard the patter
of little, busy feet, when there was
naught lett of the lost nor, nave a
murl of golden hair, or a tiny shoe,
'toiled and bent, but looking still so
much like him who wore it once, that
you preserve it as your choicest
treasure: if, I Pay, there Mame to you
a time like this, do you not remember
how, amid all the social cheer, there
was still an aching void, which no-
thing around you could fill?
But lest 1 make this chapter too
cad, 1 shall not /peak of nor feelings
AA we missed our baby brother, for
they who have lost from their fireside
an active, playful child, understand
tar better than i eon desevibe, the
loneliness, the longing for something
gone, which becomes almost a part of
their being, although at times they
may neem to forget. Children's grief
is seldom sP lasting RP shat of mature
years; and hence it is not strange if I
sometimes forgot 'my sorrow in the
Jnyoue 'anticipatinn of Thanksgiving
Tiny, which was then to me but
another name for plum puddings,
chicken pies, meeting dresses, morne-
co shoes, city cousins, a fire in the
parlor, and butt, though not lewd, the
privilege .of eating at the first table_
and using grandma's nix tiny silver
orisons, with the initiate of her maid.
en name, "P S." arked apnn them.
On such nee lone my thnughte in-
variehly too a leap backward, and
Inking at randma's wrinkled fats
and wh' , shining hair, 1 would
wonde f she ever were young like
me; nd if, Arias young, she swung
on ales nr ',limbed trees, end walk -
the great tram., as 1 did. Then,
th another AAnnd, in, thoughte
told penetrate the future, when 1, •
w
dignified grandmother, should recline
Cur
Latest
Novelty.
Will please
the children.
as each Biscuit
actually looks
like "Santa
Claus." ,_.�..,'
12 smiles and
72 delights in
every pound.
Love and Politics. ( the athnli• district with the candidate,
mentioningsevens) voter
11.uai1, al sl.sct its,. _ 1 • - that he t had
, w.ni over from the mneme. As the
t'p Sarni,' way an irate Tory father fanditat, wits leaving, the old man be-
e ithdlew Itis c,lnsvut- for the liar- came euelidentiul. Said be, -You can
riulll fid. his daughter to en eligible co;tnt on Toni --all right. Oh, yes, 1
young wan, la',au,e the yhuuq MAI), knew hr's a (frit, but I fixed him.
who is a Itefuriuer, votes) ' for the You see, he's sweet on sly- Jessie, and
1 -wilier candidate. The y o It g 1 (t)her night I xis'. to Jess, be Tom
p •cape thereupon t ,ok matters into 'round after meeting Sunday
heir own bouts 1111 1 1-1114%, 11y near night'? She said as she ',Hosed s ), and
t )..go' nes the fusel*. ' t1 Last aeenunta 1 says, Well, you just tell hire for ane
tLeirate Ltlw'1-.wee. ---ot-,..,ririttesr.-itrrthat'-rm'eas-te ItFoiii1ilii-to voteTor
tad Bien, 5eciog t'. •t Ile. thing %%is Whitney 1'1 put the hoots to him,
".lobe snit 1lien• w;,. no help for it, nest 'foci coupe 'round on Solidity night an'
NUN •1ou,idehiug the tedti.vl,ihty nf3waa-inbed when .J.ustapip.tie+rhtny
wets onnn i• runaways 1s, 1111•. 15.1.11-.11/111 dour. What i, It ? s.tys I
tl'hnhreuhiujs us 111 an electhil It's me, (Ath''r,,.say.Jess, and 1 just
e,uupsign incident of rt similar sort,' want to tell yon that you won't need
huh w'nit a different 1,1111111;, that 1,1 11111 the birds' 1u T011), Smart
"cense. nimbi 111 rel. to Haun)ton in young feller, 'Pore, says L So I guess
the lastl'rovinci•il conte -t. 'I'he`t'nn- ye clue count fm Tom- without can-
al•1'ta'i1;'chtedidtte was etnvassirig In tassiu' 1(1111,•'
1h itefnru1 section And stopped at `the It tak1•4 all sorts of lieople to 'snake
tl.,ule of it Tory tdithful for tea. The up nwnrld still all -5 Inclof incidents
.oh1 pas suer eve r Ilie resent.. clutv+lrscd • to sound cul an elegtiuu campaign,
was n terrible nnnnyanee, and more
than once 1 had cried as i saw 111
fancy the rltrisive smile with which -
my dreaded. Aunt (charlotte was: sure
to greet mi'. At last sister Anna,. who
possessed a. trent deal of tastes"! such
matters, and' who ought to have been
a milliner, contrived for the "piekeal
chicken," as she called me, a black
lace.cap, which fitted me so well, and
was so vastly &,•coming, that 1 lost
all my fears, and child -like, began to
count the days which must elapse
before i could wear it.
Meantime, in the' kitchen there was
a loud rattling of (fishes, a heating of
eggs, and coiling for weed. •with ?which
to heat the great brick oven, grand-
ma having pronounced the stove un-
fit for baking a Thanksgiving dinner.
-From anti-cownTlct-d, behind the bard,
a golden pumpkin, four times larger
than my bend noel about the same
color, was gatherr•:1, and after being
brought to the house, ayes pared.
crit open, 'scraper}, -anti shirpt into a
,little tin kettle with' n enpper bot-
tom, where for hours it stewed and
sputtered, filling the atmosphere wit!)
a faint, sickly odor, which 1 thin){
was the main cause of the severe
headache I took to bed with me. Mo-
ther, on the contrary, differed fro)i,,
me, she associating it in some way
with the rapid disappearance -of -the '
raisins, cinnamon, sugar, and in
forth, whir`', in sundry. brown paper+,
lay open upon the table. She was gen-
erally right when she made un her
mind, no I shall not dispute the point,
for let the cause have been what it
would, it was a very sick little girl
which, the night before Thanksgiving,
ons put early to bed by Sally, who
remarked, as she undressed me, that
"i was slimpsy as a rag, and she
wouldn't wonder if i had a collapse,"
adding, ea she ticked the clothe,
around me, ,that "if 1 did, it would
be mighty-Aptt-to go !ifird with me."
The next morning, just as the first
grey streaks of daylight were animat-
ing in the eget, 1 awoke, finding. to
my groat joy, that rtiy headache was
gone. Rising upon my elbow and -lean-
ing tar out of bed, i pushed aside
the striped curtain which shaded the
window, and looking out upon the
ground below, saw, to my utter dis-
may, that it was covered with snow.
To me there is nothing pleasant ir•
a Snow storm, a snow bank, or a
Snow cloud; and when a child. I used
to think that with the fall of she fdrat
flake, there came over my spirits a
chill, which wee not removed until
the spring -time. when, with ita *sues
it melted away: and 'even now, when,
with my rubber boots. 1 dare crave
any drift, not more than five feet four
inches high, I cannot say that i have
any particular love for snow; and as
from my window I watch the, de•xrent
ot-that--feathery Rakes, 1 always feel
an irresistible desire to make at them
wry faces, my favorite method of
showing my dislike. On the morning
of which I have spoken, I vented
my displeaaure in the usual way, and
en I fell into a deep sleep. from
ich I was at last awakened by the
lout, shouts of my hlotherit, who, in
the�p�eadow across 'the road, were
peltin each. other with ba11s, occas-
ionally�
white sno
old and we
Not long a
Anna common
Carrie, and as
beautify before th
which wee to brin
�nllmg over in the pure,
which they hailed ea an
loved friend.
r breakfast was over,
dressing Lizzie and
)e had herself to
rrlval of the train
my uncle and
aunt, it is not surprii'ng that she hur-
ried rather paster than was wholly
agreeable to rho little girls, who eonl,l
eh hasten,
aunt's
n, w
wh3
nn good manse for
even if Herbert Langley, -
eon and a youth Of maven
to accnrnpany her, 1, howeve,
was older, read;thing, differently, and
when Anna pulled Lizzie';. curly r,
and washed f arrie's nose up and
down, until they both cried, and
when she herself stool before the
glaas a whole. halt hoar, arranging
just in front of her ears two spit
curls, pometimee called "bean match-
ers," 1 shrugged my shoulders won-
dering if she thought a city boy would
care for her.
The morning train from Renton was
dne about ten o'clock, and as Mead-
ow Brook did not then boast a daily
omnibua, it was neoeseary that some
one should be at the depot in order
to meet our expected guest+. in
New England it is almnet an unheard
of thing for an entire family to remain
away from church on Thanksgiving
Day, but considering ell the eircum-
Ai eee, it was, on this occasion, ds
eided orthodox for us to do so, and
apeordingly at nine o'clock lather and
COLEMAN'S ' , MAart
COLDS LA'GRIPPE
Breaks up a cold at the start.
At the first s„ _.;ze or chill, take Campho-Quinine.
Cures in 24 hours. At your dealer's -25c. ,
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