The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1853-08-30

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spirit and with the prospect of the aims house
for her future home it is scarcely necessary to
say that she accepted his offer; ;but with the most
mournful and detected feelings that ever filled
maidens heart with grief. Pride it is true
whispered in her ear to reject his addresses;
| but pride again pointed at the alms-house and
with shudder of horror she preferred the for
mer fate; for aside from her own dread OF pow
erty, was the prospect ofa home and the COM
forts of life for her little brothers. Her kind
heart could not permit them to be inmates of
almshouse when it might be avertcd even by
the sacrafce of herself.
| Mr.. Jones had been widower for nearly
three years when he offered himself to our ho-
roine. He had three children of whom Maria
a young woman of two and twenty. was the
eldest, the other two both girls, were OF the
| respective ages of seven and ten. Maria, to
whom we have before alluded in the CONVERSE
ton of the gossips, was a coarse. offensive, un-
amable virago; in fact tho perfect horror of
the whole village 1t is almost unnecessary
for us to say that she opposed the intended
match with her utmost power: for while Nell
| ly was beautiful, amiable and accomplished,
she was neither, and it was but natural that in
her untutored mind envy and jealousy should
hold full supremacy.
But all her opposition avaed nothing; for
notwithstanding her threats they were married.
| The first few weeks of married life dragged
wearily enough to the poor sick hearted Elinor.
What with her duties, an they were neither
| few nor slight, for she had the entire charge
of the feminine duties of . large farm and
household, Maria however declaring her in
tention not interfering, and her trials with the
| coarse girls temper and prejudice and the
young ones ignorance and wilfulness, by the
end of the first month-it were almost sacril-
ege to call it a 'honey moon Nelly was pros
| trated upon bed of sickness.
For four long weeks she tossed upon that
couch of pain, in all the agony of derium and
despair, praying for death and repose. But,
alas for her! it came not, and she was reserved
| for still more trials and sorrows.
Perhaps il was we'll for Elinor that she was
insensible to everything which transpired a
round her during her Hines; for how would her
| fond heart have been wrung by gross cruel
ty practsed on her young brothers by the un-
natural Maria, who seemed to have taken that
method and opportunity of wreaking her ven
geance upon her fathers hated wife. 1t was
not that Maria had any particular animosity to
the helpless boys themselves, which caused
her to treat them thus, save that she deemed
them intruders eating the bread rightfully her
own; and feared hat, should they outlive her
father they would not be forgotten in his will:
| and it was these feelings, added to her undis-
guised hatred of Ellinor and aught that she
loved, which caused her to torture them in ev
cry imaginable manner.
| 1t was long time before Eliner was suffi-
ciently recovered to resume her duties: and O.
ven thed il seemed almost impossible for her
to persue her daily routine Of drudgery and
toi! which had become her portion.
She saw more of Maria now than previous
to her illness; for it appeared to her as thaugh
| fha cin II coH of ,ak
yet more miserable her existence; yet we will
not enter into any details of the painful nature
of these attacks on poor Nelly, for We grieve
| to record so monsterous malice in one of our
own sex.
Thus year passed wearily enough to our
| heroine: now new trouble was hers. Mr.
Jones, prejudced by his daughter. who posses
sed a vast amount ofinfuence over him. began
to treat his gentle accomplishing wife with alb
solute cruelty. He seemed to take particular
delight in thwarting all her plans for the COM
| fort and pleasure of her brothers; and if he
could mortify her in the presence of her for
mer friends he manifested the most savage
plea ure.
Ellinor bore all this unmerited malevolence
without murmur or complaint; for she felt a
presentment, far down in her heart, that L was
but a little time that she would have to endure
it ere she would be far above the scenes of her
earthly grief and cares and tribulation.
And Ellinor was not wrong in her present
men,s, for it required but one more drop in
| her cup of bitterness to cause it to overflow,
and that was soon added Only one thing
bound her sole to earth-and that was her
deep all l-asorbing love for her brothers, for
whom she had suffered and sacriised so much
1t was just at this time that that dreadful
mAady. the cholera, broke out in the neigh
Dor hood with fearful virulence, and Ellnor's
two youngest brothers, twins of the age of FIVE.
were seized almost simultaneously. Mr.. Jones
and his family fled the house in terror, but the
faithful Ellinor remainesl. .at her post. Moth
ing that could be done to save her brothers
was neglected.: but the second day they died
| in her arms.
A day or two after the death of her brothers,
Ellinor was herself seized with the promonito-
~ symptoms. She Immediately dispatched
her remaining brother for physician who
came with reluctance. and after having pre-
scribed what remedies he thought necessary
i'm the case departed. She also sent for her
husband and his daughters; but they we're
psralysed with fear and came not near her in
her dying house. The poor |oman fingered a
few days in the wretchcd state, with no one
near save her brother, to whisper peace to her
4 departing spirit; and at the close of the third
day, alone in the home she had sacrificed her
life to to gain her weary soul found rest upon
the bosom of its God.
Mr.. Jones and his family did not even attend
the funeral. of the unfortunate Elinor; a fear
kept them from paying even decent respect
for the memory Of the dead; but of course
they wore mourning weeds for year at the
end of which tiWe the widower proposed to
Mics Barbara Stebbins, and was accepted sole
iy, to use the spinsters words, because she
must have home. They wero married. and
well was shade of poor Ellinor avenged; for in
less than month. Mrs Barbara had cowhided
both Mr.. Jones and Maria and she is to this
day jealous advocate of "Woman's Rights,
as any Oft the Jones can testify.
As for young Harry Greene, he soon escaped
from the tyranny of old Solomon, and found a
place worthy the name of home. He never