The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-07-10

Is" A little"
"Good bye, then"
"Good bye"
81 think it's shabby, though" turning back,
after he had once taken himself of, "sticking
up artificial flowers. Don't you ever do that
II you can't get natural ones, don't undertake
any Do you hear!"
dyes"
"Why don't you speak, then? really wish
you could speak, if it is only to say something
defiant as French mustard. One word, child"
| "No.n
Goodbye, then"
Then, goodbye"
The good soul has gone off, with slow steps,
out of the room.
| CHAPTER V.
"Jule Vesey."
"Tve come, Molly, dsar!"
| $50 you have, bless you! Let me kiss YOU
forty timesl"
Mrs. Hadden held her sister part in both
arms, kissed her forehead kissed the tip of her
nose, said something about "bless her /" about
her nose being 81 dear nose, if it was the crook
eldest nose in all creation" laughed, tried to
look in her face and see what these last two
years, in which they had not met, had done to
the features, but she could not see, for the fast
gathering tears. She could only kiss her again,
and say, Darling, suppose you are half frozen
and half starved"
She gave directions to the coachman what to
do with the luggage, and then slipped an arm
round her sister, to lead her out to the dining.
room, saying, by the way, l don't know what
put it into my head that perhaps YOU would
come, that perhaps this very day you'll be
along, for L am going to have a great party
tonight"
"You are?"
eyes, very large one-the largest have
ever had. Let me help you, dear. I'm so glad
you have come"
She could look in her sisters face now, and
see that the two years had dealt kindly with her.
You're handsomer than ever, julie; and
twentyeight, tool Who would think? sup
pose you don't tell anybody how old you are,
now suppose you've done with that. That
cord troubles you, don't it? Let me try. One
would think might do little something be-
sides looking at you and talking. There, that
isitl-Your furs are splendid, darling-all your
dress is splendid. You have such taste Now,
it is a fact that my husband spends twice as
much on my clothes as you do on yours still,
you always look so much better -
"Oh, really don't think so, Mary. You have
so good face-the same good face that have
looked to for comfort ever since our mother
died."
Tears came again to both sisters eyes, and
fell awhile silently for the good, faithful moth
er, buried these twenty years beneath the sod.
"You were so good a child, always" said
Mrs. Hadden, after she had wiped her tears,
while she was at large closet, getting some
cakes and preserves for her sisters luncheon,
that no one could show anything but a good
face to you. You kn0W that everybody was
kind to you"
Partly because | was such poor, little,
homely thing, l think" replied Julia. 81 was
ugly almost to deformity. Don't you think so,
Mary7"
"No, DON'T never did. never could
imagine can't now-what made you so sen.
sitive on this point. | remember your crying
once until you were near being as homely as
you fancied yourself, because, as you said. God
had made you with such large, gray-looking
eyes-such monstrous nose and mouth. Do
you remember"
eyes; Sarah Harper had just been asking
me, when we were away quietly by ourselves,
if l knew if / could see, when looked in the
glass-how different i was from everybody :;
how pale was, eyes and all how my nose was
larger than her nose and Mahala Martins would
be, if they were both put together; how my
mouth was so 'avfuL wide as she said, that it
almost went away back through my cheeks to
my ears, so that people couldn't help looking
at it, and wondering what made it so wide
When | told her | was halfchoked with the
words, | remember) that i never had seen any.
thing of it in the glass; she asked me if nobody
had ever told me about it, then2''
| "Little, miserable thingl" interrupted Mrs.
Hadden, with flushed face.
"Oh, she didn't say it to taunt me with it.
If she had, it wouldn't have been half so hard
for me to bear. She said in her childish hon.
esty, Just as she would have talked of the fig
ures in my frock."
"And so you let it worry you"
More or less, for years. | cried about it half
of every night, for a while, and as often as /
could get away out of sight, in the daytime.
l am over it now, hope. But it is fact, that
getting over it has been the hardest struggle of
my life"
sob, it was too bad !" said Mrs. Hadden
her tones and looks full of pity. For her mind
was away back with the motherless creature,
weeping out half the days and the nights, alone
1T has been good thing for me, no doubt;
for it brought me to discipline and regulate,
with all my might, the approbativeness, or the
vanity, that might otherwise have halfspoiled
my life. Now, | feel that / am mistress of
myself so far as this foble is concerned. |
like beauty, when ! see it in others. | think
there are but few who admire it so intensely as
l do; this is all. j would not turn nv hand to
be beautiful myself. l like it best, Just as l
am-large nose, and ALL"
You're not to suppose that you are uglier
than the rest of US now, though" said Mrs Had
den, reflling her sisters glass "for you aren't
You aren't so homely we are; not half so
homely as that Sarah Harper-thst provoking
| thing-is; not half. There's something deli
cate, quiet, and grand, about you, that is-oh,
so m,ch-before mere beauty! / used to see
hafo
/ see it palmer than ever. now; especially, now
that you smile. So you have had a good time
of there? And our old bachelor brother, Ben,
is married. l didn't believe he'd ever find one
to fit all his queershaped angles, am sure.
GU were kind to write so often, and tell me
everything. But what's the reason you didn't
say one word, in your last letter, about coming ?
l wish you would tell me-"
81 didn't know, certainly, what day would
come and l thought would like to have it to
think of, on the way, what surprise | would
give you all. Where are Charles and jamie? ?"
They have rode off somewhere up the river,
to see to something; / didn't mind what.
They'll be 30 glad to see you. They, both of
them, think just about as much of you as they
do of me-they always have. But you don't
eat thing Cold wster-nothing but cold
wateri / suppose you haven't eaten thing
since you came from Cincinnati. / suppose
you've lived on GOLD water ever since you've
been gone, in your old way. But you see, dear,
Pm going now to see to things "a minute.
Ada--I haven't told you, have /, that Ada is
here? Of course, things go on as well without
me as they would with me-perhaps better.
But Pm going to send her in, minute. Ali
and look here " turning back, laughing, "I
hope l shall be here when husband and James
come. i'll am not, 60 behind the door, there,