Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1866-06-13

Ill Y3A III s-3gis- / E.

"Thank God it Is SIX O'Clock at last
t masous are returning from work with
their empty dinner cans; Myra will soon
be home"
Home 4 small. low-roofcd, uncarpeted
comlorticss room its only furniture con-
sisring Of a rckety cot beastead a crack
cd, freless stove. deal table, few
trunks, and. by the solitary window, an
old rocking chair, in which recined 4
woman evidently in the last stage Of con
sumption Sra could not have been forty
Sears Of are, but though her eyes were
uunaruFaliy bright, and her cheeks glow
cd with the hectic spots Of fever, her hair
was already stresked with silver, her form
premature!y bent, shruuk and emaeisred.
She had been knitting, but her ,acking
cough prevented continuous ezeriion Of
an7 kind and now the g!itteriug mesi.
work Of beads and silk slipped unheeded
from the transparent fingers, On the
table was paper box containing some
completed hair nets, their bright hucs
contrasting strangely with the squaior CT
surrounding Objects. The b!u.'erCus
March wind moaned in the cold chimney,
ratified the badly fitting winGow sasnes,
and penetrated the broken pane, each
fresh gust shaking down portion of dry
putty that had evidently been applied to
he cracked glass 10y some GuskiIifu hand.
in The street, the pedestrians qpjckened
thelr steps anxious to reach shelter from
a e cutting wind. Evening drew on
pee aud still the Invalid Sat alone in
the cold, cherries room she ca!le home
she who had been reared amid AL the lax.
uries thar wealth could purchase. This
was her story III. motherIess child Of
wealthy, purse proud, London merchant,
she cGpeG with one Of his clerks. Her
father not only refused his forgiveness.
d:>inherited her; and, previous to his
death, which occurred about Ave years
subsequent to his daughters i'll starred
marriage, bequeathed all his property to
public charities Mr.. and Mrs. Melville
struggled or in London for some years,
aud then with !heir Ou!y child and daush-
ter, came to New York 20 improve their
condition, and might, perhaps, have done
so if he had not fallen into bad company,
taken to drink, and, IN fit Of despair at
having lost good situation, enlisted in
one of the first volunteer regiments raised
Tor the war. Mrs Melville YVES good
pianist. but she had no friends and could
not affold to advertise 1t last she ob-
tanned few music pupils, and for some
time, with the additional help granted by
the Soldiers Relief Fund, was enabled 10
support herself aud daug hter, and TO send
the latter to a public school Melviile's
three years term Of service had almost
expired when he fell wounded into the
euemy'8 hands, and no tidings of his ul-
innate fate ever reached his all cted fam
lly. The Relief Fgnd was discontinued
poor Mrs. Melville redoubled her excl
tons. but she was delicate and could not
bear hardships and exposure, took vio-
lent cold that brought on rapid copsunp-
ton, and now there she lay, heartsick,
hopeless in that miserable room, and in a
.Jrelgn country, dying.
Myra Melville was now sixteen when
her mother fell sick she left school, and
Tor time they had tried to maintain
themselves by making hair nets for the