The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1869-05-27

girl tripped away to attend to tn,
duties o. the Kitchen. Her pretty
fashiouably made dresses had ncve
been unpacked. Her dainty gloves
hats, aud laccs were buried in tht
depths Of a Saratoga trunk. Elei
adopted the custom of the country
and went about in a calico dress,
blanket shawl, aud wooden hood.
The older boys we're out of door
most Of the time, attending to smal
droye.of cattlc'that roamcd at lsrg,
over the harmless prairie. The hous,
was so badly coutriyed for work Of
comfort, the poor girl was sorely pu
to it to know how to exist at all
The room was destitute Of cupboard.
or closets great cracks ventilated th,
side walls, aud let in daugcrou,
draughts and currents of air; tn,
roof leaked, the chimney sulked, ol
utterly refused tn draw.
Mrs. ORoouey, in spite Of hol
proud position us an Independent
lloosier's wife, did condcsccnd occa.
sioually to do days washing for the
/ Buels not so much for Ellcn's pay
as for her pleasant friendly ways, aud
because she had offered to teach her
shock headed boy to read.
Mail-day. which camc scmi-occa
siocally, with its shower ofletiers aud
periodicals from the great world, al.
ways caused immense excitement at
the lonely Egyptian farm house
Now aud then there arrived a missiyc
! which Ellen read alone by her self,
and then laid away with bunch of
dried flowers. 1t was noticeable for
whole day thereafter Chat her lcct
trippod about as if Keeping time to
some delicious measure beating at
her heart.
Later in the year the terrible prdi
rio winds brought storms aud whirl-
ing drifts of snow. One morning El-
len woke with little spikolots Of ice
formed by her breath upon the pill
low; aud heard the poor uuhoused
cattle moaning about the door. At
this time she wrote as follows to a
friend in New York
1--WE had the Egyptian plague OF
mud, and now We are suffering from
the bitter cold, AS | look at the vast,
white heaying sea that surrounds us,
| sometimes fancy myself in the Po
lar regions, with Dr.. Kano. The
walls Of our frail castle are draped
with the oldest kind of tapestry
woo!en bed blankets, hung up to stop
the wind from the cracks. Tho boys
aud | take turns Keeping the fire go
ing all night, else VIC should turn in
to statues before morning. Instead
of promenading on Broadway, or ia
king an airing in the Park, | wrap
my head aud shoulders in a shawl
bury myVpersou in one of fathers
old coats aud pair of mems boots
and go with the boys to break the ice
in the brook Cor branch aGGnrdinn
to noosier dialecO for the poor cat
tic to drink. Then, together. we give
them their breakfast of cOru fodder
"Tho only music [ practice this
winter is the music of pots and pans
now consider myself a good, plain
cook ia HcraH At night we
gathc: about the lamp; aud | help
Fred with his Algebra, aud teach
Mark and Arthur the rudimcnts Of
French. | am often terribly weary /;
but | remember what the Bible says
about "youug ravens that perish for
lack of meat"
"My old, pleasant life with you at
hcme begins to seem like Il dream. |
can tell you, who know all my weak
points, how terribly blue get some.
times. | try to bottle up my rebel
lious feelings for poor mothers sake;
but, if those who praise me, as you
say people do, for being brvve, could
only sec the wrong side OF my hero-
ism, their admiration would speedily
evaporate,
"Tell me all about the fashions
when you write. What are peplums
aud chiguons ?"
Almost two years had sped away
since that wet, dismal evening when
Ellen took leave Of her city home
She was still the good angel of the
Egyptian farm house for Mrs. Buel
continued feeble and spiritloss, and
the burdens of life rested upon her
shoulders. If anything, Ellen was a
gentler, kinder, and perhaps little
more quiet than of old, The pros
poets Of the Buel family were bright
enlng. The father had secured a
good situation for Fred in Cincinnati
aud the way seemed opening for the
removal of the entire family to that
pleasant Western city in less than a
year. Ellen ought to have been very
glad. but somehow her heart was i'll
at ease. The little pile of letters be-
side the withcrcd nosegay il. her pref
ty satin-wood tox had not increased
for three months passed.
One evening, just at dusk, in the
hazy Indian summer weather, when
the larger boys were of shooting prai.
rio chickens, Ellen sat milking her
favorite COW, Brindlc Bess, hehind
the corn stack. A great yellow moon
was beginning to gain little power
over the wide plain.
"Ilere, Arthur" said she, hearing
a step near her. take this pail to the
house"
A hand was stretched forth but it
was not Arthur's hand, and the smi-
ling, bearded face of Charley Morton
was revealed to her gaze.
"Ohl Charley" she cried, little
thrown of her guard, show glad l am
you have come at last.'
will not say positively but am
afraid Charley committed the impro.
priety Of putting his arms around Eli