Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1869-07-17

. over a pile OF papers on the table.
! Well she knew those bills she had
. pored over them dozens of times.
Ehe housekeeping, papa"
Il know that" he ans Wered, tart
I ly; but l tell you one thing, we
. must curtail our expenses, or shan't
he able to keep roof over your
f heads soon. Why here's twenty
pounds for pack of children who
ought to live on bread and milk
! Then Ruth, the drudge OF the fami-
I u, was allowed to gather up the un-
paid bills and carry them Oft.
/ Rue do you mean To accept Mr..
/ Urauhart ?''
Not before he asks me, Fred.n
But when he does >"
I You shall stop behind the cur
| tam and listen, my inquisitiye 7us-
/ in"
"Rue, it's wrong of You t. dirt
with him If you don't mean t., have
him in the end
Why, Fred, I've been flirting
with you all my life, but 1 don't
mean ever TO marry you, even if you
ask me, dear old fellow"
She lan Y he'd, but the tears came to
: her eyes. What was one To say to
such II girl, laughing one minute,
+ crying the next? When he thou eht
/ of her he grew provoked with her
| Could she feel at all like other peo-
pie? Could she even feel sorrow, or
would not the sunshine break
through her tears?
on have no heart, Rue
! "SOne, Fred. Now you have got
/ that foolish idea into your head that
! because L laugh great deal, and see
! the ridiculous in so many things,
cannot ever be serious -
1t would be hard to find subject
/ To make you think seriously upon, -
/ he answered, shaking his head.
''Do you think so indeed /?
/ Then you are unjust to me. You
/ think L have no heart"
And had she-was she indeed so
! foolish :, All, Fred cousin Fred /,
She was a girl who had no sort OF
/ shyness about her, who was IA full
of fun and frolic as q summers day
/ is of sunshine; who might be met
/ running about the house after the
children, singing and laughing with
! them or who held sage Lord Bur-
/ leigh councils as to how the cold leg
OF mutton might be cut up and hash
/ ell to the best advantage; who
/ laughed sometimes until the tears
came into her eyes at her own queer
/ observations, and who ten minutes
/ later, WAS to be found dreaming in L
morbid fit of the blues out in the
starlight. The jolliest, kindest
young soul that ever lived, whom
| the children loved and the servants
/ worshipped. Other girls may have
/ done more in their lives, but few SO
/ many little kindly offices for others.
! Where she got her spirits from was =
mystery to every one, for never was
/ there more lamentable Castle
/ Rackrent of place than the Hermi-
ta@e, her fathers place. \ sickly
/ invalid mother, who seldom left her
I room, who left Il house aiid nursery
+ full OF children in the charge of Il
/ girl of seventeen. y poor b"ok-worm
Of father, who lived apart from the
/ familyin 4 sort of 4 world of hts own,
who only came upon the scene when
. therewas a bill to be paid, or a hip
ping administered to one of the chill
. dren.
/ tlIIs last chapter of Euth's life To
write about, except that l Was III
need of some little reinem brance OF
| her, for she and her pleasant ways
have fallen out Of my life. OF what
f avail was all the love that my little
! Rue had gotten to herself when the
time came that Gods hand was
! stretched out TO gather the sweet
spring flowers and bear them away &c
His own eternal garden, away from
/ thefteVils to come? ?' Whether cousin
/ Fred loved her, whether the chill
dren and their father could spare
her, whether Hetty began to find out
that life at the Hermitage with
out kind, patient Ruth would become
simply drudgery? No human love
could avail. She died
The children stole ia and kissed
her white face, and then began tC
cry. Cousin Fred, away with his
regiment in far country, felt as II
he didn't want ever to see the Hermi-
tage again because Rue was gone out
of it.
The years go over, and children
voices sound, laughing and singing
through the rooms, and in the garden
But Ruth never joins in the play
or peeps in to whisper Hush !'and
a caution that poor mamma has 8
headache Some one plays and
sings in the library of feveningswh
she used to sing, but her young voice
is singing in the ce lestial songs
among the choirs of angels. Ruth's
canaey, q frail little bird with poor
worthless song sings all day in 1T
cage in the drawing room, but IN,
strong heart of its mistress, Is still
forever and forever