Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1871-08-30

lu MS great uauuss
| did not speak, but the little group in
stinctivey opened 70 let me pass up the stairs.
had a vague consciousness that they said
something as J turned into little cross.hall
which led to Annie's room but without at
tending to their words opened her door.
The room was empty the bed stripped Of
clothes the windows wide open. sank into
a chair, aud looked from side to side was
too late, after all That was why none Of
the servants dared speak to me. A little
slipper Of Annio's lay on the floor by the bed
| took il up and turned it over and over in
my hands Then became conscious that my
Aunt Ann was speaking to me,--was calling
me by name, earnestly, repeatedly, with ter
ror in her voice.
My dear, dear child Helen, Helen,
Helen, She is not dead. She is in my room.
Come and see for yourself
| had seen my Aunt Ann every day for
nineteen years,--I never knew her until that
moment
followed her slowly through rooms aud
passage.ways till she reached her own cham
bor The door was open the room was very
dark On the threshold she paused and
whispered, You must not be frightened dar-
ling. She will not know you She has not
known any one for six hours"
knelt down by the bed In few mo-
ments my eyes became used to the darkness,
and | saw Aunie's face lying motonless on
the farther edge Of the bed, turned to the
wall 1t was perfectly white except the lips,
which were almost black, and were swollen
and crusted over with the fearful fever. Her
beautiful hair fell in tangled masses, and half
covered her face.
She seems to be lying very uncomfort.
ably said Aunt Ann, but the doctor ordered
that She should not be disturbed in any way
looked at my aunt's face and listened to
her voice in bewildermeut. The whole world
had for years called her, and with apparent
justice, hard and unsympathizing woman. -
No human being had ever seen really free
unconstrained smile on her face, or heard from
her lips an impulsiye word When it was
known that the genial rolicking open-heart-
ed Henry Ware was to marry her, everybody
shuddered. As years went on, everybody
who sat by Henry Wares 6reside, and was
kinded and made welcome by his undiminished
and uncouquerabe cheeriness, felt at the same
time chilled aud paralyzed by the courteous
unexceptonabe dignity of Mrs. Ware Ever
|, having the freedom of daughter in theii
house, aud loving my uncle hardly less thar
loved my father, had never once supposed il
/ possible that anybody could love Aunt Ann
or that she would have permitted it, | al
ways felt little terror when | saw Ami,
/ kiss her, or my uncle put his arm around her
| My own loving, caressing, overfiowng mother
had taught me by example, type Of low
which knew no life without expression. An
very well | knew that that sweet mother 0
mine, whom the whole town loved, and VIII
herself loved the whole world, seemed Away
turned into stone by the simple presence o
Aunt Ann
And now Aunt Ann was sitting on the foo
by my side, clinging to my hand, resting m,
head on her bosom, and as felt Instant,
aud instinctiyely, revealing in her every tone
look, word, such intensity and passionatenes
Of feeling as ! had never in my whole lifi
seen before | saw then that she had Away
held me side by side with her own child il
her heart, aud that she knew the rare quail
ty Of the love had for Annie.
" ought not to have let you come here,
she said, more as if speaking to herself tha
to me " they, too, have but one"
F" But, Aunt Ann, you could not have KEEP
me out" | whispered,
" Yes knew that, my child" she replied
" but no one else would know it,"
From that moment there was between m
Aunt Ann aud me subtle bond which pal
took of all the holiest mysteries Of low
) There were both motherhood and the love
= lovers in my love for Annie. Annie's mothe
felt them, and was willing to have her ow
motherhood added to aud ministered to b
them. From that moment | believe not eve
her husband seemed SO near to her in her re
ation with her child as did
, will not write out the record of the mex
; two weeks. They seemed, as they passed tw
3 thousand years; and yet, in looking back o
. them, they seem only like Que terrible breatl
less night My aunt aud alone did all thu
J was done for Annie. There were whole day
2 and whole nights during which she talked il
J eessantly, sometimes with such subtle sen
) blance OF her own sweet self that we coul
hardly believe she did not know what sh
r said sometimes with such wild rawlings tbI
} we shook in terror and could not look at he
nor at each other There were other day
and nights through which she lay in a sleel
Q which seemed no more like real sleep than ii
e shril voice Of her rawlings had seemed lik
6 her real voice. These were most fearful
: ALL Through all these days and nights tw
men with white faces and folded arms wall
c ed up and down in the rooms below,
+: crouched on the thresholds of cur doors, lis
J cning for sign or word from US. One WI
E Annio's father, and the other was her love
George Ware He was her second cousi
, fifteen years older than she, and had love
c her since the day she was one year old, VIII,
y at the ceremony of her christening he,
proud shy boy of sixteen, had been allow'
d to carry her upstairs with her sweet nan
o resting fresh and new on her little dewy for
y head All, seldom does such love spring al
II grow and blaze on this earth as had warm
c the very air around Annie from the nome
b Of her birth. George Ware was man
J, raro strength, as this love showed and wi
y Just such fathfulness as his faithfulness
a Annie he had loved and cared for his mothC
h who had been for twenty years wido
IT They lived on the outskirts Of the town, in
small house almost buried in the heart of
Il pine wood The wood was threaded in I
directions by miles Of narrow paths viii
| shone in the shaded sunlight as if they we
F; satin.floored. For nineteen years it had be
o George Wares joy to roam these paths wi
,. his cousin Annie first, the baby whom
,, drew in her wicker wagon next, the wa
ward little child who walked with stumblil