Daily Kennebec journal., 1873-07-17
i.tle ha,lai B sas..sMSiirs a.sSiir led ta way to

ia ch4ery little housewife led the way t.
The diaink room, stopping q moment o.
fhe wav, to take apeep into the nursery
whore a baby girl, with her mother
= bright eurls and dirnpled cheeks, lay il
h rosy Inconsistencies in her cradle nest
Y aFast asleep was the whispered re
nort And the three sat down to tho pleas
ant tea table in an atmosphere Of quiet
satisfaction. ia which one of their number
had been for long time a stranger.
That was very early sunbeam that
'front.' through the snowy folds of Mrs.
blossoms bust chamber curtains lighting
IN as with a golden haze. every corner OF
he room where Esther Brandt had been
sleepinp away the fatigue of her journey,
the fatigue of years, she almost believed,
rs in that state of delicious resttulness that
follows good nights rest, she lay with
her tired hand idly folded upon the white
counterpane, breathing in sweet drapghtS
of the pure morning air that crept through
the half opened window, and listening
with half closed eyes to the song OF roo-
in In the locust tree outside. whlie 100
blessed in the present to dread the future.
she turned with the half-pitying, halt-cur-
ious interest OF a stranger, the seldom re-
viewed pages of her own life history, lin
gering with thrill of tender delight over
the earlier days of childhood, the maiden 5
scarce graver life, with its round OF pleas
ant. simple home duties. and pleasures,
and its shalfunderstood. half ackhoWl-
edged inner life radiant with the promise
of loves ROSY dawning, promise world,
less, and as time had proved, deiu,ive and
vain as
!, .Why. Willie Emory blossom called
her hostess warning warning voice be-
meath the window, Lyon naughty child :,
Didn'u you know that this is Decoration
Day. aud must have every one ot these
valley lilies and siaffys to make wreathr~
III for the poor soldiers graves
The worn look came back to t'u listen
er's face as she sadly repeated. half nm
consciously the words that had summon
cd her tothis saddest OF .jubilees
i, ."And We shall retHrH, every one, unto
his possession and We shall return every
one, into his family
e MY possession Is a lot III the Dnrylng
ground, and my family are its tenants,
and she glanced involuntarilr towards the
window, where spray of swrr. scented
locust blooms had crept in beneath the
sash. 81 wonder if the locust tree that
planted at the head of poor papa's grave
is alive yet, and as if moved by some
sudden impulse, she arose and began hur
Iiedly dressing.
/ ''lt is early yet,h she Thought, as she
braided the thick. dark tresses, her girl
hoods pride, land can 60 all through
the woods without meeting any one -
In the hall below she encountered the
active little mistress of the establishment,
armed with broom and brush. her cheek
all aglow with exercise and the fresh
morning air, and not the least abashed al
being caught in her early working cos
iame WHICH was, to say the least, dctfaed-
II picturesque.
"Where are You going 50 early she
asked at sight OF Esther's hat and shawl.
You won't find anybody up, I'm afraid"
I'm only going to take. "a walk up 10
the .Beeehes. | long for A look at the
dear old place. once more, aud | know
where to iind plenty of wild flowers for
the decoration ceremonies 10 dav.n
Mrs. Blossom nodded appreciatiyely.
She well understood the feeling that made
Esther Brandt long for a sight 81 her child
hoods home, and a ramblc through the
fair domain that should have been her
own TO this day Itwas perfectly natural,
but was il wise to make lhc present sad,
der still by thus bringing it Into contrast
with the past.
1t was this question that occupied the
little woman $ mind, as She industriousIy
d,,sted and arranged her newly swept
tooms, question that, somehow. she
saonld never tell how, suggested another
with VIII Emory in the Foreground. and