The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1873-09-04
HESTER's PICTURE.
BY EBEN E. REXFORD.

B1 f. hEAfOhDs
Testers picture hung over the mantel
in the plain little sitting-room, and chal-
lenged admiration from every beholder.
1t was a landscape; in the distance. great
mountains lifted up their snowy peaks to
a warm and hazy sky. At the noun
tain's feet stretched a valley through
which river ran, foaming and dancing
against the rocky shores, until the valley
spread itself out into a wide and level
meadow, and through this meadow, over
which the sunshine lay, bright and beau
tiful, the river flowed in a placid, tran
quill way, past willows leaning on the
banks, to dip their slender branches 10
the water. Visitors always saw this pic
ture the minute they entered the little
sitting-room. 1t seemed to impress per-
sons with a sense of its beauty before
they examined it closely. There was
something so natural, SO real about it,
that it hardly seemed picture, but a
$ glimpse of mountain, meadow and river
seen through an open window.
There was pretty little story connect
ed with the picture, which made it more
interesting to those who knew about it.
An old mana sort of peddler-had stop
ped at Hester's one day, and asked for
something to eat, saying that he felt sick
and faint. Hester gave him some food,
and seeing how pale he was, insisted on
his lying down and trying to rest himself
before he went GU. He laid down, and it
was yearly month before he left his
bed. All through his sickness Hester
nursed him faithfully and attended to his
many wants as if he had been her father.
The old man was wonderfully grateful
for her kindness, and when he went away
gave her this picture, to prove his graft
tude. How he came by it, was never
known. That he understood something
of its value was evident, for he told Hes
ter, as he gave it to her, that if occasion
ever demanded, she could dispose of it in
the city at a good price.
But Hester never once thought of part
ing with it. She had never enjoyed the
influence of beautiful things in her plain,
little country home, and this picture was
to her like a revelation from some new
world of beauty. She would sit for hours
and study it, and always she found some
thing to admire that she had not seen be-
fore. And, like all beautiful things, it
acted as means OF refinement, and help
ed to develop her strong natural taste for
the beautiful all about her.
OF course, Will agreed with her fully.
Will was not exactly Hester's lover in the
country sense of the word, because be
had never spoken out regarding his
Intentions but the neighbors all infer
red, from the regularity with which he
visited her, that he did intend to ''speak
out" some time, and they thought they
could tell pretty near what his "inten-
tions were. Though there had never
been any verbal understanding between |
them on the matter of marriage, think |
both Will and Hester understood eoch |
other we'll enough. Young people are
quite apt to come to an understanding
with each other, without putting it in
words.
One day VIII came to Hester with
great news. He had been offered posi-
ton in large exporting house in South
America. The salary was something un-
usual for those days, and if he accepted
the position, what he would earn in two
or three years would be enough to start
him in business. in a modest way.
Hester found it hard to think ofhaving
him go so far away and for so long a
time, but was willing to trust to his judy
ment. IF he thought it was for the best
she would not say anything to keep him
back. 6
And WI. went.
1t was very lonesome for Hester after
he was gone. She found herself counting
the months over, sometimes, that must
elapse before his return. Time seemed to
move at snails pace, just because she
wanted it to hurry.
The end ofthe second year after Wills
departure found Hester and her mother
in the city. A great change-and sud-
den one-had come into their lives. A
mortgage about which they had known
nothing, had fallen due, and the owner of
it, a hard, grasping, meroiless man, had
turned them out of house and home, with
nothing but their hands between them
and absolute want. Hester had tried to
get living in the little village by sew
ing; but, as in most small, country places,
very little sewing was done outside tie
families, and at last she had to give up
the attempt to live in that way. Then !
she had concluded to try the city. At
first, affairs went on smoothly. She had
succeeded in getting plenty of work to do
and at fair wages. Then her mother,
never very strong, had fallen sick, and
demanded a good deal of time and care,
and the drain upon her slender purse was
frightful to think of, because so little was
coming into it.
Hester worked on, resolutely. She was
not one of these young women who give
up easily She felt that she mast work.
Her mother must not suffer, if she did.
Late into the nights she sat before her
table and stitched away as if her life de-
pended upon it. And when she thought