The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1873-09-12

eat Welsh raDDlt; OI things outside
that younger people did-the girls at
the ware-rooms, and their friends. OF
Peekis cheap concerts and the public
library books to read on holidays and
Sundays; of ten-cent tripe down the
harbor, TO see the surf on Nantasket
Beach; of the brilliant streets and shops;
of the public garden, the flowers and
the pond, the boats and the bridge; of
the great bronze Washington reared up
on his horse against the evening sky;
Common; of the balloons and fire.
works on the "Fourth of Julies.u l
do not think she did it TO entice her; /
do not think it occurred to her that she
was putting anything into Bells head;
but when Bel all at once declared that
she meant to go to Boston herself and
seek her fortune-do machine work,
or something-Aunt Bin felt a sud-
den thankful delight, and got n glimpse
of o possible cheerness coming to herself
that she had never dreamed of. If it
was pleasant to tell over these scraps of
her small, husbanded enjoyments to Bel,
what would it be to have her there, TO
share, and make, and enlarge them
To bring young girls home sometimes
for n chat, or even n cup of tea; to fetch
books from the library, and read them
aloud of winters evening, while she
stitched on by gas-light with her glasses
on her little homely old nose? The
little nose radiated the concentrated de-
light of the whole diminutive, withered
face; the intense gleam of the small,
pale blue eyes that bent themselves to-
gether to a short focus above it, and the
eagerness of the thin, shrunken lips
that pursed themselves upward with an
expression that was keener than q
smile. Bel laughed, and said she was
''all puckered up into one little admira-
tion pOintw
"I'll take you right in with me, and
look after you, if you do' said Miss
Bree. "And two together we can house
keep real cOmfortabler
1t was as if a new wave of youth from
the far-retreated tide had swept back
upon the beach sands of her life, to
spend its sparkles and its music upon
the sad, dry level. Every little pebble
of circumstance took new color under its
touch. Something belonging to her
was still young, strong, hopeful. Bel
would be n brightness in the whole old
place. The middle-aged music-mistress
would like her-perhaps even give her
some fragmentary instruction in the
clippings of her time Mrs. Phimminy,
the landlady-old Mr.. Sparrow, the
matchmaker, who went up and down
stairs to and from his nest under the
eaves-the milliner in the second-noor
back-why, she would make friends
with them like the suushinei There
would be singing in the hOusei The
middle-aged music-mistress did not
sing-only played. And this would be
her doing-her bringing; it would be
third-hOor-front's glory! The pert girls
Mt the ware-rOOm would not snub the
old maid any more, and shove her into
the meanest corner. She had got q
piece Of girlhood of her own again. Let
Them just see Bel Bree-that was ALL
Yet she did set before Bel, cOnsci-
entiOusly, the difference between the
free country home and the close,
bricked-up city.
''There isn't any outdoors there, you
know, round the houses; no home out
doors; you have to be dressed Up
and go somewhere when you go out.
| The streets are splendid, and there's lots
to look at; but they're only made to get
through, you know, after ALL"
They were sitting, while she spoke, on
| n fiat stone, out under the old elm-trees
] DGlNGel lllt lolt-N Aih dAA ii4t bailli.
| Up above was n great blue depth into
which you could see through the delicate
stems and flickering leaves of young far
] tips of branches. One little white cloud
was shining down upon them as il
/ floated in the sun. Away off swelled
billowy tops of hills, one behind an
other, making you feel how big the
world was. That was what Bel had
been saying.
"Iou feel so rs long rs you stay here, y
replied Miss Bin, ''as if there was room
and chance for everything over the hills
and far away But in the city it al
crowds up together; it gets just as closC
as it can, and everybody is after the
same chances. 'Tain't all Fourth-of-
July; you mustn't think it. Milk's tel
cents a quart, and jest as blue! Dom
you 'spOse you're better off up here
after all? Do you think Mrs. BreC
could get along without you, now?"
Bel replied most irrelevantly. Sh,
sat watching the fowls scratching arOunC
the barn-door.
"How different rooster scratche.
from henn said she. ale just give:
one kick-Out smart-and picks uI
what he's after; she makes ever so many
little scrabbles, and half the time con
cludes it amt therel What was it yOl
were saying? About mother? Oh, sh,
don't want me, The trouble is, Aun
/, Bin, we two don't want each other, an,
never did" She picked upa straw, an,
bent il back and forth, absently, int,
! little bits, until il broke. Her lip
J curled tremulously, and her bright eye
: were sad.
Miss Bin knew it perfectly wei
! I I,rrsf fnl hFnf lnn M
have pretended that she did, for all tn
world.
go, tut!' she said. ''You get aloni
we'll enough. You feel we'll enough
You like one another full as well a
i could be expected, only you amt con
; stituted similar, that's all. She's grea
= for turning of, and going ahead, an
! she amt got much patience. Sucl
> folks never has. You can't be smaT
, and easy-going too. 'Tain't possible
She's right up-an'-a-comin', and sh
} expects every body else to be. But yo
like her, Bel; you know you do. 70
) Amt goin' away for that. / won't hav
2 il that you are"
; al like her-yes;" said Bel, slowly
ar know she's smart. / mean to lik
: her. do it on purpose. But j don
T love her, with can't help it, you SEE
: feel as if 1 ought to; 1 want to hav
j my heart go out to her; but it keep
r coming back again. / could be happ
} with you, Aunt Bin, in your up-staiI
room, with the blue milk out in tn
/ window-sill. There'd be room enOug
l for us; but this whole farm isn't CON
/ Portable for ma and mew
ri After that, Miss Bin only said tina
l she would speak to Kellup; meanin
= her brother, Caleb Bree.
e Caleb Bree was just the sort of ma
: that by divine compensation general