Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1875-05-21

brown mustache had one or two
threads of silver, but with that cx-
ception he wore no look Of age.
Elihu was we'll but plainly dressed
in suit of gray. He removed his
hat as he drew near the ladies, with
a courteous grace; but he looked in
vain for the warm welcome from the
second Mrs. Holmes and her daughter
Grace that he would have received
from his own cousin had she been
alive.
Mrs. Holmes bowed to him coldly
thor gh civilly; and Grace, angry with
him and with herself for the sudden
collapsing of sundry ambitious hopes,
which she had never confided to any
one but her mother, swept him her
latest dancing-school courtesy, and
affected not to see the hand he held
out.
Elihu colored lightly, and turned
to Sarah, whose large dark eyes were
fixed with look of tender pity upon
his refined and melancholy face.
"You have face that l ought to
know" he said to her gently. "You
are my cousins child, dear Sara! l
hoped she would be here to meet me
when l came home at last"
Sara's heart was already full, and
this reference to her dead mother
caused her tears to overflow.
"Dear Cousin Elihu," said she, tax
ing his hand in both hers, "my moth
er remembered and loved you to the
last day of her life. She would have
been glad indeed to see you here once
more; l am glad, too. All my life
long l have looked forward to your
coming"
sBut you did not expect to see me
return SO poor" said Elihu, signing.
"Poor orarich, it matters little,n re-
piled Sara, feryently. "You are here
at home once more, and that is
enough to make us all rejoice
"Aye," said Elihu, looking from
her beaming countenance to the cold
faces of the rest, 81 should have been
glad to bring gold enough to make
me welcome. But what has happen
ed has happened, and I do not wish
to complain Cousin Joshua, tor my
cousins sake of the old time when
you and l were boys together, sup
pose you will let me stay at the cid
homestead for few days?"
"Eh? Oh, to be sure. Stay and
welcome," stammered the farmer,
who, feeling the eyes of his wife and
his daughter Sara fixed upon him,
was like man between two fires.
SO it was settled, and Sara flew
about like good fairy to prepare
supper for the wanderer, and after
ward, to set in order his room and
bed. At nine o'clock he retired and
then the storm broke forth.
The second Mrs. Holmes inquired
shrilly, if their house was to be turn
ed into 'poor tarm," and made the
abiding-place of every shiftless crea-
ture who had wasted his substance in
riotous living among "those negroes"
only to come, at the last, without
penny in his pocket, to be supported
by those who had the misfortune to
be related to him in a distant way.
Mr.. Holmes said meekly, that ''it
wasn't likely that Elihu would want
to stay long, and that as he had once
redeemed the farm, which was heav-
lly mortgaged, with his own money,
and given deed of the place to his
first wife, he didn't see very we'll how
he could refuse him shelter there if
he claimed it-for a time, at least"
he added nervously, seeing his wife's
eyebrows knitting together in a way
that he had learned to dread.
Grace upheld her mother in all her
denunciations; though Sara thought,
privately, that it would have been
more delicate had she kept silent,
since, as the daughter Of Mrs. Holmes
by former marriage, she could not
be supposed to have any great inter-
est, pecuniary or otherwise, in the
disposition OF the homestead farm.
AS for Ben, like most boys of thir-
teen, he was Oh the side of right
against might, and he did not scruple
to say that, for his part, he hoped
Cousin Elihu would stay there for
ever, and that he was sure, if he had
redeemed the farm, he had a perfect
right to do so. His sister, Sara,
could have kissed him for the answer,
but she kept silence.
The days went on. By every art
that mean and paltry spirit could
invent, Mrs. Holmes, the second,
showed plainly to Elihu how unwel-
come he was beneath her rooftree.-
AS for Grace, she simply ignored
him. And Mr.. Holmes, though he
would gladly have been both grateful
and kind, was so tanned by nightly
curtain lectures, hours long, that he
dared not show the ruined man any
attention, and only looked at him
wistfully, now and then, as if won-
dering when he would be gone.
Elihu's plate, knife and fork were
placed upon the table at every meal,
it is true. He Jared as the rest Jared,
and his room and bed were the best
in the house.
But this was Sara's doing. To her
and to Ben he owed each moment of
happiness which he enjoyed in the
old house. The sister and her young
brother were always glad to be with
him, but the other inmates of the
house looked over and around him,
and even when he ate Of their bread
and drank of their cup, seemed as if
they knew him not. Sara's proud
split blazed up for his sake at a
thousand petty insults and affronts
each day. She wondered privately
to herself, and aloud to Ben, how
Cousin Elihu, with the memory of his
past wealth and grandeur fresh in his
mind, could endure it! Nor was she
surprised when, one pleasant evening
just four weeks after his arrival,
Elihu told her he must go.
81 cannot blame you, SO shamefnlly
have you been treated" she said,
while her heart sank down in her
breast, like a stone sinking into the
depths of the tiny lake OH whose
banks they sat. "But where will you
| 90 No,.:. EI:L,,o INl,c< ,,,:l1 $3.50,