Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1876-04-24

sweet voices and baby speech that were
not voices or speech of her own darlings
all this wore on poor Mary Ann like
a constant slow fever Food sickened
her, the blood burned in her veins, her
head throbbed, her feet dragged like
lead yet she did her work, as some i'll
jointed machine might have, slowly and
imperfectly, and told her beads half
through the lingering nights. Slowly
she gathered money to repay Mrs. Kier-
nan; when that was done. began to
hoard again, that she might make
home for her children and bring them
over for her mother was old, Jack was
soon to be married. there would be fresh
interests, other claimants, at the farm;
and this hope was all that kept poor
Mary Ann alive.
By and by she drifted into family
where there was one little girl about the
age of her own Moyna when she parted
with her. To nature less simple. saw
age, one-ideaed, this child would have
been a comfort, for she was bright and
pleasing. But it was very soon observ-
able that whatever else she did, she
grudged the smallest service to Louise.
If she brought her glass of water, she
averted her face and set it down as un-
graciously as was possible; she snapped
at the child whenever she entered the
kitchen; she never by any chance offer
ed her kindness or attention and if
she heard her singing or laughing, she
few to some noisy work or made an er-
rand out of doors to avoid the sounds.
At first the child's mother did not no
tice Mary AIMS abrupt manner to Lou
Use; she had heard her story partially,
and felt deeply for the poor bereaved
woman, so she laid her shortcomings to
the great grief which possessed her, and
had long patience with her moods and
mistakes. But as time went on, she
could not fail to observe her impatience
and crossness toward her own pet and
took a time to demonstrate.
'Mary Ann, / don't like to have you
SO unkind to Louise. ] thought by this
time you would get fond of her; but
you don't seem to like her at all, and it
grieves the little thing. thought your
having children of your own would make
you good to her,"
Mary Ann turned upon her mistress
much as she did upon Judy Kiernan, her
voice broken with hoarse passion, her
great eyes dark with gloomy fire.
"Sure is that the raysOn? Is it
stone l am, to see the dawshy creature
waited on an cuddled an kissed all day
in the mothers arms, an me KNOWN
mine is beyant the say, wild no mother
to spake kind word or hush their cry
in the day long-an' me to love her
too! Do ye think the veins O. the heart
IL run backward ? Not till the life ii
be gone out o me. Is it yours | dhrame
about the long, an do be sobbin' wld
Joy to see thin whln | waken, an thin
curse the black night that stares me in
the face widout sign o the sweet fac
es 4? Is it yours that goes maybe hungry
an thirsty for the mother? Don't see
her full and happy, the house runnin
over wild her things an alive wild her
nonsinse, an the voice of her liver an
always in me ears instead o me own
darlints that's maybe lynn dead at the
time, all unknown to me. in Ballymoreen
churchyard An do ye think I've a
dhrop O. love for her in ne heart No,
not SO much as a midge's wing. An it's
the other end O. love I'm gettin' more
over. | have the love sore an deep for
thin that wants it. But it's loike smoke
in me eyes to see her day afther day,
whin me hearts blood is drainin' dhry
for thin | can't see. No, ma'am, its
best for me to lave ye. | can't, can't
bear it. Maybe I'd do her mischief
some odd time whin the darkness is on
me, an it do be comm oftener an dark
er."
And she put her hand up to her head
with vague look of confusion and pain
that would have told practical eye that
darkness was indeed coming which
would speedily be the shadow of death
if it were not dispersed.
But her own country's beautiful prov
erb, ats always darkest before dawn, "
did not fail poor Mary Ann. She left
her place the next week, and took SER
vice with an old farmer and his wife,
whose only child had died long ago IN
married and in this silent, straitened
household, working all day and sleeping
at night from pure fatigue, Mary Ann
had passed three months. when one calm
October evening she took her pals as
usual and left the house to milk the
cows. The barn stood across the road
from the house. and she stood minute
by the fence to look at the rising moon
that just began as the sun sank behind
the low western hills. TO show her fair
golden disk to those in the east. She al.
mOst.always stopped just there TO send
one long. yearping look toward 'sould