The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-10-12
MISS ASIIBELI.

CONSERVATION was depicted on the faces
of the family group assembled To hear it.
when finished reading the letter had
Just received from aunt
The group consisted of myself Mary,
eldest daughter of the house and hearth
brown. dark eyed. tall. and eighteen; Helen.
not quite as brown, hazeleycd, almost As
tall and sixteen: VIII, brpwner. darker
towering above us all, blue eyed, fair haired,
golden nusiached, and twenty one
Aunt was. in fact, our great aunt. sister
of our fathers mother, but the only aunt.
great or little, that we had ever known
We had met her but two or three times
during our lives, rs she lived in PARKWAY
Illinois, and was too much occupied with
grams and herds To think OF frequent visit
ing. and we-well, We were too poorly pro-
vided with gold and silver to be able to
take long and expensive Journeys. Sowhat
little visiting there had been. had been on
aunt's side, with one exception. aud then !
was the visitor. II was when | was about
fifteen this short but memorable visit took
place. Ieldin. to aunt's repeated solicit
tatjons-I was her namesake-I started
from home with the intention Of spending
the summer months ON the Illinois farm.
| arrived there safely, was welcomed heart
lily, and entertained right royalty; but be-
fore a week had passed away had grown
so tired of the seeming boundlessuess of
every thing, and longed so for the little cot
tage and Liiliputian garden, where grew
my three rose bushcs-oue red, one white
and one creamy yellow-that aunt, see
ing the longing in my eyes, said. Child,
you must go back" and back ! came long
before | was expected, but my dear father
and mother assured me not moment too
soon.
We children had always heard twice
year from aunt-once collectively at Christ
mas. and once respectively on our birth
days-and each time the kindly note which
exhorted us to = be good, industrious, and
self-reliant, uclosed check larger or
smaller, according to aunt's gains of the
preceding year. These notes we had been
taught to answer with many wishes for the
old lady's welfare, and thanks for her kind
nesses, and hopes for speedy meeting; in
short, in a manner beftting the only nieces
ard nephews of the Carmody family when
replying 10 the friendly epistlcs OF their
only aunt, IL say nothing Of that aunt be-
Ja =,
Der of that family.
\ few days before our father died, lie
called us together, and said, My children.
it isn't at all likely to occur. but if ever
aunt should ask favor Of you. grant it, at
no matter what Inconvenience. She has
been my best and dearest friend"
Poor father? | suspect aunt had often
helped him out of pecuniary difficulties.
lie was an impractical dreamy sort of man,
fond of birds aud poetry and flowers, and
didn't succeed very well in life. But, in
spite of his dreaminess and his want OF
worldly tact, and his being so tally unlike
her in most ways, he was a great favortc
Of aunt's, and when we telegraphed his
serious illness to her she left her vast pos
sessions without a captain at a moments
notice. and FASTENED to his side, making
her appearance in bonnet that immedi-
ately suggested the prairies. il was so uu-
limited as 10 size and SO bare of ornament,
which gro,esquely obtruded itself into the
remembrance of that sad time forever after
Since fathers death things hadn't been
very bright with us. In fact, they hadn't
been bright at all.
We found there was good deal OF money
owing, and what remained of the two hun
died dollars aunt gave us on the day of the
funeral-she babe us goodbye = the in
very cheap mourning was paid for, went to
the butcher, and shoe maker.
We were all willing to do. aud all did
whatever we could toward supporting the
household; but, dear. dear talk about
weeds. never saw any thing grow like
bills
Carol, who had an artistic turn of mind
struggled with it; aud |, who had a dress
making turn of mind, struggled with that:
and Helen struggled with her books, hop
ing to become teacher i'll time; and little
w Ill struggled with somebody else books.
for he went into i publishing house As an
cIrand boy-poor fellow.
Besides the struggles, We had mother on
our minds. y few weeks after we lost our
father we lost our baby sister. \ beauti-
full child she WAS rs bright as diamond
and as fair rs pearl and the pride aud darl-
ing OF us all. Already sinking beneath
the blow of her husbands death. when her
little daughter died too my mothers heart
was nearly broken. From being sun
shiny, energetic, busy woman, she became
listless aud apathetic, singing in her room
day after day gazing upon the pictures of
the loved ones, or rocking back and forth,
dry eyes upon vacancy.
80 that she could he made 10 wcep, that
she could be reused from this dreadful
speechless gloom into which she has fallen
was our continual prayer for the terrible
thought came to us often that We should
lose our mother III Il much worse way than
we had our father and sister-that her BRAN
would at last give way beneath its weight
of heavy, despairing thoughts.
Well, the exchequer was low enough: and
mother had had one Of hsr very bad spells;
and lady customer had just been in and
abused me-yes, 4jHsed.. can use no other
word; women do fly in such temper at their
dress rnakers-about the fit OF her dress.
declaring it to be utterly ruined when
it only wanted taking up a little or on.
shoulder and letting down an inch or so III
front; and Wills right arm was almost dis
abled from heavy load of books lie had
carried long distance the day before how
men can have the heart To give n mans
burden to child can't see when aunt's
letter fell like a bomb she'll into our very
nearly disheariened little camp.