Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1878-09-25
Miss Ashbell.

tOuSlerHdIlOu WAS depicted on tne faces
of the family group assembled to hear it,
when finished reading the letter had Just
received from aunt.
The group consisted of mysef-Mary
eldest daughter of the house and hearth
brown, dark-eyed, tall, and eighteen Helen
not quite as brown, hazel-eyed, almost as
tall, and sixteen; Will, browner, darker
eyed, head shorter, and ten and Carroll
towering above us all, blue-eyed, golden
mustached, 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 as she lived in far-away Illinois,
and was too much occupied with grains and
herds to think of frequent visiting, and we
WE'LL we were too poorly provided with
gold and silver to be able to take long and
expensive journeys. So what little visiting
there had been had been on aunt's side, with
one exception, and then / was the visitor
1t was when | was about fifteen this short
but memorable visit took place. Yielding
to aunt's repeated solicitations-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 heartily, and entertained
right royalty but before week had passed
away had grown so tired of the seeming
boundlessness of everything, and so longed
for the little cottage and Lilliputian garden
where grew my three ose-bushes-one red,
one white, one creamy yellow-that aunt,
seeing the longing in my eyes, said, "Child,
you must 90 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 birthdays
and each time the kindly note which ex-
horted us to Z" be good, industrious, and self
reliant" inclosed check larger or smaller,
according to aunt's gains of the proceeding
year-that aunt being the wealthiest and
most influential member of the Carmody
family.
A few days before our father died he
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. He
was an impractical, dreamy sort of man.
fond of birds and 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 totally unlike
her in most ways, he was great favorite of
aunt's, and when we telegraphed his serious
illness to her she left her vast possessions
without a captain at a moments notice, and
hastened to his side, making her appearance
in a bonnet that Immediately suggested the
prairies, it was so unlimited as to size and
so bare of ornament, and which grotesquely
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
dred dollars aunt gave us on the day of the
funeral--she bade us "good-by" the instant
the ceremonies were over-after our very
deep mourning was paid for, went to the
butcher, grocer and shoemaker,
We were all willing to do, and all did,
whatever we could toward supporting the
household; but dear dear talk about
weeds never saw anything grow like
bills
Carroll, who had an artistic turn of mind,
struggled with it, and |, who had dress
making turn of mind, struggled with that,
and Helen struggled with her books, hoping
to become a teacher in time, and little Win
struggled with somebody else's books for he
went into publishing-house as errand-boy,
poor fellow
Besides the struggles, we had mother on
our minds. A few weeks after we lost our
father we lost our baby sister. A beautiful
child she was, as bright as diamond and
as a fair as pearl, and the pride and dar-
ling of us ALL Already sinking beneath the
blow of her husbands death, when her lit
tie daughter died too, my mothers heart
was nearly broken. From being a sunshiny,
energetic, busy woman, she became listless
and apathetic, sitting in her room day after
day gazing upon the pictures of the loved
ones, or rocking back and forth, her hands
clasped before her, looking with dry eyes
upon vacancy,
Well the exchequer was low enough, and
mother had had one of her very bad spells,
aud lady customer had Just been in and
abused me-yes, abused can use no other
word women do fly in such temper at their
dressmakers-aboutt the fit of her dress, de
claring it to be "utterly ruined" when it
only wanted taking up little on one shoul-
wv "'N iNhehS hb"h nh iiih VI ~ III ilbnNf
when aunts letter fell like bomb-shell into
our very nearly disheartened little camp.
" Dear Folks A friend of mine-an Inglish-
man (aunts language was correct enough, but
at times her spelling was somewhat PECULIAR
who came here pnrposng 10 start in business,
took the fever, fingered Il few months, and died,
leaving, heaven knows why, his only child, a
daughter, who will eventually be not-to-be-
snlhed-at airess To my care. Having been deli
cately reared in the midst Of devotion and ten
derness, this place only suited to bold strong
natures is little too run for her So she desires
at least desire for her-a home in the North,
and wish that home 10 be with you Her maid
will accompany her, At present her affairs are
in a tangle, but hope 10 unravel them in the
course OF few months, and then You will be
recompensed for whatever extra expense she may
cause you. would inclose a check at present
writing, but all my funds are invested in a spec
uation from which expect To reap much profit
DO the best you can until you hear from me
again, when ! will farther unfold my plans in
regard to Miss Ashbell, who, by-the-by, starts
tomorrow AUNT"
No wonder CONSERVATION and dismay were
depicted ON every countenance when |
ceased reading the letter What i'm the