The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1878-09-21
OUR STORY TELLER.
MISS ASHBELL.

Harper Weekly.I
CONSERVATION was depicted on the
face of the family group assembled to
hear it, when finished reading the let
ter had just received from aunt.
The group consisted of myself
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 Carol, towering above us
all, blue-eyed, fair-haired, golden-mus-
tached, and tSenty-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 herbs to
think of frequent visiting, and we
well, 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 on aunt's side,
with one exception, and then | was the
visitor. 1t was when | was about fifteen
this short and memorable visit took
place. Yielding to aunt's repeated
solicitations 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 every thing,
and longed so for the little cottage and
Lilliputian garden where grew my three
rose-bushes = one red, one white, and
one a creamy yellow-that aunt, seeing
the longing in my eyes, said, "Child,
you must go back" and back ] came
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
Christmas, and once respectively on our
birthdays-and each time the kindly
note which exhorted US to "be good, in
dustrious, and seif-reliant," inclosed a
check larger or smaller, according to
aunts 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 manner beftting the only
nieces and nephews of the Carmody
family when replying to the friendly
eplstles of their only aunt, to say moth
ing OF that aunt being the wealthiest
and most influential member of that
family.
A ew days before our father died he
called us together, and said, "My child
rem, it isn't at all likely to occur, but if
cba,,lI e
grant 1t, at no matter what inconven-
fence. She has been my best and dear
est 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 we'll 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 posses
slOns without captain at a moments
notice, and fastened to his side, making
her appearance in a bonnet that i'm
mediately suggested the prairies, it was
so unlimited as to size and SO bare OF
ornament, and which grotesquely OBJ
truded 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 g good deal of
money owing, and what remained of the
two hundred dollars aunt gave us on the
day OF the funeral-she babe us "good-
bye the instant the ceremonies were
oyer-after our very cheap 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, dearl dear! talk
about weeds! / never saw anything
grow like bills.
Carol, who had an artistic turn of
mind, struggled with that, and Helen
struggled with her books, hoping to be-
come teacher in time, and little Will
struggled with somebody else's books,
for ne 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 fair as pearl, and
the pride and darling of us all. Already
sinking beneath the blow of her hus-
bands death, when her little daughter
died too my mothers heart was nearly
broken. From being sunshiny, en-
ergetc, busy woman, she became listless
and apathctio, sitting in her room day