Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-09-26
MISS ASHBELL.

W HSnt ~, Wueu uuiSucu TeauiDG
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, hazel eyed, almost as tall end
sixteen Will browner, darker eyed,
head shorter, and ten and Carol,
towering above us all, blue eyed,
| golden-mnstached, and twenty-ono
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 visit
ing, and we--well, we were too poor
ly 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 memoir
able visit took place. Yielding to
aunt's repeated solicltations-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 roy
ally; but before week had passed
away | had grown so tired of the
seeming boundlessness of everything
and longed so for the little cottage
and Lilliputian garden whore grow
my three rose oushes-one red. one
white and one reamy yellow hat
aunt seeing the longing in my eyes,
said child you must go back aud
back | came long before l was ex-
pected, but my dear father and moth
or assured me not q moment too
soon.
We children had always heard
twice a year from aunt--once collec-
lively at Christmas. and once respec-
lively on our birthdays-and each
time the kindly note exhorted us to
'be good, industrious and self-reliant
inclosed check larger or smaller &C.
cording to aunt's gains of the proceed.
ing year. These notes we had been
taught to answer with many wishes
for the old ladv's welfare, and thanks
for her kindnesses and hopes for a
speedy meeting: IN short, in a man.
ner betting the only neices and
nephews Of the Carmody family
when replying to the friendly epis-
ties of their only auut, to say moth
ing of that aunt being the wealthiess
and most influential member of that
family.
A few days before our father died
he called US together, and said, sMy
children, it isn't at all likely to oc-
cur, but if ever aunt should ask a ia
vor of you, grant it at no matter
what Inconvenience. She has been
my best and dearest friend
Poor father 1 suspect aunt bad
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 drvaminess and his want
of worldly tact, and his being SO 10.
tally unlike her in most ways, he
was a great favorite Of aunt's, and
when we telegraphed his serious i'll
ness to her she left her vast possess :
ions without captain at moments
notice, and FASTENED to his side, max.
ing her appearance in bonnet that
Immediately suggested the prairies,
it was so unlimited as to size and so
bare of ornament, and which grotes.
quely obtruded itselfinto the remem-
brance OF that said 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 q good deal
of money owing, and what remain
ed of the two hundred dollars aunt
gave us on the day of the funeral
| she babe US 'good-by' the instant the
| ceremonies were over-after our very
| cheap mourning was paid for, vert
to the butcher, grocer and shoe
maker.
We were all willing to do, and all
did, whatever we could toward sup.
porting the household but, dear
talk about weeds | never saw any.
thing grow like bills.
Carol, who had an artistic turn
of mind, struggled with it, and L,
who had a dress making turn of
mind, struggled with that, and Hell
en- struggled with her books, hoping
to become teacher in time, and lit
tie Will struggled with somebody
else's books, for he went into a pub.
fishing house as errand-boy-poor
fellow!
Beside the struggles. we had moth
err on our minds. A few weeks af-
ter 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 ne all. Already sinking
beneath the blow of her husbands
death, when her little daughter died,
too, my mothers heart was nearly
broken. From being sunshiny, en-
ergetic, busy woman, she became
listIess and apathetic, sitting in her
room day after day gazing upon the
pictures of the loved ones, or rock
ing back and forth, her hands clasp
ed before her, looking with dry eyes
upon vacancy.
ooh, that she could be made to
weep that she could be reused from
this dreadful speechless gloom into
which she has fallen! was our contin-
usl prayer, for the terrible thought
| came to US often that we should lose
| our mother in q much worse wav
than we had cur father and sister
that her brain would ut last give
way beneath its weight of heavy, de-
spairing thoughts.
Well,th exchequer was low enough
and mother had had one of her very
bad spells and lady customer had
just been in and abused me--yes
L IL. Al