The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1878-09-21

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.
90 that she could be made to weepl
that she could be reused from this
dreadful speechless gloom into which
she has fallenp was our continual
prayer, for the terrible thought came to
us often that we should lose our mother
in a much worse way than we had our
father and sister - that her brain would
at last give way beneath its weight of
heavy, despairing thoughts.
Well, the 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,
abused; | can use no other word; wo-
men do fly in such temper at their
dress makers-about the fit of her Dress
declaring it to be "utterly ruined"
when it only wanted taking up little
on one shoulder and letting down an
inch or SO in front; and Wills right
arm was almost disabled from heavy
load of books he had carried long dis
lance the day before chow men can
have the heart to give a mans burden
to child can't see -wht n aunts let
ter fell like a bomb-shell into our very
disheartened little camp.
"DEAR FoLKs,--A friend of mIne-an
fnglishman "(aunfs language was correct
enough, but at times her spelling was some
what PECULIAR who came here purpos-
ing to start in bu mess, took the lever,
fingered few months, and died, leaving,
Heaven knows why, his only child, a
daughter, who will eventually be a MOTTO
be-snHed-at airess, to my care. Having been
delicately reared in the midst of devotion
and tenderness, this place, only suited to
bold, strong natures is a little too ruff for
her. So she desires-at least / desire for
her--a home in the North, and / wish that
home to be with you.
My niece, Mary, who inherits the dis
position of her father to a great degree
and he would have gone out of his way any
day to give even dun brute pleasure
will, am sure, be kind to her. Carol will
love her for her beauty, if for nothing else,
and the rest of you will love her because
she is most lovable. Her maid will accom-
pany her.
"At present her affairs are in tangle, but
[ hope to unravel them in the course of a
few months, and then you will be recon-
pensed for whatever extra expense she may
cause you. | would inclose check at pres
ent writing, but a. my funds are invested
in a speculation from which | expect to
reap much profit. Do the best you can I'M
til you hear from me again, when | will
farther unfold my plans in regard to Miss
Ashbell, who, bye-the bye, starts tomorrow.
"AUNT."
No wonder CONSERVATION and dismay
were depicted on every countenance
when l ceased reading this letter. No
wonder we looked gaspingly at each
other. What in the world were we to
do with this fine young lady in our hum
BILE home?
What could aunt be thinking about i?
True. she didn't know exactly how poor
we were, for we'd been too proud to
acknowledge our extreme poverty in
our few and far-between letters. On
the contrary, | am AFRAID we had led
her to believe that we were in quite
flourishing condition. But for all that,
she ought to have known that we were
not fourishing enough to support a
delicate and beautiful girl, used to
luxury, tenderness, and devotion, for
even few months. Was ever any
thing so malapropos and vexations? Of
course Miss Ashbell would look with
scorn on our seven-roomed dwelling,
with back garden twenty-five by
twenty-five, and courtyard ten by
ten. And suppose-as aunt, with
short-sightedness very unusual to her,
complacently emarked-Carrol should
fall in love with her? The proud Eng
lish girl would no doubt regard him as
fortune-hunter, and invidiously com
pare his frank, impulsive, rather brusque
manners with the repose and awful
dignity of the languid swells of her own
land.
And somebody else might be at
tracted toward her-men are so sus-
ceptible to women's beauty-somebody
who now thought my brown face the
sweetest in the world The very thought
made my heart stop beating.
And the maid? Even If we could
make arrangements to accommodate her
and it seemed utterly impossible for
us to do so-Betty, our faithful servant
for the last fifteen years, would look
upon her in the light of an interloper,
and treat her as such. Betty had been
used to being" monarch of all she sur
veyed." Even in house-cleaning times
those times that try mems souls and
women's soles--she scorned the idea of
an assistant.
"No, ma am, Ill have no strangers
pokin' roun' me. When Pm not able
to do the work for this house, alone,
FL CO."
And mother-dear, shrinking, grief
stricken mother-how would she bear
the advent of this dainty Miss Ashhell?
But we could do nothing to avert the i'm
pending misfortune. Even if we had
thought of disobeying our fathers last
command, and refusing aunt the favor
she had not asked, but, in her usual
decisive way, taken for granted, the
young lady was on her way, and would
be here in day or two.
The news must be Immediately broken
to mother and Betty. l, being the house
keeper, undertoo to face the latter.
l will confess l did it with fear and
trembling. She heard me grimly, never
ceasing to pare the potatoes she held in
her lap, and when / had ended, looked
up with sharp rod of her head, and
said, slowly and emphatically, Betty'll
have to 60 now, sure. She can't stand
no fine young ladies and sassy young
bridesmaids about for nothin'."
Helen went to mother, put her arms