The Red Cloud chief., 1878-10-10
MISS ASuDELL.

MISS ASHBELI.
CONSERVATION was depicted on the
faces II the FANNY group assembled Ia
hear II. when ! finished reading the
letter I had just received from aunt.
The group consisted Of myself
Mary. eldest daughter Of the house aud
hcarth-brown. dark-cycd, iall. and
eighteen Helen, not quit" ~ brown,
hazel eyed. almost as tall, and sixteen
viii, browncr, darkcrcycd, "A head
shorter, and ten and Carroll, towering
above us all. bluc-cycd, fnir-haircd,
gold.mustachcd, and twcnty.onc.
Aunt was. In fact, our great aunt.
sister Of our fathers mother, but the
only aunt, great or little, that We had
ever known. w had met her but two
or three times during our lives. ~ she
lived in far.away Illinois. and was too
much occupied with grains and herds
to think IT frequent visiting, and We
well. we we're too poorly provided with
gold and silver To be- able Ia take long
and expensive journeys. So what little
visiting there had been had been on
aunt's side, with exception, and
then ] was the visitor. II was when I
WAS about fifteen this short hut memo
rable visit took place. Yielding to
aunt's repeated solicitations was her
n~amcsake-l started from home with
the intention Of spending the summer
months on the Illinois farm. ! arrived
there safely. was welcomed heartily,
and was entertained right royalty; but
before u week had passed away ! had
grown M tired Of the seeming bound
lcssncss Of everything, and longcd 80
for the little cottage and Lillipu,ian
garden where grew my three rose bush
es-Onc red. one white. and one u
creamy ycllow-that aunt. seeing the
longing in my eyes, said. Child, YOU
mus 60 back" and back I came long
before ! was expected. but my dear
father and mother assured me not u
moment too soon.
We children had always heard twice
year from aunt-OncC collectively nj
Christmas, and once respectively on
II birthdays and each time the kind
~ note which cxhOrted Us to ''bc good,
industrious, and self. reliant" incloscd
II check larger or smaller according tn
aunt's gains Of the preceding year.
These notes we had been taught to an
N"N' ~ tuNuN NlSlVS IoI tne ON
ady's welfare, and thanks for her kind
nesscs. and hopes for II speedy meeting;
In short, in Il manner beiitting the only
nicccs and ncphews of the Carmody
family when replying to the friendly
cpistlcs OF their only aunt, to say no
thing of that aunt being the wcalthicsi
and most influential member of that
family.
A few days before our father died he
called us together, and said, ''My chill
dren. II isn't AT all likely to occur, but
il your aunt shonid ask u favor of YOU,
grant 1t ut no matter what inconvcni-
rncc. She has been my best and dear.
est friend"
Poor father! ! suspect aunt had often
helped him out of pccuniary circum.
stances. He was IN impractical, dreamy
sort Of u man, fond of birds. poetry and
flowers. aud didn't succeed very wclliu
life. But, in spite Of his drcamincs.
and his want of worldly tact. and his
being so totally unlike her in mos,
ways. he was u great favoriie Of aunts,
and when We telcgraphcd his scriou.
illness to her she left her vast posses.
sions without u captain ut u moment.
~ Wv w lItS W. IlNk
ing her appearance In u bonnet tina,
Immediately suggested the prairies. |,
was so unlimited as to size and so bar,
Of ornament. and which grotesuucl,
obtruded itself into the remembrance OF
that sad time forever after.
Since fathers death things hudn',
been very bright with us. In fact, no,
bright at all;
W. found there was IL good deal Of
money owing. and what remained OF
h 800 aunt gave III ON the day of tn,
funeral SHE bado us good-by the in
slant the ceremonies were oycr-aftc,
our very cheap mourning was paid for
went to the butcher. grocer and shoe
maker.
We were all willing Ia do, and did
whatever VIC could toward supporting
the household; but, dear! dear! tail
about weeds! l never saw anythinf
grow like bills.
Carroll, who had an aristocratic turf
OF mind. struggled with il, and |, VIII,
q a dress-making turn of mind, strug
gled with that, and Helen struggle,
with her books, hoping 70 become
teacher In time, and little Will struy
gled with somebody elsc's hooks, for Il,
went into a publishing house AS crran,
boy-poor fellow.
Besides the struggles, we had mothe
on our minds. A few weeks after W,
lost our father we lost our baby sister
A beautiful child she was, $ bright a
a diamond and rs fair as a pearl, a n
the pride and darling of us ali. Alread,
sinking beneath the blow of her hus
bands death, when her liltle daughtc
died too, my mothers heart was nearl,
broken. From being a sunshiny, ener
getic, busy woman. she became listles
n apathetic, sitting in her room da,
after day gazing upon the pictures q
the loved ones, or rocking back an,
forth, her hands clasped before her
looking with dry eyesEpon
20 that she could " made to wccp
that she could be reused from thi
dreadful, speechless gloom. into whic'
she a fallen!' was our continual pray