Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-02-06

to fancy never entered Mics Sophia's
head-very luckily for her, since, if
it had, her oroihers.in.law would
have seen her 10 Halifax before they
would have lent her that aid and
comfort; and had il entered the head
of anybody else she would have
thought that person very unfeeling
to imagine the possibility of such .
thing in her state of health. Yet she
needed, az ell of US do, something
to love and to forget herself 10. But
she detesied cats, and their neigh
hcrhood made her ill; she was
afraid of dogs; parrot would drive
Der frantic; canary was as bad /;
and as for making pot of q mon.
key, like Mics Brownelps, it was an
insuit TO the human race. The only
thing left her was flock of pigeons
that she fed outside her window as
they came flashing and tumbIing and
curveting through the air and an
immense old Shanghai rooster that
always accompanied her up and
down her stroll on the piazza-prob-
ably for the sake of the crumbs of
the biscuit that she nibbled as she
walked.
Every year, when winter
came on, it seemed more and more
dreary to Miss Sophia as she looked
out. The flying scud of dead leaves;
the blinds taken off the opposite
house md the double windows put
in to stare her Out OF countenance;
the boats hauled up and turned over
along the shore, with it's white and
frozen lip of frosh--there was des-
olation about it ali TO her as If life
had put on its grave-clothes aud the
place were in the Valley of the
Shadow of Death Thank giving
day always seemed mockery !;
Christmas fatigue; and she shiver
ed and achsd before the thought of
New Year, as ii it were only O
prophecy of Of another twelvemonth
of gloom aud depression. She had a
fashion, though, kept from girlhood,
of watching the nsw year in and the
old one out over the ashes Of her
fire aud of going to bed crying IS
the last spark flashed and vanished,
while comparing that ashes TO her
own life, yet feeling that even the
ashes was more blessed; for that had
once had a life-it had once grown
10 the woods, waved in the wind,
shaken off the sweet rains and silver
soows, glistened 10 the sun, been
full of delicious scents and charming
bird sougs. While "a for her-she
had mover had a lover. A pale, thin,
STOPPING woman, growing old and
whitening away, to no end, she was
unhappy as creature can be who
has shelter, FIRE and food.
She was sitting over the embers
on New Years eve after her usual
Responding way, and Susan, her
maid and companion was washing
the dough off her hands from the
batch af bread just set to rise when
there came ring at the door bell
a timij, hesitating little ring, much
like the touch that slight earth
quake gives bell 1t acas an earth
quake in Miss Sophia's life. th.t bell
ringing. a convulsion of Nature.
Who could be pulling the bell at this
hour? 1t was something that had
never happened before in the world
Directly afterward the timid touch
was followed by peal that rang
through every room iu the house
and Susan put her head in tina par
lor doorway as white as clay.
Miss Sophia was equal to the
emergency. She slipped off her
shoes and crept up stairs to get her
revolver. 1t ia true that it had been
loaded for a half score of years
aud no power of hers could have
brought the rusty implement to a
half cock /; but it was Gatliog in
her estimation and coming down
with Susan trembling at her back,
she suddenly threw open the front
door aud presented arms-to vacan-
cy. Not soul was to be seen 10
the clear moonlight. Up and
down, far and wide, az she peered
out and about. no shs dow disturbed
tho serenity Of the night. sWha. 10
the world did it mean? Is the house
going to be haunted Susan p cried
Miss Sophia. and then her eyes fell
on g little bundle at Der feet, little
white bundle, that. as she touched
it with one of those feet, in some
dim fancy as to internal machines
all ut once gave q muffled wall that
might have pierced heart of stone,
and from which she sprang back as
from bursting shell. A baby No
Internal machine could have
wrought more CONSERVATION, more
havoc than that sound did in Miss
Sophia's mind. But, after all she
heroicslly stopped to examine the
article
You'll be taking your death o.
cold Miss = exclaimed Susan, with
her loug-accustomed familiarity; and
she bad the bundle by the fire in
the parlor and the doors shut and
barred 10 another moment.
DO you suppose it is really q ba-
by, Susan asked Miss Sophia, bend
ing over Susan as she sat on the
rug undoing the parcel.
what else should it be, ma'am p
replied Susan, stripping off roll after
roll, as Miss Sophia watched her,
feeling, she knew not why, some
sense of assisting at the mysteries OF
creation, and of Importance at hav.
ing been selected, rather than Miss
BrownsIl. perhaps; while az Susan
opened the last fold and began rub
| bing the little bare thing within her
kind, rough hand, the a.om of a
creature, warmed with the
friction, stretched ont it's dimpled
limbs and smiled 10 her face-a rosy
bIue.eyed cnerub that woke every
tender chord in Susan's being.
Miss Sophia she cried, If you
don't adopt this baby, / SHALL
adopt a baby, Susan I cried Miss
Sophia starting back 10 horror.
Yes ma'sm, adopt baby. This
baby
sBnt Susan began Miss Sophia az
If entirely agreeing with the man
who thought it best to reason with
mule, nobody does such thing