Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-01-02
FADING FOOTPRINTS.
Or, the Lowly Lives of Long Ago

AA'oS VI A"hS hSO.
She put up her lip, baby-wise, t.
cry, Aunt Lydia did. They all pitieG
her. She was alone in this world
only for cousins, and nieces, anG
nephews, and such kindred-nons
that came very near to her.
And would you believe it? Every
time that Lydia Cummings had one
of her poorly spells, her mind went
right back to the twilight-time, ii
which she stood in her blooming
twenties at the meadow gate with hel
lover, John Long-a great while ago
that was. When she had said for nc
mans love could she leave her lonely
old mother, John had impetuously
and Indignantly sketched Lydia Cum
mings an ugly old maid, friendless
poor. not overly loved, and sheltered
by the strong and true affection of nc
husbands watchful care. Then, with
life all before her, strong, and vigor.
GUS, and hopeful, the mans words
seemed selfish and cruel, and she
turned her head away and smiled and
looked up into the tops OF the haw-
thorns, and needed them no more than
she did the sleepy twitter OF the young
birds nested among the tangled
boughs SO securely.
But the picture John Long drew
was now almost truth. She was
often sick; she had no real home OF
her own; she felt that no one loved
her; that frequently she was bur.
den; and many time she pressed
her poor old hands tightly against her
face as ii to shut out the reality.
But this day, Amt Lydia, as we
..ailaa abe daar Sanl ~aa aavarad s,sr
on the lounge, in warm corner, suf-
fering from rheumatism, in second
cousin Sally's house. Now second.
cousin Sally did not feel that second
cousin Lydia was any trouble at all ;
she liked to have her about her Ways
of managing the turbulent little folks
were wonderful-she had the very
knack of Knowing what to say and
do, and she could assuage storm the
easiest of any woman Sally had ever
seen. If Tom made fist, and let
Jerry get the benefit of it, and Jerry
brislled up, and vowed he'd stand up
for his rights, after the manner OF
children of larger growth, then came
Lydia, with smiling face, and never
sign of wrinkle between her eyes,
or at the corners of her mouth, and
she said something CHEEKY and pretty,
and in less than minute, Tom would
be trying to trade his string for Jer'
ry's arrow, and likely calling him Jer-
emiar, in fall, the same as the preacher
did the day he baptized them both,
down at the school house by the cross
roads. And Jerry would invite Tom.
my to warm his hands in his breeches.
pockets, cause they were the 'nestiest.
Sally could appreciate the ministra-
tons of woman like second cousin
Lydia, SO Lydia did really not have
cause and reason to put up her lip
baby.wise, at any time, at all, at all.
But You all know that we women do
cry sometimes-we feel so badly, that
it cries itself ; we imagine that we are
lonely, that we have trouble, tina,
such trials no other woman ever did
have, and then some one, mother, or
husband, or husbands mother, or one
of the grown boys or petulant daugh'
tiers, is sure to say something tina,
cuts to the very heart, and while il
bleeds, we cry out in very tolerable
degree of anguish. Perhaps at any
other time we might have made more
| allowance the words would have
had no sting at alive wouldn': have
cared what he or she said, we knew
they were hasty and flashed like
POWDER and we knew, and had sale
so thousands of times, that no kinde
heart ever beat, none more loving
none truer
| Aunt Lydia lay and looked at tn'
figures on the wall paper back of thu
lounge. Taken this way, six OF tn,
flowers formed a circle; taken thi
way, six of them made a half-circle
from that crack to that line, the flow
ers formed diamonds-taken this way
4 rectangle; and so, pentagon so
a hexagon; and this way, they fel
into blocks, like a nine-patch quilt
This reminded her of the first quill
she ever made, and alone with no on
to guess what thoughts came to tina
mussy, little, tucked-up, loange-pil
low, with her tired head perched nj
on it, she did ,cish she could look a
that wonderful quilt. 1t had beef
laid away IN the north end of he
cedar chest for long time. Sh
had not looked at it since the day sec
ond cousin Sally was at Wilson's. an,
their baby tumbled oyer in spasn
of a worm fit, and she, Sally, pumped
it into warm water and then poulticet
1t with pounded horseradish leaves
and it opened its eyes and smiled, ant
said, 'goo-goo = before she came home
Sally was never at her Wits end
like the fussy sort Of the average fe
male. She knew a remedy, or sub
stitute for one, as quickly as did tn,
next woman. Sally had her own no
tons, but where was the person VIII,
hadn't? She, second-cousin, woult
rise at the dead.honr of midnight, L
relieve any one in pain of body, o
distress of mind. Didn't she run Owe
to Miller's that night their east chin
nov tnr>l> Go ouI <ba hlo1a INC