Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-09-10

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Laura turned quickly from the glass
where she stood arranging her hair.
"What's that forp" she said sharply.
"Well," said Katie, al think per-
haps you care more for II than do. /
don't care for society any way, you
know, and the pictures and books and
authors ! want 10 see, will wait. My
turn may come some day"
go well; if you don't care 10 CO."
Laura said eagerly, 81 shall be very
glad TO have it, for 1 do want TO 90 aw-
fully. I'll get a blue silk ! saw yester-
day at MasOn's, lovely shade, and
won't have Miss Steel makeit; I'll take IL
to New York, and have it made stylish"
and so, selhshly full of her own pleas
ure, she accepted, without even thank
you, Katie's hard self-denial.
Katie felt q sharp pang, but she had
not expected gratitude in Laura. The
worst was to tell mamma, and get her
consent, for she did not wish Laura's
| selfishness to be humored. Papa posi-
lively objected, but Katie pleaded SO
earnestly, that finding her really set up
on it, he gave unwilling consent.
The dress was bought. Laura's trunk
was packed, and in high spirits, with all
| the remainder Of Katie's hundred dol
lars in her purse, she started for New
York, while Katie buried herself deeper
than ever in the books that were to be
consolation as well as society to her.
"Where's KatieP" was Aunt Ruth's
first question, when Laura entered her
door,
"She preferred to stay at home. She
doesn't care for much but books, you
know" said Laura hastily.
"But when ! sent the money l think
she might have humOred an old auntie
enough to make her visit" said queer
Aunt Ruth, who persisted in knowing a
reason.
"Well, she bought some books, 1 be-
lieve, and some Clothes" said Laura,
carelessly, looking with eager delight on
| the elegant furnishings of her aunt's
house, thinking how happy she should
be always to live in such a beautiful
place, and rejoicing in the fancy of how
! well her blue silk would look here. To
Katie's self-denial, and her aunt's mis-
understanding of it, she gave not a
thought.
No more was said about Katie. Aunt
Ruth made up her mind that she had
deliberately preferred to spend her mon
ey for books and clothes, and not to
come and see her, and hard feeling
against her was planted in her heart
from that hour.
With Laura she was delighted, for
that young lady dressed to suit herself,
and, being besides loaded with presents
by her aunt, and treated to society and
/ haI ,Tf n turigl, Cd
and consequently was amiable and ad-
parently as lovely as one could wish.
Much as she enjoyed her aunt's house,
there was one place she did not like to
visit, and that was the library. 1t was a
large room, somber with dark woods
and rich bindings, with a cheerful open
fire, plenty of comfortable reading
chairs, and shelves upon shelves of
choice and valuable books.
Somehow she could never come into
this room without a vision of Katie
reveling in its delights, and in spite of
the crust of selfishness over her heart,
il proved a most uncomfortable visitor
there. Thoughts of her unselfish sister
would rise before her, and for hours she
could not forget them. Katie sitting
alone in their dingy room longing for
pictures and choice books, and all beau
tiful things, as she well knew she did /;
Katie cheerfully giving up all the antici-
pated delights of her visit that she might
make display on one evening; Katie
losing the affection of her aunt on her
account; herself loaded with presents,
and Katie's poor little money in her
purse.
Do what she would she could not
drive these thoughts away. She got q
better view of the real Laura than she
ever had before, and the picture did not
please her.
When the long expected evening ar
rived, and Laura put on the coveted silk
dress, made in style and enriched by
some old lace of her aunt's; and when
at last that doting lady clasped on her
neck and wrists lovely set of pearls to
complete the costume; the thought of
Katie and her sacrifice, and her own sell
fishness, spoiled all the pleasure which
had cost so much.
This was made worse during the even
ing by her introduction to people whose
names stood high in the literary world,
and to see whom would be to Katie the
greatest happiness she could conceive.
LduId Gup buLutu W blJlGI WulbIb III
her hand.
The next day she astonished her aunt
by bursting into tears of shame and re-
pentance, and telling the whole story
of her complainings, and Katie's gen.
erosity, and begging her to let her go
home and ask Katie to forgive her.
But Aunt Ruth was one of those per-
sons-not few, alas who never change
their mind. She was pleased with
Laura, and she would not believe her
account of herself.
"Say what you will, Laura" she
said firmly, &" shall never believe that
Katie really wanted to see me-never.' u
Now Laura began to see that the evil
she had done was even greater than she
had feared. She begged harder to GO
home, and at last Aunt Ruth gave
consent, though she declared it was only
TO please her, and not on Katie's ac-
count.
Now little reader, of course you ex-
pect nothing less than that the old aunt
should seek out Katie, and overwhelm
her with kindness, and she would be
paid a thousand times for her self
denial.
But in real life things don't always
turn out so nicely errors and mistakes
don't always correct themselves. Aunt
Ruth never forgave Katie, never again
invited her to her house.
Every year she invited Laura alone,
1t was hard for Katie, but after all she
had her reward. Laura fought heI
selfshness constantly, and became g
loving, thoughtful sister.