Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1880-11-02
isCELLANEoU S.
AUNTY'S STORY.

.Sk UNITY, tell ue a renl, true story, won't
S you, please?" said little N ina, as she
climbed into my lap as / sat by the freight
In the stiffness that eams between the going
down of the sun aud the lighting of the
lamps.
eyes, Nina, every bit true. Auntie don't
feel in a mood to tell anything else tonight.
will tell you just about myself. You see
when your grandfather came up hereto live
there wern't nearly as many folks here as
there are now. In SOM families there were
a great many children, but there were a few
families, and they were ~all.poor and lived u
long way apart. Ono schoolhouse had to
answer Tor a very large district, aud SOME of
the scholars had to go two or three miles to
school and carry their dinners. Your grand.
father lived very near the center of the dis
triet, SO that your father and uncles aud nv
self could 20 home to dinner. Some times
We used to tease our mother TO let US take
our dinner. so that We could stay and play
With the children at Eoon, but she always
said No" Once in a while she would let
US go home with the children that lived a
long way frsm school aud stay ever night
and mako a visit, and then their mothers
would put our dinner in with theirs the next
day, und we could stay through the day. We
thought that a great treat.
"Oae day, the summer | was nine years
old, my mother told me l had been such a
good girl to take care of tho children while
she was away with a sick sister. | might 90
home with AIRS. Narsh's children and stay
all night. 1 could hardly get through my
lessons that day. | was so full of tho ~antici.
pated visit. and staying with 90 many of the
children the next day. for l know my din
ner would be put up with theirs had a
happy tune that night playing in the old
older mill, hunting eggs in the barn and
jumping from the pasture into the .all dark
ferns that grew all around there. 10 the
morning | helped feed the chickens, and
turkeys, aud gosiinga, and drive the COWS to
the pasture; and then the cid horse was har-
messed to go to school. l thought it was very
pice and grand to ride to school, and wished
| lived so far shat I had to rids every morn
ing. But my best time was to Come. Al tho
forenoon l kept thinking Of the play I was
to have, and just rs soon as the school was
out called out-"Girls, | ara going to stay
with you to-day,' snd without waiting even
to cat my dlsaer [ ran cut to the playground,
L was So eager not to lss0 a minute. l fe.-
got all about my littls brothers till stopping
10 talk with one Of the girls, l felt some
thing pull my dress and heard the pitiful
VsIce OF a littls four ysar-eid Harry sayiag {:
"Pisass sissy, do &c home with nae 2"
[ was irritated and answered sharply:
"'I shan't go along with the bsys.' Then
seeing his lips quivsr. and tho tears in his
syes, l triad to explain it to him how it was,
and get him to run on with his brothers who
were waiting for Kim. But he s1ly began
to CRY, and when I tarnsd to go away from
him. he caught hold Of my dress to hold me
back. Then, children, I did something that
[ don't knew as ] ever did before, and know
/ ~ q n III -
my little brother.
81 loved my brothers better than all the
play in the world and VIXEN the little band
let go my dress aud he tarnsd sobbiug away,
| forgot all about staying at noon and every
thing else only sceiug him happy again ; and
running after him I wiped the tears fren his
face asd kissing him over and over tsId him
how sorry / wns. Before VIC were half way
home he had forgotten all about it, aud per.
haps l should never have thought of it again =.
or been So sure that 7 never struck one of nv
brothers afterwards, if it Land't been for
something that happened soon after.
"ln a few weeks we children were all
taken sick with the whoopiDg cough. Harry
was always a feebiO child, and 10 less than
Tour weeks my father called ne up ono night
and told me he was dying When I knelt
beside him Ee didn't know ME, but kept
moving MS hands. Two or three times l
heard him say. Please, sister, go home with
me- Then the blue eyes shut and INV father
told me be was dead. Oh. how l cried when
came to realize what that meat: that nv
iIs'le brother was never to speak to ne agaio
he had gone home where I couldn't 90 with
him if l wanted to; but I never though,
what his lsst words meant till the next day,
when ono of my schoolmates came and VIC
went in to look at him. After 1 had taken
the clsth of hi. face and we had stood look,
ing at 1t tor a few minutes, she said:
Jennie, don't you wish you hadn't struck
him that day when he wanted you to e.
home from school with him 2
81 did go hems with him" I said.
81 know it but if 1 was you I should
wish l hadn't struck him. 1 can see just
how he looked when he let 60 your drssl
and started without you"
II could see it all then. I knew What
his words mean. when he was dying and
asked me to go home with him. In the last
moment of his life he was living over again
what l had SO nearly forgotten. and what
would have given worlds (if 1 had thsm) tC
have felt that be bad forgotten.
."My mother had bsen feeble for a long
time. and little girl, as 1 was, L had had the
most care of him, and I can't tell you hsN
1 loved him. 1 covered up his face and