The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-08-21
MRS. BLYSTER'S ROMANCE.

MRS. SIMS boarding school was a
high building and it stood on hill.
My room was in its third story and l
had often sat looking out over the city
from its "sightly" windows Gas Peggy,
the maid, called them). The hill was
nearly conical in shape and terraced on
two sides, my side being one of them.
At the foot of the hill ran broad, hand
some street, and on prominent corner
of this street, in plain sight from my
windows, stood a large, rambling old
mansion, about which we girls had
woven many romance. We wondered
who lived there. Ladies and gentle
men promenaded through its pleasant
grounds; carriages rolled up to it's
wide gateway many times every day
professional-looking gentlemen went in
and out of it. What could it bep
One day l found out. There was
great excitement that day in Mrs. Sims
boarding school. had been feeling ill
for some days. My head ached and my
tongue was dry and hot. The Doctor
said at last that l had the scarlet fever
and must be removed at once. "Bet-
ter take her home," he said. "She
isn't fairly sick yet.n ea -s aH.i.
"Home!" groaned Mrs. Sims "D Doc
tor, she lives in India!' ...-. .....
"Good gracious!" said the Doctor,
and he scratched his head thoughtfully.
At last he said: "I have it! Here's
DIR. Dolby's hospital right down here
just the place for her," So was wrap
ped up and driven to "Dr. Dolby's Hos
pital'' which proved to be no other than
the dear, rambling, romantic old house
which, with its wildly overgrown but
delightful shrubbery, had so long been
the object of our speculations.
They put me to bed in a large, quiet
room. The open fire looked wonder
fully pleasant. A quaint, old-fashioned
tea service, with cherubs and gillyfow-
ers and various other homogeneous de-
signs on it in blue, sat appetizingly on
the round table at my bedside. Three
or four easy-chairs were mingled among
the others, and in one of them, after l
was nicely ''tucked up'' and ready to 90
to sleep, l beheld-yawning already
and casting wistful eyes toward her own
white cot near by-my buxom nurse,
Mrs. Blyster, who had been engaged
expressly for me. ~
How fat and good-natured she looked!
And how the white cot creaked when
she finally sought repose!
The next morning | was worse, and
for several days / tossed in delirium
and pain, but by week more the fever
began to abate and Mrs. Blyster said,
reassuringly:
p "You hain't dead yet, miss, and
what's more you hain't a goin' to be-
not with Sarah Blyster to see to VET"
Then good Sarah Blyster gave me a
. motherly kiss on my forehead, fumbled
over my already painfully tucked in bed
clothing in an attempt to express still
more forcibly her affectionate zeal for my
welfare, and sat down with sort of
good-natured grunt at the back win
dow.
l closed my eyes and was just about
falling asleep when L was reused by a
half-suppressed sob.
"What's the matterP'' said, family.
To see happy Mrs. Blyster sobbing and
in tears was too much for me.
"She's dead, miss; the woman It
lives in the little house back they're
a hevin' her funeral this blessed min
ute"
GA friend of yours?" 1 was i'm
pressed almost to tears myself by Sarah
Blyster's manner.
"Law, mol" said that lady, starting
up and assuming her own radiant coun-
tenance again. "And what I'm a
whinin' around here aud givin' you the
blues for, Pm sure don't know. Cheer
up, Sarah Blyster, cheer up!''
smiled family and soon dropped off
into the nap which Mrs. Blyster's sob
had interrupted.
A day or two after Mrs. Blyster was
"snivelin'," as she expressed it, again
by the back window. l was stronger
and better now, and asked, cheerfully
"Not another funeral, hope, Mrs.
Blyster?"
"No," said that worthy lady, still I'M
able to attain her wonted serenity; ''but
there's a boy-her boy, s'pose-a-
workin' much inside, and he-and he
he's a shakin' out her clo'es and a-foldin'
'em up, and it does seem IS if some o.
the female relatives oughter be a-helpin'
of i'm"
Surely it did. There was consider
able pathos in the way of stating it, in
spite of the ' female relatives, " which