Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-08-31

full over my death bed scenes. You
know people always die at great length,
and very much more picturesauely, on
paper than they do in real life, and I was
a great hand at that sort of thing. I am
very old woman now, and an unexpect-
ed legacy has made IL quite unnecessary
for me to write " fiction for the million -
as we called our weekly paper, so I may
say that much without laying myself
open to the charge of being vainglorious.
Yes, [ was good hand at the pathetic
parts. I often brought the tears to my
own eyes, and my voice quite faltered as
I read aloud to Hetty about pale faces
on white pillows, and wan hands that
clasped those that fain would never let
the go.
Chow clever you are !" she would
say; 81 should never have thought of
that"
Success I had had in certain small
way of my own; success that meant a
due and regular supply of chops and
pudding, and cheap trip to the sea
once every autumn; but this, / felt,
was fame-this was incense--this was
sip out of the Intoxicating cup of
glory!
It was such a help to me having
someone near at hand to take an in
terest in the webs L spun with my busy
brain.
Some while back I tried the landlady's
daughter; but the attempt was failure.
She ate surreptitious sweets while Tread
to her, and made nasty sucking noises
over them. / caught her once, in the
most thrilling part of most thrilling
story, making vulgar signs with her fin
gers to her younger brother through the
chink of the room door. Then l gave
the thing up, convinced that the higher
education of the masses was a hopeless
affair. But it was different, quite differ
ent with Hetty.
And [ grew to love the girl (she was
but eighteen) with all my heart. There
had been black and terrible troubles in
my past life. All loved had been reft
from my hold; worse still, those trusted
in most blindly had proved untrue.
Mine was sad story enough; grief and
disappointment had seemed to wither
me; had made no ties, formed no
friendships in these latter years. But
now, was like an old tree that sudden
ly sprouts out into little fresh green
branches of leaves all about it's hoary
trunk. let Hetty creep into my heart
of hearts and nestle there.
Hetty was an artists model.
''I only sit for the face and head, of
course, she said, with faint flush ris-
ing in her cheek, as she alluded to her
deformed and twisted frame; "it seems
I suit for Saint Cecilias, and that sort of
thing"
$50 l should fancy" I answered,
glancing at the beautiful spiritual face
opposite to me.
"Of course, with mother to keep, it
has been hard work sometimes, and the
sewing for the linen shops is good thing
to have at hand when studio work
chances to be slack. / was getting very
hopeless just when first we came here,
though [ said nothing to mother. l never
do. Do you remember the morning /
passed you sitting under the laburnum
tree in the park? Well, was on my
way to see an artist then"
q knew you were on your way to see
somebody; you looked like business all
over"
eyes, dare say I did. I felt like it.
never made better bargain than did
that day. I was afraid that / should
break out singing as | came along the
streets hOme-my heart was as glad as
the lark over there at Number Ten"
81 thought So. l put in here; "I
heard you singing next morning at your
work"
Patience, [ think we always loved
each other, even before we ever spoke to
each other. fused to peep at you across
the street, and then, the milkwoman told
mother you were the lady who wrote
stories;' so I peeped oftener than ever.
[ think was little frightened of you at
first"
"But not now?"
"Ah, moi"
| Hetty's mother was nearly blind, and
yet it was wonderful how much she man
aged to do in the way of s'settling up .
their shabby little room. 1t was the
very picture of cleanliness and tidiness.
The last tenant had been musician at
one OF the minor theaters, man who
devoted himself to two things in life
his violin and the rearing of mignonette
in the box outside the window, The
sun of prosperity seemed to be beginning
to shine upon him, for when he left,
with much pomp and ceremony, he pre-
sented the painted box to the landlady,
and now, full of sweet-scented greenish
and yellow flowers, it hourished exceed
ingly under Het+y's care.
"Cousin Jack likes the smell of flow
ers like those" she said to me one Sun
day afternoon, as she and I stood togeth.
Ell by the window. "He's coming, is
Jack, this evening, and he and I are 60
ing to church together. %
I am naturally rather a fluent woman,
but there was something in Hetty's face
something in Hetty's voice-that held
me silent, as she spoke of this expected
visitor of hers.
II you have any intuitive perceptions
at all you can scarcely mistake the look
in woman's eyes, the smile on a wo-
mans lips, as she speaks of the man she