The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-08-04
, "MOTHER'S VACATION. -

"Yes,'' said pretty Maria Ainsworth,
knitting her white brows ,thoughtfuIly,
..two weeks from Monday start for
Hampton with the Rileys, and Julia
goes TO the Mountains with Aunt Rey-
nolds. We shall visitsnntif the first of
August, and then our own guests begin
to ill up this house, every nook and
Granny. So gay as it always is! ..-4
For you-how about motherP"
-.Oh she never goes anywhere. Money
would not tempt her to leave papa and
the boys with only servants; besides,
when Julia and I leave home we con-
trive to turn the house upside-down,
and she arranges it at leisure. Mrs.
Miller You neyeFsEid see family so
capable of supplying work. Fortunately
mamma enjoys care"
Mrs. Miller, the newly-arrived friend,
looks inquiringly at her pretty compan-
ion whose light words were painfully
suggestive
Clear blue eyes smiled into hers, q
pair of beautiful little hands twisting
the rose-yines to and fro were nearly
as soft as the petals they scattered. No
toiling and spinning. did they know as
yet. $40 - ,}<Af2N - sNA \
"You have graduated at school, and
l441lSDOSa hOAb SN.As y ~ AAAO-
Cant it bee'' remarked Mrs.. Miller mus
ingly. 1T seems but day since your
mother and 1 were class and room
mates. After leaving Ipswich we saw
very little of one anotifers Cor Twas the
elder daughter at home, and so much
depends on the oldest girl"
Indeed" laughed Miss Maria, Co
quettishly, "I am likely to prove a ter
rible disappointment if mamma expects
me to set q fine example or to act as
her aide-de-camp. The younger chill
dren declare that am cross if / try to
manage them; my sewing has to be
ripped out and done over by somebody
else, and I positively, hate ,to,entersthe
Kitchen" What is TO become of such a
butter6yP"
II mnst think before 1 decide" said
the lady, with an accent of regret.
Only the night previous in reply to the
same naive confession q young. admirer
had whispered, ."Nest among roses.
Miss Ainsworth; is MT it enough to be
charming?" but Mrs. Niller's tone i'm
Piled no such pleasing faith. y,
Would your mother step to the
door a moment? / wish to ask her a
question if she is not very busy"
"Pll see. / think she is at the ma
chine finishing some ruffies for Julia s
picnic suit. We are to have a grand
expedition tomorrow, and my sister
viii stay behind if seven ruffies are not
complete, No more and no lessr' Ma
ria sprang, good-naturedly away as she
spoke. :, 9,s,No% .cEy.N.,l .,s,.N
( Years OF separation, bridged over by
occasional letters only, had prepared
the friends ofother DAYS for mutual sur
prises. Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Ainsworth
had parted as giriish brides each, with
decided characteristics for time to work
upon. One, sharing the life of an army
officer stationed often at the frontier.
had sacrificed her domestic tastes to
the alternate haste and aimless leisure
which excludes the idea of home. Her
children had been trained with great
difficulty to at least q semblance of the
ideal she kept before them. Mrs. Mil
ler was one of those rare women who
preserve q thoughtful purpose amid adj
verse surroundings Her keen sense OF
Justice made her aware of what rightly
belonged to herself as well as TO others,
and though an unselfish, she was not a
self-immoIating. person. Often during
the eventful years, Mrs. Miller had tried
to shadow forth the image other school
mate, Lucy Evelyn, transformed into
the anxious and careful matron of whom
report told her. 1t was, at least, pleas
ant to find her dearest friend of yore es-
tabljshed in q fine house amid evidences
of taste and luxury. Mrs. AinsworIh's
handsome husband was still an idol as
when she married him and asked OF
destiny no. greater happiness than the
privilege of waiting upon him, This
privilege, life and MIR. Ainsworth &C.
corded. Six children, bright, pretty
and undisciplined, completed the circle
of domestic interest beyond which the
devoted wife and mother never strayed.
"a living ideal, Mrs. Miller, l assure
you, Lucy has proved" remarked the
head of the family as he drew rustic
chair to her side in the warm, moonlii
evening.NN.. You laughed at me for a
sentimentalist when we were young,
but still claim that woman Is most
beautiful when thus merged, as it were,
in the lives of which she is centerF'
"The veritable Robert Ainsworth;
nor will / contend that your truth hides
q fallacy. Lucy was loving. conscien-
tious creature when we were associated
closely. and i am ready to believe any
fact in regard to her later womanhood-
[ only fear that my, coming may add to
t1er cares already 90 oAgreat." SIS a