The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1881-07-22
THE Old WOMAN.

III "H WIZ HVWhNs 4rs~w
Ned HungIine sat at the Breakfast "a
Bile and a|sstrsctedly slipped bis coffee.
Ned was considered a great "catch"
among Che girls of Sleepy Hollow ,anot,
that he was either rich or handsome. for
lac was5not, nor was there anything re-
markable about him, except his tidy.
habits and hiswell-known Determination
to take care of his parents, who had
spent their earnings of Lifetime in rear.
ing and educating their many. children,
all of whom, except Ned, were well mar
ried and comfortably settled in estab-
hshmonts Of their own, in the PARKWAY
States,1 where constant application to
business enabled them to live in peace
and plenty. 49, n - =
NedHuntale, the senior, after whom,
the junior Ned had been named ID In
fancy, and the worthy sire Of the seven
Huntlines, was now on his deathbed.
and the wife and son wero the only oeeu->
pants Of the breakfast table, where, in
the years agone, there had been nine
chairs promptly filled at every meal.
do you think father win live the
day out ?" asked Ned, sending up his cup
for the second time and speaklng for the
firsto I'D III T. :.
ITS doubtful, son. There. has been.
a rapid change within q half-dozen
houys.t @ ~
g'he wife buried her face inher hands
and @cpt silently. She was an old
fashioned woman, an exemplary wife,
who had cheerfully borne hen share Of
LIES many burdens through all the
years of her Rlnion. She had been@a
strong woman in her day, too, but her
step was feeble now, and her eyes were
dim and herehands unsteady. II
Don't cry, mother, said Ned, softly.
as he left hiss1ast cup untasted and Went Went
arounGlwhdfe She was sitting. "We've
all gotto take our turn when it comes.
DEATH is only transition. It's but a
question of time till we, too, shall die.
Cheer up, mother. You are to have a
valuable legacy to-day"
My son, know / have q valuable
legacy in you, and l try to be comforted.
Your father is ready and willing to die.
and it won't be many years till 1 shall
join him. But oh, Ned, it's hard What
will become Of me 24s vi ~ NL VIZ
Tears choked her utterance, and Ned
placed his.arm around her tenderly and
drew her head to his shoulder.
81 am yoUl legacy, dearest mother,
and shall prove o support to you that
shall never fail. Mollie will love you,
TOO. Don't worry You shall spend the
balance, of your days ino ease ana con
tentmentand plenty hhmsA Ala o3 eA2tA
'Mollie, did you say Nedi?'Eoa
eyes, mother"
"Not Mollie Hawkins P"|a4Ae'4o@ 500
Yes Mollie Hawkins. We've been
engaged for year, and it is her wish
and mine to be married to-day, so that
father may witness the ceremony"
ooh, Nedl 1t seems bat wicked and
cruel to be thinking about a wedding
day, Waite year, dol" \ s=- b>4s~S
Father and i talked, it.4over while
you were getting breakfast, and lie is
glad to know of our plan, and seconds it
heartily" VI uurel n.dAHsasf
Nee? ?" .Al.TFa "a p F'T'F'S
Because there wasn't anything to
tell, Mollie has always said you didn't
like her, and she begged me to wait till
you have time. to- eyere9megyour preiu-
dices before I'sbould speak to, you about
it, Mollie watched father with me dur
ing the after part ofithe night, and he
had an easy, rational spell toward morn
ing, and he said, ia like to give lMollie
to YOU before | de- as your mothers
legacy 1 hadn't supposed Mollie was,
his to give, but then She wasn't anybody
else's, and l Thought he enjoyed the
fancy The property is all mine, moth
and so I shall lose you, my baby
son. and your father, too, on the same
day cried Mrs. Huatlne throwing
her arms around Ned and crying uncon3l
hollably, .aa b lliGiasqss hqa a5t..o 4
Ned was vexed and annoyed. For his
tue he couldn't see why his mother was
not pleased with the idea Of becoming
the lifetime companion of .Molie Haw-
kiDs, the village dressmaker. Mollie
was an orphan, steady, industrious, self
willed and han sonle. \ Mrs. Huntline
would have been reasonably satisfied
with her daughter-in-law il it had not
been for the prospect of living with her
as dependent upon her bounty
Ned's father, feeling that he was soon
to die, had bequeathed to him the home
stead and retail grocery store as leg
acy, upon the condition that his mother
should have q home and its comforts
during all her declining wears. Mrs.
Huntline was sorely grieved because of
the will, but she was not the Woman to-
protest against her husban's DYING wish.
so she wept over IL in bitter and SECRET
humiliation, and at last resigned herself,
as sllentmartyr, to astate of dependence
upon the good will of herson and Hhora-
soever he might marry, But she had not
dreamed that he would marry Nrolhe
Hawkins, whom, of all the girls of her
acquaintance, she most thoroughly dis
liked. 0@ y afi>5lf. ~
"I do not think I can live happily
with Mollie, Ned. You know have no.
where else to go, and you ought to con-
slider my wishes adittle."4@it e.ia "A
Why, of course you can, if you'llbe
reasonable. You've only to turn every
thing over. Just as it stands, to her, and
you can make yourself comfortable. I'd
be thankful to anybody that would take
everything out of my hands and guaran-
tee noe support, without effort ON my
part, during the remainder OF nv nat
ural life" ab&Ss
"Y You don't know what you are talking
about, Ned. TWAS never the design Of
nature that any person should live in
that wav." a 81 g9T
81 know it wasn't So designed 70,
men, but with women it's altogether
different" a- naeo1g mi 95.1aa
Mollie Hawkins, who had been IN
assiduous attendant upon Ned's father
during his long illness, Appeared on the |
scene at this juncture, as She had done !
ior u fortnight past, to know if She could |
be Of any service during the day. = I
"Mollie," said Ned. rising. Bal" Moth.