Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1881-11-17

and the imPloring voice went on: "OI
don't let them, you won't, will you
Hexyt They've taken away so many
things. Leave me my little light standf
Yes, dear, yes, dear, said the sister
soothingly, while Matte, discounted
and repentant, echoed her assurances
wouldn't reb you of your table fol
the world. Pray don't suppose so for {
minute. was only asking from curios
lty. Don't feel hadly-please dont!'
But still the pitiful pleading continued
though in lower key: Don't, don't.
TIL the elder woman plucked her sleeve
and whispered:
You'd better come away. She am
rightly IN her senses, poor creetur. and
don't know what she says"-and Matte
glad to escape from a scene which was
becoming painful, willingly followed &c
farther room, which proved to be a
loft, whence presently the old woman's
voice was heard demanding: Now
whatever can have taken that wheel
see 1t just the ther year-that time that
Jehiels folks was here, guess; it was
twelve year, is it2-well, twas here
then I'm most sure, but I don't seem
able to lay my hand on it now" Hester.
meanwhile, less absorbed in special in
terest than her friend, fingered with the
sisters, the older and feebler of the two
stiu lowering over her property, as
though she feared it might yet be
snatched from her by fraud or violence.
Is she ill.," whispered Hester, when
Qf loat fhn
soothed into comparative quiet ard per-
suaded to sit down in the rocking
chair.
"No, not worse than she often is.
It's just the excitement. Nothing wor-
ries her like the idea of losing the fur
nitur'. Twas that upset her in the
first place, you know" and Hexy "
gave troubled sigh.
That? You mean"
"Oh, al the talk about breaking us
up and selling off the things, and send
ing us to the poor-house. They never
did 1t, but the idea was enough to break
Harriet all down. She had kept up
heart till then. She was master.hand
for doing and encouraging, and when /
got way down she would always kind Of
pull me up and make me take hopeful
view as well as she could. AS long as
we could live on in the room we had
been used to always, and have our own
things about us, and have just work
enough to keep us goiR', she was salts
fed and so was !. Twas home-that
was what Harriet always said; and we
both thought heap of tive vas to-
gether, too, and of course that counted
for good deal"
Where was this home of yours?"
asked Hester. She had seated herself.
and her gentle voice and sympathetic
eyes tempted the speaker on.
" 1t was down to the North End. Ali
son street it used to be called, but
they've cut away and changed every
thing. and there amt no such street
now"
1.-The North End of Boston, do you
mean ?"
" Yes, the North End. We're Boston
born, and so was all our folks. 1t used
to be real nice street when l was a lit
tie girl. | can recollect it some; there
was ever so many big houses, and rich
people lived in them. Ny mother took
IN sewing then, and Harriet and me
helped, though we WAS pretty little to
do much, but work was pieL6y, ana We
got on well. Then times began to
change, and the rich people all moved
away and poor people moved in, and
one by one we lost all orr customers.
Most OF them had gone TO great way
off, where it was too far for them to send,
and-they kind Of forgot us, suppose.
II xuoct1if Nr. tio1, .Dot,,eaI Ctsl1
came hard on Harriet and me. Mother
was dead then, there wasn't no one left
but us two. Sewing was the only thing
we knew how to do, and at last there
was hardly any sewing to be had"
"Couldn't you haze moved too, and
got a little nearer to your customers ?"
THAT was just what folks told rs.
But we didn't seem to see our way clear
to do 1t. We was attached to our room
for one thing Harriet thought heap
of that room. We had lived there al
ways, you see. Some folks don't mind
moving, but Harriet always said she
couldn't understand what they were
made of. Everything stood just where
it did when we was little things growing
up with our mother, and we sort OF
chung to the spot. Then, moving costs
money, and it was all uncertain how we
should get along after we moved. The
folks we used to work for got kind OF
scattered, and we didn't know any Of
the new-fashioned kinds of sewing. All
our work was hand work. If there was
anything Harriet could not abide it was
a machine. She always said the man who
invented them hadn't got any poor
woman-folks belongin' to him, that she
was sure.
= 1t was Very hard for you.
Yes, twas. It got so bad toward
the end that for more three months we
didn't have any work at all, not single
stitch. Mis- Chandler, that was q
Shrieve-did you ever know her, she's
beautiful lady ?-she had sort of KEEP in
with us always, but she'd gone upto the
mountings that summer, and there
wasn't nobody else that wanted anythin'
done. We'd always counted good deal
on Mis- Characteristic was real kind to
us always-and when she went away we
didn't know which way to turn. don't
know how We should have got along at
all if it hadn't been for Mis- Ware. Do
you know her? She's another real
beautiful lady. She was keepin' house
that time for old Mr.. Ames, up ON Bea-
con hill, and she'd taken charge of a
District for a spell, and so she came
acquainted with Harriet and me, She
used to bring MS things most every week.
No, can't think how we should have
done without Mis- Ware"
"The Lord sent her, that's Just the
long and short of it." proceeded Hexy,
her voice choking little. "You see, I
fell sick, and Harriet she got all wore
out taking care OF me, and we got out of
everything, and at last the overseer of
the poor come, and he Judged 'twan't no
use our trying to keep along any fur
Tier. We must sell of what we'd got,
he said, and just go into the almshouse
with the town poor and be supported. /
was settin' up by that time, so I see
him as well as Harriet. He didn't mean
TO be unkind, l guess, but he said it
kind Of hard. / suppose he couldn't re-
alize what ones feelings was, and he
didn't make it sound no easier than it
was. After he had gone away Harriet
turned kind of wild. She couldn't say a
word hut walked up and down the room
whispering to herself and wringing her
hands | cried till was all tired out,
then went to sleep; when l woke up
she was gone,
.. Gone where ?"
:" didn't know any more than you do
now. was too weak to sit up long,
and / couldn't stir to find her. 1t
seemed rs if the end of everything had
nt,Fna [ r,isfr11sta,1 the ord that NIGHT