The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1881-08-13

sion on her face, and thought maybe
she was homcsick and told her to go in
and cut some carpet rags, and sew 'em
together, and would you believe il, she
up and refused.
"No !" she said, al cannot cut any
carpet rags. hate them!'
never saw her so excited before.
"a fine temper you have" was all
the answer ] made her, but never felt
so insulted in all my life.
For week or two l. didn't see much
Of her; she was either out with John,
"sketching," as she called it, dabbling
away at some bits Of paste board with q
lead pencil, or up in her room, where !
never went. She came down, singing
away, with alarge package In her hand,
and soon John came up with the ponies,
and they drove off to town together,
laughing like two children. Ihopc none
Of the neighbors noticed them. Any.
way, they never saw him conduct him.
self in that way with me.
When they came home she was all
tired out, and they had a big roll Of stuff
they dumped down in the entry
'It's something for you, Janet" she
said, laughing hysteTical like. "I,'s
carpet-rags."
! unrolled it, and there were twenty
yards Of bright ingram carpet
"Myra," said |, "this is wicked cx-
travagance. for I knew her money was
all paid out.
"But it isn't" she said, laughing ;
al earned il myself by drawing and
painting those bits of sketches. / sold
them all, and can sell all | can do.-
That was my way Of cutting carpet
rags
Well, We put the carpet down, and
it aid look pretty-though | didn't say
so. II isn't my way to spoil anybody
with iattery, and saw Johns wife was
getting the upper hand too fast. The
neighbors were beginning to notice her,
and that foolish old minister, when his
wife came back, had been over there ;
and she led the singing in church, and
pretended she had got religion, and all
the time she never scrubbed the floor, or
washed a dish, or put her hand to the
churn.
"John can afford TO keep hired help, "
she said to me one day, "and I'm not
very strong, and my mother died Of con-
sumption" Then she began to cry like
a baby, and John came in and looked
at me as il il was my doing.
! must say she could succeed in doing
all sorts Of useless things-raising flow
ers in every nook and corner, making
pets Of all the animals, and painting, or
playing on the organ. She was real or
namental, and ] supposed some folks
thought she was pretty. John did for
one. don't know that she made me
much work, either. She did her own
washing as long as John would let her
and kept her room neat enough, though
il was mostly Uttered up with flowers
and birds and her sketches, and at first
she sung from morning till night, and
she did have real lovely voice, I'll al
low that, but after awhile she didn't sing
and didn't talk much, and then John
began taking her meals up to her. The
first time ! saw him getting tray ready,
I said:
"It's good thing you were brought
up to be handy, John, seeing you've got
an invalid wife,
He didn't say anything then, but 4
few days after he came to me and said:
Janet, get girl as soon as you can,
and let Aunt Betsy come over and stay
with Myra; she is nervous and low spir-
tied, and needs company"
We'll, ! suppose you've guessed the
upshot Of II all; little daughter was
born to John and il seemed to me that
miracle was worked in the house.
Perhaps ! had never loved Johns wife
she was so different in her ways from
me-but when heard that baby cry
felt thrilled to my very soul, and / just
threw my work apron over my head and
cried for the first time in years.
Myra didn't get strong, and the days
went on and still she didn't get up, and
felt as il it was my duty to go and tell
her that she mustn't favor herself that
way, that she couldn't lie abed and let
strangers take care Of her child, and
that she'd never get strong till she got
out, but made up my mind 90 speak in
gentle sort Of way. had been think
ing il over and about concluded to let
Myra live her own way and not try to
make her over, especially since John
seemed so well satisfied with her, and
went up stairs and opened the door soft
ly and stepped inside. John was stand
ing at one window looking out at the
sunset-it was all red and gold, and the
room was in a fame; he turned as
came in, and the tears were rolling down
his checks. Inever saw John cry before
since he was grown man.
"what is it1" ] whispered, going up
close to him.
He made motion with the back Of
his head towards the bed. I went over
there. Aunt Betsy was in a rocker by
the side Of il reading the Bible. Myra
was looking at the sunset, then at her
baby's sleeping face. I'm not dull to
see things, and I saw there what made
my heart turn cold-it was the valley OF
the shadow Of death!
That all happened these years ago.
There is simple rustic cross up in the
graveyard with "Myra" carved on il,
and little Myra and 60 up there every
Sunday and carry flowers to decorate il,
and the dear child sits in my lap and
puts her blessed little arms about my
neck and whispers: "Auntie, talk about
my mamma in heaven" and I'D tell how
patient and gentle she was, and how she
sung and played. and how she shall do