Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1882-02-16

be married to FRANCIS Evans at some
time or other; that was her aptitude APP
parently.
But while we were in the house we
determined to do our whole duty to
grandmamma, forgetting the years of
neglect and oblivion, and returning to
her what we might for the remem-
brance OF us at last. We never in
truded on her in the solemn hours
when she sat before her glass if we
could avoid it, except once, that re-
member; we always spoke kindly OF
Amelia Gresham, and treated her like
princess on her rare and brief visits.
The only time that we varid our man.
ners toward Amelia was when she once
tossed her head and gave grandmamma
some shockingly rude speech on one
Of these occasions, and started to run
from the room with her fingers in her
ears, when Anne, whose position as the
married one--or at least, you know, we
felt rs if the were as good rs the married
one-gave her more authority than the
rest of us, laid her hand timidly upon
Amelia's arm and said, in a half-whis-
per: at isn't possible you are so cruel
as to wound the old heart that loves
you SOP And Amelia, who had per-
haps never been reproved in all her
life before, turned on Anne with gaze
of astonishment, and then broke out
laughing ooh, you little nonnette"
she laughed. 'If you are going to be
80 careful Of peoples feelings, you had
better begin by consipering mine, bored
to death with the thousand-and. first
hearing Of this sort of stuff"
"Bored to DEATH" said George,
"when it's like story"
Grandmamma was looking at Amelia
l saw tear suddenly start in her hard,
glittering eye.
"Ah, don't mind her." I whispered,
stealing my hand over and taking hers,
for sat on q low seat near her; "she's
only jesting."
And grandmamma looked in the fire
then, without making any reply but
took my hand between her own; she
showed her age in her hands, and al
ways wore fine meshed mitts to hide
their shriveled backs, Just as she bound
her throat up with lace. But Amelie
saw the little action, which l am sure
meant nothing, and burst out in one of
her RACES, which grandmamma, for all
her majesty, had trembled under be-
fore, because it is always the one that
loves that is at a disadvantage the other
is in the saddle.
''Oh, yesl" she cried. "Honeying
round her with your pusseying waysl
Let me tell you she likes honesty.
And you won't get dollar of Mrs.
Greshams money, for ALL"
"Let me tell you" blazed out our
gentle Anne at that, chat we don't
want dollar of Mrs. Gresham's mon
ely. We are making ourselves ready
to earn our own. And we think more
of many other things than we do Of
money. And whoever gets it, anyway,
we shall not forget that it was our
grandfather's money, not theirs"
"That is so," said grandmamma
Gresham, as il the thought had never
occurred to her before. But she rose
slowly, and grasped her cane, and went
away to her own rooms, and we did not
see her for three days, Rose waiting on
her till she was ready to reappear
again.
isn't it too bad, Francis" asked
Anne that night, "that anybody should
have our own grandfather's house but
ourselves" But she checked herself
as Amelia came back with a rose in
her hair, and even frowned down
Georgie's innocent remark about its
being such dear old place.
And that it was; an elm-snaded,
many-gabled, oentury-old house, set in
gardens. with patch of blue ink just
below it, and the slope of green hill
Just behind ia hill on whose summit
the cannon had been fired every fourth
of July, and on every twenty-second OF
February, and on every anniversary of
the battle of New Orleans, since time
began for those days.
1t was not great while after the
night when Amelia came back with the
rose in her hair, that begaI. to I1otice
a strange trouble in our sweet Anne's
face. Her gray eyes would dilate and
grow fixed in reverie, and at one time
such a deep color would burn in on
her face, and at another she would be
deathly white, that at last when l saw
Francis walking in the garden with
Amelia, and her glance pursuing them,
/ knew what it meant. might have
known before if | had had the sense to
understand the angry expostulation OF
Grandmamma Gresham with Amelia
that once / overheard, hut it never oc-
CURED to me that anyone could be SO
shameful as brceila was. But | knew
how to sympathize with Anne better
than once might have done, to be ten
der with her and let her alone; for
had begun to think that, after all, Civ
ing music lessons would not be the
work of my life, since DR.. Dinsmore
had begun 10 visit us.
ut is a pity said Grandmamma
Gresham to him one day, "that such
nice girls should be destitute. But then
there is one thing nice girls do
notneed money. | had none"
But it was the very next morning
that DR.. Dinsmore asked me to be his
wife. And | vas so glad and so proud,
and so surprised and so sorry, too, for
Anne, that | mad to go to some one,
opI I,J bur,t in an Gro nd N, n N, ~, {,