Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1882-06-22
A BROKEN FRIENDSHIP,

Church and Home.
Nina Merrill and Hope Harvey had
been insepara6le friends from child
hood. They lived in large brick
block, side by side, and as both theil
fathers owned their own house, and
had moved in them when the children
were quite young, they had CONSEQUENT
ly attended the same school together
and had grown up into girlhOod and
young womanhoOd, as I have said, al.
most inseparable.
But as changes come to every one,
30 they came to these two friends,
Minas father became richer, and
moved his family away to the new
beautiful home among the green hills,
where he thought the air would be
better for Nina, who had never been
very strong. Mr.. Harvey, on the 9th.
er hand. met with business reverses,
one after another, and had finally to
give up the pretty home in the block
and move to smaller house, where,
not many months after, he died.
As Hopes education had been
sound, practical one, she soon obtained
a situation in an Office, where she
worked bravely all winter. When the
wind howled the widest, and the
weather was the coldsst, and Hope felt
like being discouraged, she would COM
fort herself with the thought that sum-
mer was coming, and take heart and
go on. AT last the weary months were
over, and the summer was come, " hen
she could accept Mina'a numerous in.
vitation', and make her the long-prom-
ised visit.
One evening in June, when the days
were beginning to grow warmer, the
family gathered around the tea table,
the pleasantest time of all the day, to
them. If there had been any letters
duling the day, for any member of the
family, Mrs. Harvey always put them
under the plate, or adroitly folded them
in the napkin, as a little surprise.
This evening Hope found, on opening
her napkin, dainty letter which had
been hidden inside. A pleased smile
broke over her face, as she saw by the
post-mark that it was from her friend
Nina.
Hope had read the letter about half
through, when all at the table were
startled by seeing her throw it down,
and hearing her say:
"There, mother, just read that! How
dare she, OF any one else, insult me in
such way! Well, that puts stop to
my visit, at any rate" and Hopes eyes
fairly blazed, as her mother read the
part which had so enraged her. 1t
was little slip of paper pinned to the
letter and ran thus:
"PERsoNAL-H. Q. ii. would like to cor
respond with young doctor living, In the
West. Address Box i99-.n
Nina went on to say, 81 don't under.
stand it at all, Hope, but of course it
was you, for those peculiar initials can
belong to no one else. "Then, too, the
post office box is yours, also. wish
you would write and tell me why you
did such foolish thing"
"Why, what can Nina be thinking
of, to imagine for one moment that
you could do so unwOmanly a thine"
exclaimed Mrs. Harvey. "Surely she
knows that we have rot had our box
at the Office since your fathers deathr'
just then it flashed into Hopes mind
that she had never explained to her
friend about the box, but had simply
told her to direct her letters to the Of
i6ce. Then. she thought too, of the
queer coincidence OF the initials, and
how she and Nina had often laughed
over the middle name of "Queenie,S her
fathers pet name for her. 1t was
strange, Hope admitted that, but she
was still too angry to reason clearly.
The "of course you wrote it" stung
her more than all the rest. To think
that Nina did not even give her the
benefit of doubt, but should take it
all forgranted. Hope did not get angry |
often, but when she did, she fairly |
blazed; so in the heat of the moment, |
she sat down and wrote a stinging re-
ply; then, after it was posted, cried as
though her heart would break.
As week after week passed by and |
no word came in answer to her hasty
note, III pc knew that Nina considered |
herself very much abused, and would |
probably never write her again. Nina
was like hope in not getting angry
often, and then she did not "blaze' and |
get over it quickly, but instead, the
fire burned down deep into her heart, |
and would not be put out.
0hl if those girls could only have
realized what a sacred thing friend
ship is, and how, as a rare jewel, it
should be carefully guarded, and kept
alive by forgiveness and a mutual
charity for each others failings, they
would, l think, each have been more |
willing to have confessed herself |
partly to blame.
The friendship between Nina and |
Hope had been very sweet, helpful
one. Each was exactly the opposite of |
the other, and their lives were very |
different. Hope, in the busy city, liy-
ing among live meA and women, saw
things more as they really were, and
sometimes there was danger that the
tender plants of faith and love, which
she was striving so earnestly to culti-
vate, would become parched and |
withered. Thenyas oil on the troubled |
waters, would come Mina's letters, |
breathing forth the peace aud trust in |
which she lived in her home among |
the hills. w 2 ei frs ff