, 1882-05-26
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How il Came Back 20 Her,

StllI III lnc hlItNtl WHERE DuI 'uIH
was ironing. There was roaring
fire in the stove; and the windows
were closed. for the air, warm as II
was, would cool the irons, With
flushed cheeks and moist forehead,
Barbara worked on, smoothing ruttIes,
polishing cuffs and collars, and rub
bing away on sllndry garments, till
not a wrinkle could be seen upon
them.
1t was not agreeable work, to he
ironing with the mercury at 30
above zero in the shade but Bar ba
ra was not III a mood to be cast
down by trities. She remembered
that many of these articles of appar-
el were soon to be worn up among
the White Mountains. Yes, among
the dear, grand, old, delightful hills,
of which New Englanders are so
proud. She had thought so much
about this trip! She had wished and
expected to take ii the summer
before, but her mother had been
taken sick; and as the Ewells only
kept female help when the spring
house cleaning and haying were in
progress, she had been obliged to
give it up But she was glad now
that she did SO, for she was going
then with an old aunt, who was one
of those nervous people, who often
have the term f,tssy applied to them !;
and who labored under the impress
sion that ninteen- -year-old Barbara
was still child, and needed seeing
to-" and her anxiety that the seeing
to should be properly done, rendered
herself anything but an agreeable
companion for her niece, But as
there seemed to be no one else for
Barbara to go with, she had decided
to accept her aunt's invitation to ac-
company her but determined to get
out of that lady's society as often as
possible when the journey was ac-
complished. .',.-,,,..r
But now her companion was to be
May Merrill, the dearest, merriest
school-mate she had ever had and
then Fred Burton was going to the
mountains in week or two to sketch.
Fred Burton was a handsome young
artist, the son of Esquire Burton, the
richest man in the village, two miles
beyond Barbara Ewell's home. Ru-
NOR called him a reckless young
fellow and asserted that in the
three years he had spent in Paris
for the purpose of studying art, he
had studied also how to make money
at the gaming table, and had thor
oughly learned to quaff the red wine.
Fred was in love with Barbara
Ewell and one day, two years before
our story opens, had called on her
father, and asked permission to ad-
dress his daughter as lover, LIS pt
Farmer Ewell was by no means a
hard hearted man and he believed
that. his child loved Fred, and would
gladly have given his consent to the
young mans wooing, had he consid-
cred him worthy of his daughter.
But he could not accept, as Barbara's
lover, one who did not deny the
charges laid to him, and frankly told
Fred so. But his heart was full of
pity when he saw the look of sorrow
his words had brought to the hand
some young face ;and he said ono
MY Barbara is worth reforming
to gain, Fred and when / am salts
fed that you have left behind you the
vices you do not now disowil, / will
give my free consent to your seeking
her hand. i trust to your honor, and
do not think you will ask for her
heart till you are a better man. ., q.
Fred went away determined to
begin a new course :, but during. the
months that followed he was tempted
again and again, and sometimes he
yielded. He was in many things q
noble fellow at heart and he remem.
bered that not until he had left his
vices entirely behind, was he to ad-
dress Barbara as lover, and kept
back the words he longed to utter,
Barbara had learned from her
father of his interview with Fred /;
and with a sweet womanly patience, a
firm faith that all would come right at
last, and many prayers, she waited
for him she loved to become con-
queror of himself.
And so ON that hot June day, as
she went ON with her work, she
thought how delightful it would be
up among the cool hills with Fred
and May Merrill SO near; and burnt
fingers and aching feet became moth
ing and she rubbed away as nimbly,
and sang as blithely, as though that
sitting kitchen was themost comfort
able place in the world. But at last
the last garment was hung on the
clothes rack to air, the cuffs and
collars put-away with the handker-
chiefs ironed yesterday and she
went TO her room, took a bath, changed
her dress and went down to the sit
ting room. She found a neighbor, a
Mrs; Andrews, sitting with her
mother. .
1t was said this woman had con-
sumption. A neglected cold had
certainly left her very miserable /;