The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1883-09-28
soak awhile. an, IN f,;ab bonoin, ~

WOudH Icpll6Q, Sf1lgnIeQlng lefSeu uE
from the clothes basket. Then she
went into the house without another
word; but down in the deep cellar, a
minute later, she sobbed over the pota-
to barrel as if her heart would break
Her sister remarks had filled her with
vague apprehension and grief which
she could not throw off. And there was
something a little singular about it.
Both these women had always been Of
a deeply religions cast of mind. They
had studied the Bible faithfully, if not
understandingly, and their religion had
strongly tinctured their daily life. They
knew almost as much about the Old
Testament prophets as they did about
their neighbors; and that was saying a
good deal of two single women in a
New England country town. Still this
religious element in their natures could
hardly have been termed spirituality.
1t deviated from that as much rs any,
thing of religion-which is in one way
spirituality itself-could.
Both sisters were eminently practical
in ell affairs of life, down to their very
dreams, and Priscilla especially so.
She had dealt in religion with the bare
facts of sin and repentance, future pun
ishment and reward. She had dwelt
very little, probably, upon the poetic
splendors of the Eternal City, and
talked about them still less. Indeed,
she had always been reticent about her
religious convictions, and had said very
little about them even to her sister.
The two women, with God in their
thoughts every moment, seldom had
| spoken His name to each other. For
Priscilla to talk in the strain that she
had to-day, and for a week or two pre-
vious, off and on, was, from its extreme
deviation from her usual custom. GER
tainly startling.
Poor Mary, sobbine over the potato
| barrel, thought it was a sign Of APP
preaching death. She had few super
stitious-likc gratis upon her practical,
commonplace character.
She wiped her eyes finally, and went
upstairs with her tin basin of potatoes,
which were carefully washed ard put to
soak by the time her sister came in with
the empty basket IS
At twelve exactly the two sat down
to dinner in the clean kitchen, which
was one OF the two rooms the cottage
boosted. The narrow entry ran from
the front door to the back. On one side
was the kitchen and living-roon; on the
other, the room where the sisters slept.
There were two small unfinished lofts
overhead, reached by step-ladder
through a little scuttle in the entry cell
ing, and that was all besides. The sis
tiers had earned the cottage and paid
for it years before, by working as tail
dresses. They had quite snug sum in
the bank besides, which they had saved
out of their hard earnings. There was
no need for Priscilla and Mary to work
so hard, people said; but work hard they
did, and work hard they would as long
as they lived. The mere habit of work
had become as necessary to them as
breathing.
just as soon as they had finished their
meal and cleared away the dishes they
put on some clean starched purple
prints, which were their afternoon
dresses, and seated themselves at the
two front windows with their work; the
house faced southwest, so the sunlight
streamed through both. 1t was a very
warm day for the season, and the win
dows were open. In the yard outsid q
great clumps of lilac bushes stood close
to both. They grew on the other side
OF the front door, too; little later the
low cottage would look half buried in
them. The shadows of their leaves
made dancing network over the
freshly washed yellow floor. 4A& s$
The two sisters sat there and sewed
on some coarse vests all the afternoon.
Neither made remark often The
room, with its glossy little cooking
stove, its eight-day clock on the mantel,
its chintz-cushioned rocking-chairs, and
the dancing shadows of the lilac leaves
on its yellow floor, looked pleasant and
peaceful. ~ ta
just before six o'clock neighbor
dropped in with her cream pitcher to
borrow some milk for tea, and she sat
down for a minutes chat after she had
got it filled. They had Teen talking a
few moments on neighborhood topics,
when all of a sudden Priscilla let her
work fall and raised herhand. "Hush!"
whispered she.
The other two stopped talking, and
listened, staring at her wonderingly,
but they could hear nothing.
"What is it, Miss Priscilla?" asked
the neighbor, with round blue ewes.
She was a pretty young thing, who had
not been married long.
"Hush! Don't speak. Don't you. hear
haf
inclined toward the open window, her
shand still raised warningly, and her
eyes fixed on the opposite wall beyond
them. l|I
Mary turned visibly paler than her
usual dull paleness, and shuddered. II
don't hear any music" she said. sDo
you, Miss Moorep''
MOO" replied the caller, her
simple little face beginning to put on a
scared look, from vague. sense of a
mystery she could not fathom.
Mary Brown rose and went to the
door, and looked eagerly up and down
the street. There ain no organ-man
in sight anywhere said she, return
ing, ''an' | can't hear any music, an
Miss Moore can't, an we're both sharp
enough o hearin'. You're jist imagin-
in it, sister,"
81 never imagined anything in my
lie, returned the other, "anf it amt
likely I'm goin' to begin now. It's the
beautifulest music. It comes from over
the orchard there. Can't you hear itp
But it seems to me it's CROWN little
fainter like now. / guess it's movin'
off, perhaps 81.
Mary Brown set her lips hard. The
grief and anxiety she had felt lately
turned suddenly to unreasoning anger
against the cause of it; through her
very love she fired with quick wrath ae
the beloved object Still she did not
say much, only: II guess it must be
moyin' off, with a laugh, which had
an unpleasant ring in it.
After the neighbor had gone, howev-
er, she said more, standing before her
sister with her arms folded squarely
across her bosom. "Now, Priscilla
Brown" she exclaimed, 81 think it's
about time to put stop to this. I've
heard about enough of it. What do
you s'pose Miss Moore thought of You?
Next thing it'll be all over town that
you're gittin' spiritual notions. To-
day it's music that nobody else can
hear, an yesterday you smelled roses,