St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-10-06

u
I wonder, Mary" said she, "if
it would seem SO very queer to die =
mornin' like this. say. Don't you be-
lieve there's apple branches a-hangin'
over them walls made out of precious
stones, like these, only there amt any
dead limbs among 'em, an they're all
covered thick with fowerss An /
wonder if it would seem such an awful
change to 90 from this air into the air
of the New Jerusalem. just then a
robin hidden somewhere in the trees
began to sing. 81 s'pose," she went
on. .'that there's angels instead of
robins, though, and they don't roost up
in trees to sing, but stand on the
ground, with lilies CROWN round their
feet, may be, up to their knees, or on
the gold stones in the street, an play
| on their harps to 90 with the singin.
The other sister gave scared, awed
look at her. I. Lor, don't talk that
| way, sister, said she. s. What has
got into you lately2 You make me
crawl all over, talkin' SO much about
dyin'. You feel well, don't you?''
9 or, yes replied the other, laugh
| ing, and picking up q clothes-pin for
her pillow-case; II feel well enough,
an | don't know what has got me to
talkin' so much about dyin' lately, or
| thinkin' about it. guess it's the spring
| weather. P'r'aps flowers GROWN make
anybody think Of wings sproutin'
| kinder materially. I won't talk so much
about it if it bothers you, an / don't
know but it's sorter material it should.
Did you get the potatoes before we
came out, sister9"-with an awkward
and kindly effort to change the subject.
:. No., replied the other, STOPPING
over the clothes basket. There was
such q film of tears in her dull blue
eyes that she could not distinguis hone
article from another.
'sWell, I guess you had better 60 in
an get 'em, then; they amt worth any
| thing, this time of year, unless they
| soak awhile, an I'll finish hangin' out
the clothes while you do it.
..Well, p'raps I'd better, y. the other
woman replied, staightening herself up
from the clothes-basket. Then she
went into the house without another
word; but down in the deep cellar, q
minute later, she sobbed over the pota-
| to barrel as if her heart would break.
Her sisters 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 religious east 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 as any
thing of religion-which is in one way
| spirituality itself could.
! Both sisters were eminently practical
in all 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 awelt
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 mad
/ 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, sobbing over the potato
barrel. thought it was a sign of APP
preaching death. She had a few super
stitious-like gratis upon her practical,
commonplace character.
She wiped her eyes finally. and went
upstairs with her tin basin of potatoes,
which were carefully washed and put to
soak by the time her sister came in with
| the empty basket.
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-room; on the
other, the room where the sisters slept.
There were two small unfinished lofts
overhead, reached by a step-ladder
through 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
/ =, AL q nd cleared AWAY the dishes thew