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


on its yellow floor, looked pleasant and
peaceful.
just before six o'clock neighbor
dropped in with her cream pitcher to
borrow some milk for tea, and she sat
down for minutes chat after she had
got it filled. They had Teen talking a
few moments on neighborhood topics,
when all of sudden Priscilla let her
work fall and raised her hand. ..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 eyes.
She was pretty young thing, who had
not been married long.
"Hush! Don't speak Don't YOU hear
that beautiful music?n Her ear was
inclined toward the open window, her
hand still raised warningly, and her
eyes fixed on the opposite wall beyond
them.
Mary turned visibly paler than her
usual dull paleness, and shuddered. g l
don't hear any music,h she said. 'Do
you. Miss Moore?''
"No-o," replied the caller, her
simple little face beginning to put on
scared look, from a vague sense of
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, ian | 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.
Il never imagined anything in my
! lie, returned the other, ''an' it amt
likely I'm goin' to begin now. It's the
beautifulest music. 1t comes from over
the orchard there. Can't you hear it9
But it seems to me it's CROWN a little
fainter like now. / guess it's movin'
off, perhaps.
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 at
the beloved object. Still she did not
say much, only: 81 guess it must be
| movin' off, with 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.
and there amt one in blossom this time
O. year, and all the time you're talkin'
about dyin'. Fer my part, / don't see
why you ain t as likely to live as am.
You re uncommon hearty on vittles.
You ate d pretty good dinner to-day for
a dyin' person.
Il didn't say Twas goin' to die, y re-
piled Priscilla, meekly: the two sisters
seemed suddenly to have changed ma
lures. ..An' I'll try not to talk so, if it
plaques you / told you wouldn't this
mornin. but the music kinder took me
| by surprise like, an thought maya be
you an Miss Moore could hear it. | can
jist hear 1t little bit now, like the dy-
in away of a bell.''
"There you go aginn' cried the other,
sharply. ''Do. for mercy's sake, stop,
Priscilla. There amt no music. y
"Well, won't talk any more about
| it," she answered, patiently; and she
rose and began setting the table for tea,
while Mary sat down and resumed her
sewing, drawing the thread through the
cloth with quick, uneven jerks.
That night the pretty girl neighbor
| was aroused from her first sleep by a
distressed voice at her bedroom Win
dow, crying, Miss Moore! Miss
| Moore!"
She spoke to her husband, who opened
the window. Whats wanted?" he
asked, peering out into the darkness.
"Priscilla's sick,'' moaned the dis
tressed voice: lawful sick. She's
tainted, an can't bring her to. Go
fer the doctor-quick! quick! quick. "
| The voice ended in shrek on the last
| word, and the speaker turned and ran
back to the cottage. where. on the bed.
lay a pale. gaunt woman. who had not
stirred since she left it. lmmovable
through all her sisters agony, she lay
there, her features shaping themselves
| out more and more from the shadows,
the bed-clothes that covered her limbs
taking on an awful rigidity.
sShe must have died in her Sleep
the doctor said, when he came, with
out struggle.
When Mary Brown really understood
that her sister was dead, she LETT her to
the kindly ministrations OF the good
| women who are always ready in such
times in a country place, and went and
sat by the kitchen window in the chair
| which her sister had occupied that after
| noon.
There the women found her when the
Last aff,nas rad baan done for the dead