Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-01-24
THE STORY OF A MISTAKE.
CHAPTER ".

the sick were unremlGtlhS anu Sitous - ntS
urally strong man, and capa9le oI giea,I
exertion. the constant wear and tear, both
physically and mentally, began to show
their effect on him at last. .4-
IsSilas. do wish you would take Detter
care of yourself,,' Celestine said to nm
more than once and he answered:
i'7'"What am I to do ?'' These people must
be looked after, and you would not have me
neglect my duty" .-...-- -.
- HBut the weather has grown so warm, ana
YOU walk so much. It seems to me you al
low yourself no rest" - H.l@
The worst of 1t was that the place seemed
to grow more and more unhealthy. New
cases Of sickness were continually occur
ring, some of them developing into the very
worst forms of typhoid.
Celestine's girl, Nina, came to her one
day. CRYING, and said that her mother was
down With the fever, and that she must go
home. ra s., ..a a,, o,,,od
Celestine. ...-...
"No ma'am; but I met my little sister on
the street, and she told me-"
"Suppose you wait until Mr.: warren
finds out about her, suggested Celestlne )
ssperhaps she may not be as i'll as you sup
pOse."
So when'Silas came in, an hour later, she
smoke to him of the matter, and he prom
ised to attend to it Immediately after lunch.
The Webers, Mina's parents, lived at
quite distance from the Rectory, IN low
and badly-ventilated house, quite near the
district where the fever most prevailed. II
was no wonder that sickness should attack
them, Mr.. Warren thought, as ne observed
the extreme untidiness Of all their arrange
ments; refuse scraps lltterlng their yard,
water standing around and dlrt ana dlSor-
70
prostrated with the fever, but not very SICK
at present, though she complained loudly,
and declared it was impossible for her TO
oet ON without Nina, and that she must
have her at home.
"Could YOU send another of your daugh.-
ters to supply her place, as long as you need
her here?bhe asked, thinking how hard it
would be for his wife to get on during the
hot weather without some help. s,
No, there wasn't another girl pig enough; !;
besides, they all had enough to 90: MRS.
Weber was very sorry, she hated 10 taKe
Nina out of her place, but it could not be
helned-and she hoped Mr.. Warren would
send her right home, that very evening
Of course he was obliged to agree to her
wish: and on leaving her, instead OF gong
directly home, he went on round, 1nqulr-
ing in various quarters, in the nope OF Sc
curing a temporary substitute TOR Nina,
who had really become so useful that ne
knew she would be greatly missed. lie
was unsuccessful, however, ana returned
home after long quest, completely ured
out. .
Celestine. as usual, received his unfavora-
BILE report with cheerful equanimity, and
declared that it did not in the least matter
whether they got another girl or not; she
herself was quite equal to the work. SO
she sent off Nina, who had been frettlng all
day. partly from anxiety about her mother,
partly from distress at the idea OF giving
up her place, and went singing like blrd
about her new tasks.
She got up dainty little dinner for Sllas,
set it out in most inviting style, then went
to his study to call him to partake OF 1t.
She found him lying on his sofa, much
flushed: and when she told him that dinner
was ready, he declared that he could not
eat-his head acned badly, and he wanted
to keep quiet.
A cold chill shot through her. She saw
in his face that illness was upon him.
"Let me ask DR.. Gray to come in and see
you, DEAR" she said in tone that betrayed
none of the apprehension which she felt.
"He will give you something to relieve
you" - ,oo
been SO great to-day. Don't worry about
me-" he answered, wearily. II snail feel
better after taking nap"
So she darkened the room, and quietly
stole out, resolving that if he were no better
in an hour or two she would bring the
doctor on her own responsibility.
She did not sing now, and quietly moved
about, setting things in order, putting away
the dinner she had taken such pains to pre-
pare, and making the kitchen as tidy as she
had taught Nina to keep it. If the girl
could only have stayed! She had really not
cared much about her leaving; but now,
with the fresh trouble broOding over her,
she felt what a comfort it would have been
to be able to keep her. How could she
nurse Silas and get through all the work
besides? = However, her fears might be un-
founded, perhaps her husband was not re-
ally going to be very ill. After all, it might
only be over-fatigue, and the effects OF 1t
would wear off after good rest.
When she had put everything to rights,
she went back into the study, entering noise
was sleeping. His face was turned from
her, against the sofa cushion, but she touch
ed his hand as it hung down, and found that
it was dry and burning hot; his breathing
was heavy and irregular, and he was evil
IDENTIFY in high fever.
She hesitated no longer about going for
the doctor, who fortunately lived only two
squares off. She almost flew there and
back, leaving a message for him, as he was
not at home, and returned to find her hus-
band as she had left him. He had apparent
ly not moved. He woke presently, and
asked for water but when he attempted to
rise to sitting position, his head reeled,
and he sank back helplessly on the cushion.
81 believe l should feel better in bed, " he
said family, "only don't see how am to
get there, if / am not able to balance my
self"
81 have asked the doctor to come round,
dearest" said his wife, "and when he comes
he can help you to your room more easily
than could"
"You have been for the doctor, Celes-
ne?-and told you not"
81 could not help it, dear; don't be veX-
ed. felt l must have advice for you"
He said no more, but closed his eyes
again and in a short time Celestine was
thankful to hear the doctors ph@ton stop at
the gate.
"Nothing very wrong, hope, Mrs. War
ren," he said cheerily, as she met him in the
hall. "We can't afford to have our minis
ter get sick"
"It is malaria, l suppose" she replied.
''He has exposed himself continually, and
now he seems to have broken right down."
"Well, we'll we must set him up again,
that's ALL" But the CHEEKY doctor looked
it was worse than he had expected. He
soon got him to bed, and then left in order
to get prescription made up, which he
would bring back himself, as CeleStine had
no one to send after it.
''And tomorrow morning, Mrs. Warren,
if he isn't better, we will have somebody
around to help you," he said as he was leav