The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-12-25
MY pATRIMONY,

Aunt Fanny had Just cOme to make
her usual summervisit and | had proud
~ taken her through the house to have
her admire the improvements made
since her last visit.
1T il all very nice and convenient,
dear. she said. rs she seated herself i'm
the easy chair | offered her. hut did
you V regret giving those bonds TO
your husband. May.?f
Most as>uredlN not, auntic. Whv?"
Because ! thought il very mwise and
that some day you would bitterly regret
it.. 1t was your poor fathers property
and should have been retained i'm vOur
W name. ! am sure"
Now. don't worry. auntic. please.
You came TO have Il pleasant visit with
us. Ella has been nearly frantic with
delight sinceItold her you were coming
.'rhe child, yes. She is Il dear little
thing. to be sure? But do YOU know
that if your husband should die to-day
she would inherit the property you gave
him? If she were your child it would be
different"
But she is mine, all | have certainly.
| love her dearly, and hope to be a good
mother to her. Notwithstanding all the
bitter things written and said against
stepmothers."
"Yes, and you are a good mother to
her. But to suppose still further. If
she, too, should be taken away, then
your property would not revert to you,
but 90 to her relatives. of whom you
know nothing. Would that be rightp'
perhaps not. But why do O say
such dreadful things? She and her
father are rs likely to live as /. And
then Il wife is entitled to a DOVER"
''Yes, the interest from one-third of
what the husband leaves. just the in
terest. mind you. And you gave him
the lea to 90 into business. You
know he failed once. and may, possibly
again"
But he paid every penny flashed
back. proudly.
81 know it. and it vas right; but con-
sequently YOU married a poor man with
Il child rs well as a wife to support on u
clerks salary"
You forget, auntie, that he still had
his beautiful home when his creditors
had been fully paid: the home in which
Ella was born. and where his poor wife
died"
Il forget nothing. and what I rcmem-
Der with the greatest bitterness is your
umadviSed act of yielding up your little
patrimony. intrIsted To me by your dy-
ing father for YOU, and that You took no
obligation for il whatever"
But ! replied. '.hc invested it in u
business which supports us nicely. Be-
sides, il was not his fault. lie wanted
me Ia have DEMONSTRATING notes. or to
be the company in the business. as if |
would. and | told him never to mention
the subject 10 me again, and he never
has"
Then all | have to say is You were
very silly as well as imprudent."
But it was not all she had 10 say, even
to telling me that Il certain match
making mother had said that my hus-
band would have preferred one of her
daughters if she had held property in
her right rs ! did; that he needed the
money and married mt simply to obtain
il.
Don't, aunty, please" | said with a
little shiver.
Nor would |. but to convince you
that he should have secured your little
property to you. if only for the opinion
of Others
1T is all right just as it is. All! here
ONE Ella" and my dear old worldly
wise aunt forgot to lecture i'm her delight
ut seeing the little fairy. who nearly
smothcred her with kisses.
But | had received Il hurt that ranked
like Il thorn in the flesh. And so Mrs.
Jones thought he married me for my
money? And perhaps others have the
not, and said it over and over again to
myself as | helped oar one servant to
prepare the evening meal.
And when my husband came with his
hearty. CHEEKY welcome for Aunt Fanny
! looked wistfully in his face for an an
swer to my mental question, for question
il would become in spite of my firm de-
termination to ignore it as such.
Once more during Aunt Fanny's stay
did she attempt to renew the converse
ton interrupted by Elias entrance. But
] only said: IF you please. Auntie. l
would rather not say anything more
about that"
And she, who thought she was only
striving for my interest, replied coldly:
Offender you, who have been father,
mother and auntie all in onep" and |
kissed her as ! had ever done since she
drew me away from her only brothers
coffin, hiding her own grief TO assuage
mine.
..Do you remember. auntie, dear, when
/ used to have the sulks, and you would
take me out hunting-hunting sunshine.
you called it? | often think of it when
things 90 wrong. us they must OCCASION
ally, and wish YOU with me- to 90 hunt
ing sunshine
Eyes, l remember. You were a great
comfort to me, May. and | am afraid |
have never quite forgiven the man who
coaxed my brothers only child away
from the lonely old maid.
And the best friend II hayward girl
ever had" / replied.
But somehow. after Aunt Fanny's
visit, my thoughts and feelings were not
the same. Had | been unwise, as she
said. in giving up everything to my hus-
accept itp was fearful it was even so.
He should have made me understand
that | had reserved rights. and not
taken my property to control unadvisedly.
especially to invest in a business subject
to all the fluctuations of the market.
And 20 he never spoke of it only as
his own, and l had helped him to it all
and he had forgotten it.
In my morbid state of feelings ! found
so many bitter things of which to COM
plain to myself. We had been married
four wears, and during that time many
improvements had been made in the
house and around it, mourning an ex-
pense of some thousands of dollars. My