The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-07-23

| what were the sweeping days, settled upon
those very days for taking her morning
nap in the parlor. Abner Powell was as
afraid OF a horse as a cat is of water, and
Aunt Powell made him drive her out twice
| week L wonder the man. didn't turn
gray. l don't believe single wash-day
passed while she was living with Abner
that she didn't insist on having some of US
to dinner, although that was nearly as
| hard on the rest of US as it was on Jennie.
l think she lived at Abner's for two
years, and then went to Warder Martins,
Sarah's husband. They refurnished the
parlor for her, and gave up their own room
to that hateful French maid. Aunt Powell
| ruled them with a rod of iron for ten
months, and then actually Quarreled with
Sarah Martin, the sweetest, best-tempered
| woman in the world 1t was the first
| quarrel, believe, Sarah ever had in her
| life. None of US ever thought she knew
| how to quarrel, but Aunt Powell managed
| to goad her into it somehow, and then
| went off in a huff TO Hamer Powell's, leav
ing poor Sarah heart broken, and Ward
| Martin so mad that he tumbled the seven
| trunks out into the middle of the street in
broad day light, and let them stand there, a
spectacle for the gossipingest street in Clos
ter, until Homer Powell heard of it, and
came with a dray to get them. Hamer
went to Ward while the man was loading
on the trunks, and began to talk to him, a
little severely, l guess, about the way he
| had acted; but Ward roared out that if he
said word to him he'd stand him and the
whole Powell family on their heads along
| side the trunks, to the great delight of the
| whole street, and the unbounded wrath of
Aunt Powell, who heard of it.
Thatv nightlsh sent for a lawyer, and
before she went to bed we knew that new
will had been made, and Sarah and Ward
were left out of it. OF course Aunt Powell
fa1N net,.a ,,1%
well go against her. She refused to see
Sarah or her husband, or 90 where they
were, and so we had to leave them out of
the family gatherings, and cut them dead
on the street if we met them when Auut
Powell was with US. They acted very un-
reasonable about it, and ignored the rest of
us everywhere; all except Lem. Lem WIS.,
tied there lust as usual, and told Ward he
intended to divide his portion of the Powell
fortune with him.
Well, our aunt lived with Hamer Powell
a year. Hamer was teller in the GlOSter
bank, and it was through him we learned
that Aunt Powell had big tin box, locked
and sealed, deposited in the vault Of the
bank She got along pretty well that year,
for Hamer and Alice were young people,
very lively, and had lots of young COM
pany, and didn't mind Aunt Powell's WAYS
very much. They had no settled ways of
their own to be rooted out of, and no chill
dren for Aunt Powell to train, and on the
whole they seemed to have an easy time
with her. From Hamer's she went to Ellen
Bradley's, quarreled with Ellen straight
along every day for two months, and then
lived quietly enough for the rest of the
year: and then went to Maria Blake's,
reyolutionized everything about the house,
scolded the children, quarreled with Maria,
and bullied Jasper, and just as was begin
ming to hope she was coming back to US,
Il.
lived like an angel for few months, and
died one morning with her head pillowed
in Maria's arms.
Well, the day after the funeral we all
gathered at ADner Powell's to hear the
will read. know my heart was full of
real sorrow, but if there was one throb of
genuine grief in another heart in that
room, their faces didn't show it. Jennie
POwelPS countenance was the verT i'm
personation of greedy eagerness, and |
thought 'Siah Bradley was going to snatch
the will QUITO the lawyers hands. Lem sat
with his face buried in his handkerchief,
and l was really delighted with the way
he was behaving until l saw him wink at
Ward Martin-for Ward and Sarah
were both with US now-over the top of his
handkerchief. For my part, think such
an occasion as that is fully as solemn as
the funeral.
Ward and Sarah, as we all knew, got one
dollar apiece. The seven trunks, with all
their contents, were left to the French
maid. The rest of the will devised all her
property in Maine. Abner Powell got
some pine lands, her close carriage and
black horses, and Jennie got pearl neck
lace and $4,000 in bank stock. Hamer got
$50 acres of land on the St. CroiX River
and $1,000 in mining stock, and Alice was
left two houses in Bangor and 800. She
gave to myself and Lem $4,000, $4,000 in
money and the rest in Boston q Maine
Railroad stock. Ellen Bradley and 'Siah
got the manor house and grounds at Sken-
adOquOnooksis, with all the contents
and appurtenances thereunto appertain-
lag, save few trinkets and some bits of
furniture especially bequeathed to old
servants. Maria Blake got $4,000, and
Jasper got the yacht and four town lots in
Bangor.
1t did seem too good to be true. 1 cried
as [ thought of the dear, loving soul who
had planned all this happiness for US, and
wished L could have known her and loved
her in the earliest years of her lonely life.
The rest of them tried to cry, but it was
easy to see that it was a false, strained
effort, and none of them succeeded
very well except Sarah. Poor Sarah.
we were all so sorry for her.
They all seemed to think 1 should
do something for her, but didn't see how
| could spare $1,000 from what we got,
when we had such family on our hands.
Our first duty was to our children, of course.
Hamer said he couldn't say what he could
do until he found what his pine lands and
mining stock were worth. Ellen and 'Siah
had no ready money, and they couldn't
tell yet whether they would sell
the manor-houSe or live in it;
Jasper said he could let them have
.one of his town lots in Bangor for
reasonable price and on long time, if they
wanted to go there and build on it. And
so Ward got up, by and by, and took
Sarah home with him, and Lem stepped to
the front window and fired wink at them
as they went down the steps that brought
a grateful smile through Sarah'S tears and
a grimace to Ward Martins rough face.
All the same, made up my mind that
Lem Wasson wasn't going to rob my
children so long as they had mother to
love and care for them. And, after all, it
was Ward Martins own fault; we all
agreed that if he hadn't acted the way he
did about the trunks, Aunt Powell could
have been reconclled.
Then, after Ward and Sarah went away,
the French maid came in. She protested
and stormed and vowed she would contest
the will, and threatened all sorts of dread
full things, and at last she became hys-
terical, and screamed until the neighbors
began to run out into the street. Finally
the boys had US pack all Aunt Powells
trunks, and then they gave the maid fifty
dollars to take them away aud be satisfied,
and so they sent the hateful thing away,
and we saw her no more.
In due time Abner Powell and Lawyer
Bonney started away for Maine to take
possession of things. I wanted Lem to go,
too, but he said it wasn't the thing for
recruits to be too fresh, and he would stay
home and sit up with Ward. The rest of
US whiled away the long days of Abner's
most excited manner, now and then tor
mented by the sight of Sarah's disap-
pointed face, although she seldom met us
now. Before Abner went away he resigned
his rlaca as snnarintandent in the naner