Little Falls transcript., 1886-07-09
other thoughts chased Doctor Reed g
housekeeper from his mind.

! 4 ~ r. T.
+, DR.. Nathaniel Reed had been brought
up by an old maid aunt. A woman
composed on the sharp corner and an
gular system. Yet, withal, not unkind
to her charge, but he being OF bright,
atfectlonate disposition, missed solely
a mothers loving ways; albeit always
grateful to the woman who had taught
him to be SO strictly upright and just
and. placed him in the way to earn an
independents living. About two years
previous to his aunt's death she had
bought the old-fashioned house stand
Ing in Its own grounds, where the doc
tor at the opening ofmy story resided,
ior at her decease she had bequeathed
1t to him with an income of 900 pounds
per annum. Steadily the doctors
practice had increased, his reputation
as a physician gaining every day. Per-
haps he would have made money
taster If he had been less at
tentlve to those patients whose
only pay consisted of their grateful
thanks. Jane who thought no one
equal to her master, waxed fairly elo-
ouent when relating how he had tend
ed her mother and helped along her
smaller brothers and sisters. And if
the many "God bless yous" called
forth by the doctors kind acts were
registered above, their record must
have been a glorious one.
X. X x
A year had passed since Mrs. Sphinx
| had entered upon her duties as house
keeper to Doctor Reed; and no fairy
| wand could have worked greater
changes than that lady's clever hands
had done. The old-fashioned furni-
ture had taken on a polish upon which
no Hy dare risk a footing. Pretty
! lace curtains graced the windows
which looked out, not upon weeds
any more, but fragrant flower beds
and velvety grass and a. rustic seat
meath the o'erhanging branches OF an
ancient oak. Janeno longer slipshod,
but in a neat gown and dainty cap
waited upon "the MISTRESS" as she
always persisted in calling Mrs.
Sphinx, to whom she had become
almost as much attached as to the
doctor. And the doctor himself? Prob
ably he would have thought no worse
fate could befall him than the loss OF
Mrs. SPHINX. What OF that lady her.
self? From the first day when the doc
tor gave her SO kindly welcome and
bade her make herself quite at home,
and If anything was wanting to her
comfort to let him know, She had
grown to love her duties and the quiet
old house and hoped that she might
always stay although, OF course, that
would not be possible when the doc
tor brought home a BRIDE which nat
urally he would do some day. Some
how she did not like to think of that
hour and SO strove TO put it out of
her mind. Yet the doctor, truth to
tell, had hardly given such an idea a
thought. He was too busy g. man to
have much time to devote to society
and the appointments OF his home
suited him to a nicety; consequent
" he never felt the need OF wife.
He had grown quite attached to the
quiet little figure in black,
whose brown eyes sparkled so merrily
at times above their gold. bowed spec
tacles, and would have sorely missed
his faithful housekeeper. For even
outside OF her housekeeping duties she
was OF great help to him, assisting to
keep his accounts and sorting his pa
pers so cleverly. Perhaps he was think
ing OF this as he said one afternoon,
rather abruptly:
II am afraid you are working too
hard, Mrs. Sphinx How would you
like to take holiday.?"
"What! You mean me to 90 away"
she exclaimed in q startled, imploring
tone.
God forbid!' The words dropped
from his lips almost unawares before
he added, ''Just little trip. say to
the country, for your health; although
now we shall get along without you. I
''Then, If you please, sir, Ihad rather
not co." was the quiet answer, and so
no more Was said
In his heart the doctor was pleased
that Mrs. Sphinx had elected not to
take a holiday. Somehow he liked
her to welcome him when he came
home, and once he had said to him
self, as he noted the gray hair so
smoothly tucked away beneath her
snowy cap:
IL am as fond of her almost as if
she we're my mother"
Toward the latter part OF that sum-
mer a virulent fever broke out among
the poor Of the district where the doc
tor lived, and hardly an hour could
the doctor then call his own. And
Mrs. Sphinx's helpful hands were al
ways busy those days-oft soothing
fretful little sufferer where others had
failed, until her name also became be-
loved Of the poor that learned to
know-till one night, when the doctor
came to snatch hurried niouthful,
Jane met him, calculating, as best she
could between her sobs:
ooh, master, the mistress is awful
bad, and she's locked in herroom, and
she won't let me in, and-oh!" she
added, with a gulp, "she's been a-talk-
ing to herself like anything, and-oh,
master, if she's been and gone and
took the fever''
For a moment the doctor did not
speak-something about his heart
seemed to have ceased it's motiun;
then pushing open the sitting-room
door he gazed in. With a shudder he
turned away.
How empty the room seemed with
out the little figure that it had known
SO long! Putting the weeping Jane
aside, he hurried up stairs AS he lis
tened outside his housekeeper's door,
her voice babbling disconnected SEN
fences fell upon his ear; then, with q
white set expression about his mouth
he, pressing all his weight against the
door, burst tsit. open. Is.
A startled look Of amazement gath
cred in, the doctors eyes as he bent
over the slight figure off his housekeep-
er,s who still bab bbfing wildly gazed
with an unco onscious stare into his